The ‘How to’ Special!… Archives for Education and
Learning Group Conference and AGM
Mersey Maritime Museum, Albert Dock, Liverpool
18 June 2007
The focus for this year’s conference is ‘How to…’ with the opportunity to find
out more about practical solutions for creating and overseeing learning events
and to share in some new and original ideas.
The aims of the conference are to:
 Provide practical and creative education and outreach ideas, which can
be developed by all staff, either through core budgets or external funding
 Present case studies of how to engage with school children and their
teachers
 Recommend useful strategies for encouraging underrepresented groups
to use archives
This conference is aimed at archivists, local studies librarians and education
providers who are interested in developing their archives, education and
outreach work.
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Programme
9.30
Coffee and Registration
10.00
Keynote Speaker – Maureen Roberts
The Mayor’s Commission for African and Asian Heritage,
Heritage Diversity Taskforce, the Black and Asian Studies
Association, PEN – African Writers Abroad and the St John’s
Grenada Library Group
Maureen Roberts is a published poet, educator – here and in
Grenada, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and America – and is
currently working on archive education programmes. She has first
hand experience of ways in which personal and local histories
inspire creativity and empower communities
10.20
Back to School; The Learning Links Project – Jenny Moran,
Public Services Manager, Northamptonshire Record Office
The Learning Links project is funded by East Midlands MLA,
which aims to bring teachers and archivists together in previously
unknown ways. For the first time, documents were taken into the
classroom and experienced the ‘wow’ factor at first hand. Find out
where they will go from here now the funding has finished
10.40
Planning and Delivering INSET sessions – Janet Nixon, Learning
Officer (Archives), Surrey History Centre
Find out how to plan an INSET session, where to get advice and
help, how to work with partners and find out what teachers
generally want, how to keep them happy and more…
11.00
Tea/Coffee
11.15
Creative Learning Using Archives: the Bridges Project – Helen
Fisher, Archivist, Connecting Histories Project, Birmingham City
Archives
A photographic project which links children at early secondary,
primary and pre-school level in a ‘self identity’ activity
11.35
‘Hidden Histories’: Remembering Slavery one year on – Jill
Barber, Head of Heritage Services, Hertfordshire County Council
How did your archive commemorate the Bicentenary of the
Abolition of the Slave Trade? This talk will look at how one
project, with the help of a grant from the HLF, has used archives
as a stimulus for creative workshops to engage young people and
their families with the ‘hidden histories’. What can we do to
promote more positive teaching and learning about the slave
trade? How can we widen audience participation in archives and
show their relevance for all. What are the lessons that have been
learnt and where do we go next?
12.00
Summary and Questions
12.30
Lunch
13.15
From Little Acorns…Making Outreach work for you – Chris Weir,
Senior Archivist (Public Services), Nottinghamshire Archives
It may just be a little comment, suggestion from a visitor, or an offthe cuff idea from a member of staff - yet from these ‘Little
Acorns’ all kinds of effective and valuable outreach activities can
develop. This talk will highlight all kinds of ideas that have been
incorporated into work programmes at Nottinghamshire Archives.
They range from displays and publications to Open Days and
lunchtime talks. This session will also include an opportunity to
meet the one and only ‘Bob The Ferret’!
14.00
Absent Friends; Archives working with underrepresented Groups
– Jan Pimblett, Principal Interpretation Officer, Heritage Services,
London Metropolitan Archives
Archives are a community resource but some groups don't take
advantage of the services on offer. This session explores some
strategies for encouraging underrepresented groups to use
archives in ways, which meet their needs, and to get involved in
recording and keeping their own histories.
14.45
Summary and Questions
15.15
Tea/Coffee
15.30
AfEL AGM, followed by wine and nibbles
17.00
Close