We offer training to develop skills, knowledge and understanding within the archives sector. Our training sessions are relevant from both an organisational and individual perspective. Please email us if you would like more information about any of our sessions. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, our events and training moved online and some of our events remain digital, alongside our e-learning courses.
Most of our training sessions are free, and bookings are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. If you’re unable to cover the cost of travelling to one of our events, please get in touch and we’d be happy to discuss this. We have a limited number of spaces available at each session. Because of this, please only book if you are able to attend, and contact us if you can no longer attend.
Upcoming events
Roundtable consultations on a new strategic vision for archives
The National Archives has been commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to create the government’s new strategic vision for archives. We have appointed BOP Consulting to carry out consultation on the current and future issues and opportunities for the archives sector. The consultation is based on a provocation paper.
We would greatly appreciate your input in the creation of a new government strategic vision for archives. We are running eight available roundtables, six of which will be in person across England and two of which will be online. Please note that you only need to attend one roundtable.
- 16 October – online
- 18 October – Lancashire Archives
- 4 November – The London Archives
- 6 November – Essex Record Office
- 8 November – online
- 19 November – The Box, Plymouth
- 25 November – Library of Birmingham
- 27 November – Bill Bryson Library, Durham University
If you’re not able to attend any of the roundtables, there is also an online consultation form for archive sector professionals. If you are a member of the public, there is an online consultation form for archive users. Both forms will be open until 29 November 2024.
Managing onsite volunteers
5, 12 and 19 November (13:30 – 15:30)
This online course, led by Carly Attridge, will explore specific facets of starting or bringing an in-person volunteering programme to life for a range of archive sizes and budgets. This course consists of three online workshops, which will cover the following topics: getting started and recruitment, maintaining and finishing a volunteer programme, and embedding inclusive practice, including inclusive recruitment. This course will be of interest to archive professionals from a range of organisations who want to start, re-introduce or improve their volunteer programme but need guidance or do not know where to start.
Find out more and register to attend the managing onsite volunteers course
Digital Exhibitions – telling your archive’s stories online (online)
6, 13 and 20 November (10:00 – 12:00)
This free three-part course, led by digital specialists from The Audience Agency, will help archive staff and volunteers to develop the skills, understanding and confidence you need to successfully plan and create digital exhibitions. We will help you explore the benefits and value digital exhibitions could bring your archive. We will guide you through the first steps you need to take in creating a digital exhibition, from understanding your audiences and choosing the platform, to creating content that’s fit for purpose, measuring success and ensuring you’ve considered the ongoing management and legacy. Due to a limited number of places, to apply for this course, you will need to fill out an expression of interest form by 17:00, 27 September. Two members from each participating archive should attend to ensure that you are able to put the learning into practice within the archive effectively. It’s important to consider carefully which combination of people will best suit your archive’s developmental needs.
Find out more and submit an expression of interest to attend the digital exhibitions course
Impact seminar: creative storytelling (online)
8 November 2024 (10:00 – 11:30)
Join us to hear how three different archives developed creative ways to tell the stories of their collections, whilst developing community partnerships. Lin Rice, Librarian: Community History at Knowsley Archive, will explore how the archive collaborated with Merseyside Polonia to translate and exhibit the Stefan Skura collection. Louise Williams, Archivist at the Lothian Health Services Archive, will discuss the project ‘Speaking Out’ which provided access to the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard collection. Richard Meunier, Record Office Manager at Bath Record Office, will discuss their engagement project, ‘Imagine: 100 Years of Housing Bath’.
Find out more and register to attend the creative storytelling impact seminar
Cultural property webinar (online)
21 November (10:00 – 11:30)
This online event will provide an overview of The National Archives’ cultural property activities, detailing how various cultural property mechanisms work together to support preservation and access to archive collections. We will discuss subjects including capital tax schemes, export licensing, funding opportunities, protected classes of records, sales monitoring and notifications, and advice and guidance to funding bodies and the sector. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.
Find out more and register to attend the cultural property webinar
What could possibly go wrong? Practicalities of planning an archive move (The Story, Durham)
4 December 2024 (11:00 – 16:00)
The Major Archive Projects Learning Exchange (MAPLE) was set up in autumn 2007 to support organisations planning or managing large archive projects; primarily capital developments. This in-person event will discuss the logistics and practicalities of planning an archive move. We will explore how to move a collection, how to advocate for a capital project, how to engage with stakeholders during a re-development and how to work with your facilities team. This event will also include a tour of The Story. Lunch will be included.
