The BIG ArcHIVE Project
This is, as is hinted in the title, our BIG project which we have been working on for at least 3 years at this point. Unfortunately for around a year we have been waylaid by the stumbling block of finance. The Project is designed, its software however whilst planned is not yet a reality and for the tasks we want the ArcHIVE to complete, no software exists. Thus we are seeking funding, well, everywhere. Please consider a donation.
What Is The ArcHIVE?
Or What Will It Be?
It's a secure online database for the purpose of archiving local history resources with contextual data for prosperity. But so much more, ArcHIVE aims to be a platform for the sharing of community heritage cross-community and above even that a space for community organisation of heritage-orientated events. The project also aims to provide an opportunity for discussion and a stage for education, concerning local histories hoping to promote the value of such resources. By preserving and making accessible local heritage resources ArcHIVE hopes to celebrate what makes each and every community brilliant.
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What do we mean by local? Well, we mean those thousands of small communities across the country, whether that be a village, a street, an organisation, small business, a family. These are often the groups that are under-represented in the heritage sector, because their resources don't necessarily represent the big events that Museums often by necessity are interested in. Local to us means that the resources under consideration are highly relevant to a specific geographical, cultural location.
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These local heritage resources are currently stored with various degrees of care in every community across the UK, those that have contextual details associated with these resources are diminishing and soon the historical value and condition of these resources will be irredeemable, this is why ArcHIVE aims for preservation and accessibility. There will come a time again, as there does with most things where communities will want to know of their heritage, without the work of ArcHIVE the historical communities, those community-families of WW2 or the tenacious industrial communities of the 1800’s would be so much more inaccessible. Once these primary aims are in the offing, we aims to use the collated resources to enthuse local communities about their heritage, by involving them in the creation of exhibitions for local museums, in a celebration of community. ArcHIVE also works to involve the elderly, by encouraging communities to hold listening parties for the elderly within communities, hoping to encourage community care and recollections of past community. Any who engage with this become designated ArcHIVE Alumni and have access to an online platform and physical notification system of communication to notify of local events, in some small way attempting to combat the growing issue of loneliness in communities.
Storyboard Of Development
As we are completely transparent and yes that is mildly pun-ny about historians and ghosts... Here is our basic plan and a clear mark in terms of where we are in relation to it at this exact moment.
Where Are We Now?
THIS IS WHERE WE ARE
It Should Be Noted That The Only People Able To Edit Each Archive Should Be The Community Group And Myself. Therefore Some Form Of Log-In/Restricted Access May Be Required.
Future Option To Allow Tracking Of Tags And Email Notifications On Related New Content.
