06 December
Access to 12 archive collections is set to be transformed by a series of grants announced today. The National Cataloguing Grants Programme 2011 has awarded £420,000 to archives across the UK to help make these vitally important collections fully accessible for the first time.
Access to documents
Managed by The National Archives, the grants programme helps archives to catalogue previously inaccessible collections. Cataloguing past collections has uncovered treasures, which have provided unique insight into our nation's history. Set to run for five years from 2008, the programme is funded by a collective of charitable trusts including the Pilgrim Trust, the Foyle Foundation and the Wolfson Foundation.
Melinda Haunton, Programmes Manager at The National Archives, commented on the grant scheme: 'Cataloguing is the first step in providing access to archives, revealing collections which would otherwise remain hidden. Supporting this grant programme is part of the ongoing commitment by The National Archives to help improve service provision, and enhance public access through investment in collections, as well as empowering communities by giving them access to their own heritage.'
Projects and collections
Each individual grant can last for up to two years, enabling the archives to explore each collection fully. Among those funded this year are:
Wiener Library - 'Ordering Memory' the personal document collections
The personal papers making up the collection document individuals affected by the Holocaust, both those who became refugees and those who suffered in the camps.
Bowes Museum - 'Collections for a wider world': opening up access to the Bowes Museum archive
John Bowes was a land owner, MP, businessman, horse-breeder and racer with extensive property in County Durham. The archive comprises details of how he and his French wife Joséphine amassed their fascinating collection of artistic artefacts, now open to the public as the Bowes Museum.
York City Archives - 'A City Making History': the governance of York 1155-1976
The corporate records of the city of York date from 1155 and are an unbroken series since 1476. The archives offer huge opportunities for researchers to explore the city's own history - together with that of the governing of Northern England.
See full details of this year's grant winners on our Cataloguing Grants Programme page.
