Keeping abreast of the situation
You should monitor how events unfold. It is important to obtain accurate information as it is not uncommon for disinformation to be circulated about events.
You should carefully consider and revisit the factors in ‘Factors to consider‘, which will affect your rapid response collecting activities.
You should be clear about how decisions will be made and parameters affecting your rapid response collecting. This may include whether you are leading the activity or being involved with other partners. In some cases, rapid response collecting might be prompted or led by local communities. ‘Who is involved?’, on the ‘Initial evaluation‘ page, includes stakeholders you may need to consider.
If you are leading rapid response collecting activities you should consider:
- working with others to form a post-event task force to manage immediate rapid response collecting activities
- forming longer-term partnerships with other organisations to manage the rapid response collection in the longer-term. This could include dividing material among different organisations on the basis of their collecting scope and expertise.
- contacting other people that have undertaken similar work before. A few relevant case studies have been written to accompany this guidance.
Where possible and appropriate, you should involve people who have been affected by the event. Remember that everyone’s response will be different – ‘Who is involved?’ (on the ‘Initial evaluation‘ page) and ‘Longer-term management‘ (under ‘Engaging with people who have been affected’) include more information about this.
Being sensitive
A physical site may represent the event you want to document (for example, a protest or occupation). You should respect those who have created or may be present at a site.
Featured case study: University of Leeds
After some events, physical memorials might appear in the first few hours or days. These might be in one or more sites, possibly the location of an event or nearby, or other open-air public areas such as squares and monuments. Many spontaneous memorials will evolve over time. Many people find these meaningful as they attempt to express a sense of belonging, resilience and solidarity over a shared traumatic experience. However not everyone will be interested in participating (see ‘Who is involved?’, under ‘Initial evaluation‘).
Leaving memorials to grow means people who want to participate are able to. However, there may be instances where those leading the emergency response will need to sensitively intervene by:
- providing more space for public events such as a vigil or commemoration
- quickly returning a memorial site such as an entrance or thoroughfare to its pre-existing purpose.
- letting people know that memorialisation is supported, and where and how to leave items safely. For example, you could provide a sanded area for candles near to points of access and with
- enough space to move around safely
- suggesting people remove cellophane and flower food packets before laying flowers, and providing blunt-ended scissors and disposal bins to help with this
- tactfully encouraging people to avoid leaving items which may be problematic, (for example, food which may attract rodents)
- managing access and flow of people to ensure safe and equitable access to memorials
- using QR codes and other signage to signpost people to where they can donate money, what will happen to memorial items, and other relevant information
- assigning space for local, national or international media which does not interfere with people accessing memorials
- photographing memorials as they grow. The Spontaneous Memorials Network provides useful guidance on photographing memorials.
- providing shelter from the weather
- regularly removing high-risk items (such as food or flammable materials)
Early mornings may be a quieter time to intervene, as more people might visit later after work or school.
Featured case studies: West Sussex Record Office and Manchester Together Archive
Volunteer groups may be able to assist in advising and supporting visitors to memorial sites. Services have worked with existing local groups such as Keep Britain Tidy and open spaces friends groups, as well as branches of national groups such as Lions Clubs, Red Cross, Rotary, Women’s Royal Voluntary Service, Women’s Institute and uniformed organisations.
Forming a team
You should carefully consider the factors in the ‘Factors to consider‘ part of this guidance which will affect your rapid response collecting activities, particularly your resources.
A team of people rather than a single individual is better for rapid response collecting, even if you plan to collect on a limited scale. Consider how you will manage and communicate with team members, train the people involved, and process or quality check any work they produce (for example, importing lists from spreadsheets compiled by volunteers into your collections management system).
You must ensure that appropriate insurance cover is in place, and that you have considered the implications of health and safety and safeguarding of children and adults at risk legislation. You may need to take specialist advice.
Remember everyone’s response to unforeseen events will be different and not everyone might want to be involved. As well as resources, consider the possible emotional burden of rapid response collecting on people, both in the short- and longer-term. The health and wellbeing guidance from the Archives and Records Association may be useful, and there is more information in ‘Who is involved?’ (part of ‘Initial evaluation‘) and ‘Longer-term management‘ (under ‘Engaging with people who have been affected’).
Featured case studies: Lancaster University and University of Stirling