Thursday 15 August 2013

Restoration Homes - Coltman Street, Hull

Working in archives we get to help a wide range of users with their research - whether it is family history, local history or academic study. Only occasionally do we get to see the results of the research and last night's episode of Restoration Homes on BBC2 was one of those occasions.

What you don't see - the camera crew in the searchroom during filing for Restoration Homes

Following Simon Kelsey's restoration of the Victorian townhouse at 114 Coltman Street in Hull. Historian Dr Kate Williams and architectural journalist Kieran Long both visited the History Centre to conduct research and the programme features a number of shots of them conducting research in the library area and the searchroom.


The programme showed the use of key sources like the census, maps and street directories can be used to discover who had lived at that address previously (see the Local History sources section of the History Centre website to find out more about these sources and how they can be used). Discovering that Christopher Pickering lived there they then explored the story of how he made his fortune through steam trawlers and became one of Hull's most philanthropic benefactors.

Simon Wilson
Senior Archivist

Friday 2 August 2013

Fade to grey

Have you ever looked back at a receipt for that expensive purchase for an insurance claim and found it’s faded and difficult, if not impossible, to read? 

This is due to the type of paper used, that shiny stuff similar to the old Izal toilet paper. It was also used in fax machines and this presents an obvious problem for archives in how to preserve the information they contain. (If you want to know more about the history and capability of fax (Wikipedia has a fascinating article). The National Archives of Australia advises that the information on the thermal papers that faxes use can disappear in as little as 5 years which is a scary thought for a service whose aim is the permanent preservation of archival heritage.

A fax from 2001. If you can't read it -
that is the point!
I've been working on a collection of records for an action group that began its life in the 1980s and is still campaigning today. This means that their records span a number of changes in technology from the typewriter to the computer. There are a number of faxes tucked in amongst the different types and qualities of paper. Many have already started to fade with some that are already barely legible. While there is nothing we can do to stop the information vanishing taking photocopies can give us a surrogate that will endure.

Preserving the records that document our lives is essential to not only safeguard our memories, but also to provide evidence of our lives and the world around us. So check that receipt hasn't faded before you really need it.

Carol Walden 
Project Archivist