Inspired by the popular festive song, staff at Dorset History Centre bring you our own version of the Twelve Days of Christmas!
On the twelve days of Christmas, my archives gave to me…
A parchment in a brown box
Dorset History Centre holds over 50,000 acid free boxes in environmentally controlled repositories – each one containing a piece of Dorset’s history.
Two nitrile gloves
Despite popular belief, handling archives does not always require wearing gloves. Wearing gloves makes it difficult to handle paper due to reducing your sense of touch in your finger tips. This may mean it is harder to turn the pages of a fragile document without causing damage. For most documents just a pair of clean, dry and careful hands is all you need!
However, gloves must be worn when handling photographic material, including negatives and film. The surface of these sorts of media are easily damaged by sweat and oils in the skin.
Three banned pens
If you have visited an archive before you will no doubt be familiar with the ‘pencils only’ signs. The archives in our care are unique – often the only copy in existence in the world. We therefore take our responsibility for protecting and preserving the archives very seriously. We ask you to leave your pens, food and drink behind when looking at original archives to avoid any nasty accidents. Laptops and other electronic devices are welcome, and we have plenty of pencils!
Four volunteers
We are fortunate to have an enthusiastic and dedicated team of volunteers to support the work of Dorset History Centre. Volunteers are involved in all sorts of activities, from repackaging collections to conducting oral history interviews and organising fundraising events. In 2016 volunteers contributed over 2000 hours!
Five old things
Being an archive we have plenty of ‘old things’ in the collections. But what counts as old? Our oldest document is from the year 965AD but we collect records relating to the people and places of Dorset right up until today. This means that we care for a whole variety of media: including film, video, audio cassette and digital files as well as paper and parchment.
Six seals a-socking
Re-packaging documents into archive-friendly folders and boxes is one of the tasks involved in caring for our collections. Delicate seals are encased in specially made ‘socks’ (small pouches) to help protect them from damage.
Seven maps conserving
In 2016 our Archive Conservator has been tasked with repairing some fairly large maps, both for private clients and internal projects. Depending on the condition of the map this may involve cleaning, repairing, humidifying and re-adhering bits of parchment or paper.
Eight miles o’ shelving
There are eight miles of shelving in the temperature and humidity controlled repositories at Dorset History Centre. If laid end to end, these shelves would stretch from Dorchester to Weymouth Pavilion!
Nine trolleys whizzing
Viewing archive documents is a bit like Argos – hand us a slip with the number of the document you’d like to see and we will go and fetch it. We use trolleys to transport documents from the repositories to the searchrooms for you to look at – listen out for the gentle rumbling of the wheels!
Ten searchers searching
Our researchers are exploring all sorts of topics – from family history to the story of a place or event. There is no need to make an appointment and viewing documents in our searchroom is free. It is easy to get hooked – some of our regulars have been coming to the archives for many years as they find new stories to discover!
Eleven staff a-helping
We understand that sometimes archives can be confusing. We can help you start your research and make the best use of our resources. Contact us us for advice or check out our upcoming series of family history workshops.
Twelve archives listing
Staff and volunteers are busy behind-the-scenes creating descriptions of our documents for you to search. Around 28,000 new entries have been added to the catalogue in 2016. This includes the work to catalogue the Bankes family of Kingston Lacy and Corfe Castle collection, and the Poole Borough collection. The catalogue is available to search online.
We look forward to sharing more of Dorset’s history with you in 2017. Merry Christmas!