Here's the focus week themes. If you're taking part in the social media campaign please remember to tag ARA Ireland in your posts so we can share them! @nlireland.bsky.social @uniofgalwaylib.bsky.social @heritagecouncil.ie @araukie.bsky.social @irisharchives1970.bsky.social (2 of 3)

Thanks to David Luck from Bethlem Museum of the Mind for this blog for #DisabilityHistoryMonth www.archives.org.uk/diversity-allies-blog/disability-history-month-accessibility-and-archives-a-night-that-never-ends

A mid week treat for me seeing that my review of Robert Bartlett’s History in Flames has been published in @araukie.bsky.social’s journal 🥳 Really enjoyed reviewing this book and learning how #Medieval manuscripts and archives can be preserved/reconstructed following conflict

🚀 We're live! ARA Ireland is now on LinkedIn. Follow us to stay up to date with news, events, training & development and all things archives! www.linkedin.com/company/ara-... @araukie.bsky.social @irisharchives1970.bsky.social

It was great to be at the Houses of Parliament yesterday for the APPG Archives and History Lifetime Achievement Awards. This year's awards went to historian Lucy Worsley and archivist Geoff Pick - read more about it (and them) here www.archives.org.uk/news/histori...

This Weds, @araukie.bsky.social Section for New Professionals will be hosting two excellent speakers to talk about job applications for new #archives and #recordsmanagement professionals.

“Dear Cara-Friend”: Widening access to a key PRONI LGBTQ+ archive Tues Dec 2nd @ 1pm This presentation will focus on letters sent to Cara-Friend in the 1970s & 1980s from people seeking advice, support and friendship. @araukie.bsky.social @irisharchives1970.bsky.social @aranewprofs.bsky.social

A big welcome to the UK National Archives' Sector Leadership team - great to see you here on Bluesky!

"That’s the magic of archival work — it layers history onto the everyday" We spoke to Frankie Drummond Charig, who has just completed a project looking at Jewish Sheffield. Read the first Archivist in the Spotlight blog here: celebratingjewisharchives.org/blog/archivi... #Archives #JewishHistory

Just rejoined @araukie.bsky.social after a long time in the wilderness, feels good to reconnect with the Archivist in me. Also thinking about picking up registration again, anyone willing to be my mentor or know someone who might be up for it? Should be a relatively light lift!

The event takes places from 1-2pm GMT. Book here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ales-lunch... The event costs £10 for ARA members and £15 for non-ARA members. Please note the event will be recorded and the recording made available for ARA members only. @aranewprofs.bsky.social @araukie.bsky.social

We are busy collecting new case studies for our website: archives.org.uk/environment-... If you have any examples of work you are doing in relation to record keeping and climate change, we would love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] @araukie.bsky.social

Book by Friday for our @araen.bsky.social & Places, Plants and People Archives Network event – "Places Plants & People" which will explore how archives, heritage, and research organisations are addressing sustainability and environmental engagement. www.archives.org.uk/training-eve...

Join us this Friday for our October lunchtime webinar: “Losing the Wonder in the Digital Shift: The Impact of Technology on Our Connection to Archival ‘Object-ness’” 1-130pm BST www.archives.org.uk/training-eve...

I cannot stress how important it is that the issue of police records is dealt with and not brushed under the carpet as it has been for decades. The fact that they aren't Public Records is an accident of history, but the impact of this lack of regulatory control is immense.

An online lecture series promoting the principles of diversity & inclusion across archival collections and the wider record-keeping community will kick off on Oct 22nd at 1pm. 1st talk will be about Preserving Records in support of Truth Recovery in Northern Ireland @araukie.bsky.social (1 of 2)

Yesterday we sent out this briefing to all UK MPs and our press list. It is our response to calls for digitisation of adoption and care records. We believe there is a better - & much needed - solution to make these records more accessible to those that need them. #LongLostFamilies bit.ly/4mBqsxo

Why aren’t Police Records in England & Wales covered by the Public Records Act? We've been campaigning on this since 2012 - blog for more info: www.campaignforrecords.org/blog/why-arent-police-records-covered-by-the-public-records-act #publicaccountability of interest @andyburnham.bsky.social ?

During the #ARA2025 conference, the keynote speech was on multisensory archives. Rosie spent some time reaching into this box and describing what she could feel to colleagues!

Today we are celebrating Chloe’s win of ‘Record Keeper of the Year 2025’ awarded yesterday by the UK & Ireland Archives & Records Association! A very well-deserved win for our hard-working archivist! @arainternational.bsky.social @araukie.bsky.social @falklandsinuk.bsky.social

Last night at the #ARA2025 conference there was a gala dinner and awards ceremony. Huge congratulations to Gloucestershire Archives on winning Record-Keeping Service of the Year!

Next up Valentina Flex from the Gertrude Bell archive - starting her talk on embracing digital scholarship with a definition

Starting with a great sensory exercise from PurpleStarz to get us going this morning. Our description of this paper: glossy, clicky, paper #ARA2025

Final day of #ARA2025 has started with a truly inspiring keynote "Archives for All!" from purpleSTARS, all about multi sensory approaches to heritage collections. Something we should really incorporate a lot more of where possible and seek opportunities!

