Hello, I’m Georgie. This is my third week of a three month secondment to the York: Gateway to History Project as a Community Collections Assistant. I’ll be working alongside Francesca  and Sarah to research and catalogue our community collections archives and explore how these can be used in future projects to engage local communities with our Archives.

Community collections are the records of groups, organizations, families and individuals who played a role in the city’s past. The project also involves engaging with a wide range of current community groups to help them make decisions about how to preserve their own archives for future generations.

I have actually worked for Explore York Libraries and Archives for ten years, as a Reading and Learning Advisor. I worked at our central branch on Museum Street up until it closed for refurbishment in June 2014. After that I was based at our Acomb branch, and although I enjoyed working there, I missed my daily contact with our Archives and Local History department. I was very excited to be offered the opportunity to be seconded to the Gateway to History project, and to get the chance to work in an archives environment.

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks researching some of our community archives, particularly focusing on those of families and individuals. I have come across some fascinating and quirky records and I hope to share some of these in future blog posts.

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