Carbon Literacy training for archives (online)
The Carbon Literacy training is a free course designed to build attendees awareness of the carbon emissions relating to their roles in archives, records management and special collections. We will explore the science of climate change, how this can affect archives, and provide examples of actions that archives have taken to lower their carbon emissions.
The training is divided into four modules covered over two half days. There will be numerous opportunities for facilitated discussion and break-out groups and participants will be asked to consider their own context, creating two pledges to lower carbon emissions both individually and as a group. By completing the training and associated work you could earn ‘Carbon Literate’ status, awarded by the Carbon Literacy Project.
Due to the limited number of spaces, only one person per organisation can attend. By booking a place you will be agreeing to complete pre-training work, attend both half-day sessions in full and complete post-training work in order to earn ‘Carbon Literate’ status. If you are certified as ‘Carbon Literate’, you can become a Carbon Literacy trainer yourself and could run the training for your organisation.
The courses will be offered with a regional focus with priority going to attendees from the region in question. Spaces for the North West and East & South East regions will be made available from Spring 2025.
Dates for each region:
- 11 & 14 November 2024 – Yorkshire and North East
- 10 & 12 December 2024 – Midlands
- 21 & 23 January 2025 – London
- 4 & 6 February 2025 – South West
Find out more and register to attend the Carbon Literacy training course
Digital Advocacy – making the case for digital in your archive (online)
22, 29 January and 12 February 2025 (10:00 – 12:00)
This three-part course, led by The Audience Agency, will help archive staff develop the skills, understanding and confidence to successfully advocate for digital activity, systems and change to senior decision-makers. We will explore digital within your organisation, identify gaps and opportunities, and understand how to make the case. Two members from each archive should attend to ensure that you are able to enact and embed change effectively within your organisation. You will be asked to undertake a small piece of self-led coursework in between sessions and after the third workshop, each pair of delegates will have a follow-up, hour-long support session with one of the course leaders to help you apply and embed what you have learnt.
The expression of interest form for the digital advocacy course will open 22 November at 12pm
If you have any questions about these events please contact us at ASL@nationalarchives.gov.uk
E-learning courses
Data Protection Toolkit for Archives
This toolkit is for archive service staff involved in providing access to personal data found within an archive service’s collections.
The toolkit is hosted on Moodle, an e-learning service that The National Archives uses to host learning and development content for the archive sector. Following the link provided below, please fill out the New Account form with your details. Please enter your email address as your username and use the enrolment key: ‘Data Protection Toolkit’. Once you have registered, you will receive an automatic confirmation email from Moodle.
Sign up to the Data Protection Toolkit for Archives
If you already have an account, log in to the Data Protection Toolkit
Archive Service Accreditation e-learning course
This e-learning course is for anyone working with archive collections who wishes to find out about Archive Service Accreditation. It provides a general introduction to the scheme and will help participants take the first steps towards making an application.
Sign up for the Archive Service Accreditation e-learning
Fundraising for Archives e-learning course
This e-learning course covers fundraising strategy, financial planning, cases for support, building networks and supporters, crowdfunding, and measuring outcomes and evaluation.
Video tutorials and step-by-step guidance will introduce you to each topic and guide you through online activities, enabling you to put what you are learning into practice and tailor it to your archive service.
Sign up for the Fundraising for Archives e-learning course
Transfer to Places of Deposit (PoD) e-learning course
This online learning course explains the key points of the Public Records Act for public record bodies. It describes what a place of deposit is and the process public record bodies should follow to select, prepare and transfer records for permanent preservation to a place of deposit.
The learning objectives of this course are to:
- understand the content and scope of the Public Records Act and the ’20 Year Rule’ changes
- gain knowledge about the process of selecting and transferring records from a public record body to a place of deposit
- recognise the roles and responsibilities for managing records under the Act and what the public record body needs to do
- find out about the guidance and support available from The National Archives
Sign up for the Transfer to Places of Deposit e-learning course
Recorded events
Take a look at our recorded events on YouTube, which cover a variety of topics, services and networks including:
Training
- organisational impact
- advanced bid-writing
- crowdfunding and digital fundraising
- Manage Your Collections in Discovery
Events
- Digital Archives Learning Exchange (DALE)
- Manorial Documents Register Conference 2022
- Archives for Everyone 2023 – 2027
- Launching the Level 7 Archivist and Records Manager apprenticeships
Grants programmes
- Risk and Resilience grants programme
- Cataloguing grants programme
- Research and Innovation grants programme
- Archives Revealed cataloguing grants