B8 Panel Session at #ARA2025 is focusing on ‘Life After Hanwell’, hosted by Elizabeth Stettler, Pedro Maximo Rocha, Rhiannon Griffiths and Richard Aitken

Going live soon! Join us for Forming International Connections at #ARA2025 Session D9 at 2:05 PM BST. Let’s talk about building a stronger global archives community. 🌍 #InternationalArchives #ARAConference

Why records surveys matter - Fiona Bourne from RCN sums it up record surveys = knowledge-organisational mapping, departmental analysis, records discovery, management, retention #ARA2025

The final day of #ARA2025 is underway, with Dr Kate Allen, Ajay Choksi, Samantha Walker and Victoria Stevens leading an interactive keynote: ‘Archives for All! A Multisensory Approach to Archive Collections’

Starting our 3rd keynote- with a panel from PurpleStarz doing a sensory exercise with this piece of paper: our 3 words for the mentimeter: glossy, clicky, paper#ARA2025

More Track B talks on Wednesday afternoon #ARA2025: ✂️ Laura Anderson talked about her experiences on ACTS 📚 Ann-Marie Miller & Chloe Tse discussed conserving mould damaged stationary bindings 🖌️ ‘Off the Wall’ with Shirley Jones, who was talking about collaborate training with wallpaper restorers

Wednesday afternoon wrapped up with a thought provoking workshop hosted by Ann Attwood, asking ‘What is archive conservation in 2025? #ARA2025

Fantastic to see all the winners receive their awards at the #ARAExcellenceAwards2025 - find out all about who won what here www.archives.org.uk/news/ara-exc...

Enjoying a dip in the conservation stream! These are favourite, can't do without and wish list kit #ARA2025 sewing machine, box maker, buffalo Koran spatula, magnets, cats whiskers, porcupine quills, hobo Bluetooth data loggers, large sheets of perspex (and Instagram - sorry Bluesky!)

Kits sat with each partner for a month for familiarisation and confidence building: not trying to fix everything at once, but to create support and experience #ARA2025

Oldham was an early user of the kit, setting up DAR and finally able to access born-digital material on hard drives blocked under IT policies #ARA2025

This is really practical and promising. (But if anyone's ever tried to manage files on a 1990s Plasmon Data Store, do let Jan know, that one is... going to take some time.) #ARA2025

Two papers this afternoon reinforce messages from earlier that there needs to be active intention to create genuine inclusively of archives & for the users of archives - looking at intergenerational practices as well as radical softness & "slow archives" speakers: Chloe Lee & Nella McNicol #ARA2025

The inspiration from day one of #ARA2025 is this slide and the idea that an empty shelf in an archive is a silent history. We were urged to be change-makers, to go out and find the missing records to give those silent histories a voice.

A sunny start to a second day at #ARA2025 and looking forward to to sessions all around outreach, engagement, and appraisal. Have tried to attend talks on AI as well to perhaps broaden my cynical mind a bit! 🌄

It’s Day 2 at #ARA2025! Great to have a conservation themed Keynote this morning from Professor Christina Young

I've made it to #ARA2025 and said hello to a few people, which is a good start. Sitting in on sessions in the big room (for Reasons) which means a lot of AI today.

One of the things that comes up at conferences is international perspectives you might not otherwise pick up. Hearing about the Czech National Archives' role across Czechia in digital preservation, drawing in records management transfers nationwide (born-digital only so far). #ARA2025

Day 2 of the ARA conference and our archivist Rosie has been busy attending talks on workplace transferable skills, trauma-informed approaches to support staff and AI solutions for indexing. She has another busy day today, we can't wait to hear more about it! #ARA2025

RM across public bodies is (still) based on MoReq which is recognised to be very rigid but otoh makes for highly structured SIPs in transfers from very diverse organisations. #ARA2025

Opportunities to develop further are coming with a full system redesign, looking at needs, desires, opportunities, more flexibility #ARA2025

And now RM and use of AI (potentially) in public hospitals in Tswane, if staff will implement. The context, in which RM is not taken seriously but is a key driver of why patients may experience long delays in treatment, is depressingly familiar #ARA2025

Another great keynote at #ARA2025 from Christina Young - creating accessibility- struck by effectiveness of literally opening up spaces- eg doing conservation in the public gallery etc

Just been in a great session with a strong theme of collaboration and co creation featuring speakers from Gloucestershire Archives, V&A and Institute of International Visual Art #ARA2025

Day 2 of #ARA2025 has kicked off with another great session of talks in the Track B: ✒️ Dr Paul Garside on ‘Treatment Decisions for Iron Gall Ink’ 🔌 HVAC group update with Amy Sampson and Sirpa Kutilainen 🖥️ Julie Bon on conservation metadata 🔗 mechanical strength of Asian adhesives by Jiwon Jeong

Liz Stettler holding some mouldy and really smelly paste during Jiwon Jeong's talk on the mechanical strength of four traditional Asian adhesives. #ARA2025