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Transcript of Introductory-talk-wakefield
‘Scary, dusty, musty?’
An Introduction to the West Yorkshire Archive Service
Catherine Taylor, E-Services CoordinatorWednesday 23rd March 2011
This afternoon
Talk a little about me and where an Archivist comes from.
Try and answer the question “what are archives?” and “what does an archive service do?
Talk a little about West Yorkshire Archive Service
Guide you through what to expect when you visit us
Very briefly try to give a flavour of some of things we hold
How did I get here?
Been with WYAS for just over 4 years Graduated from Lancaster University in
1998 Various bits of archive experience Formal archive qualification from the
University of Aberystwyth 1999-2000 Over ten years experience in different
archive services – initially in London and then here. First at Wakefield and later as E-Services Coordinator
What are Archives?
Everybody creates and uses records in the course of business & everyday life
A small subset of these records will be worthy of permanent preservation
Parchment, paper, photographs, film, electronic records- all are potential archives
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What does the Archive Service do?
Provides secure & environmentally monitored storage
Catalogues and indexes
Access and advice for researchers
Conservation facilities
Conservation tools
Japanese visitors at Kirklees
West Yorkshire Archive Service
Began as the West Yorkshire County Record Office in 1974
In 1986 became part of West Yorkshire Joint Services as part of the Heritage division
Funded proportionally by the five district authorities in West Yorkshire
WYAS Offices
2 Chapeltown RoadSheepscar
Central LibraryPrincess Alexandra Walk
Huddersfield
West Yorkshire Archives: Leeds
West Yorkshire Archives: Kirklees
WYAS Offices
Prince’s WayBradford
Central Library, HalifaxNorthgate
Halifax
West Yorkshire Archives: Bradford
West Yorkshire Archives: Calderdale
WYAS Offices
The Registry of DeedsNewstead Road
Wakefield
West Yorkshire Archives: Wakefield
Statistically speaking…
In 2009-2010 we:• Said hello to 12,303 visitors• Retrieved and issued 22,193 original
documents• Opened 2,937 items of post• Replied to 6,989 emails• Answered the phone 14,082 times• Accessioned 345 new items or collections =
32m3
• Managed to consume well over 2,500 cups of tea and over 1,700 cups of coffee. And incalculable numbers of biscuits and cakes!
Opening times
Recommend making an appointment
Wakefield: Open Monday 9.30 am – 8 pm2nd and 4th Mondays 9.30 am – 8 pm
Tuesday 9.30 am – 5 pmThursday 9.30 am – 5
pm2nd Saturday in month 9.30 am – 1 pm
For our other offices look at our website www.archives.wyjs.org.uk
Or there are some leaflets available at the end
May have to press a buzzer to get in Place your coats, bags etc in a locker if one is
available CARN ticket scheme
Nationwide reader registration scheme improves security for our documents
Need identification stating name, address and signature – driving licence most convenient!
Cards last for four years and can be used at over 70 archive services in England and Wales
Please don’t bring any coats, bags, pens, water, sweets, cough medicine, gum, fruit pastilles, stanley knives (!) into the archive reading room
Visiting us – on arrival
Visiting us – how to order material Check with staff whether anything is waiting for you
already
Ask a member of staff to give a quick run through of how the catalogues and ordering system works
Don’t worry if you find them a little confusing at first Our catalogues are listed to an international standard, so
once you have got the hang of it you’ll find them all pretty much the same
See if there’s one of our user guides to help you Available from staff at the office or Download the lot, for free, from our website.
Visiting us – what format is it on?
o Very little of what we hold has been digitised – though we are working on that
o Popularly used records such as parish registers, some electoral registers and Will indexes may be on microfiche –
o Cuts down wear and tear on the originalso Enables us to have copies in more than one locationo Enables us to provide photocopies without causing
damage to the originalo May also have a transcribed copy or an index,
especially of parish registers.
Visiting us – Handling records
What if I can’t get to the archives?
o Able to offer ten minute research free of charge so:
o Get in touch by email, letter, telephone – we don’t mind!
o Very popular service – main way we have contact with our users
o 30 minute search service for simple look-ups
o Research Service for more complex queries also available
o Just ask us – we’re here to help!
Local Authority & Official Records
Local Board & Urban District Council pre 1974
School records Township records Poor Law Unions
Workmen’s dwellings at Moldgreen 1913
Huddersfield Union Workhouse
Church Records
Church of England Wakefield, Bradford
& Ripon and Leeds dioceses
Nonconformist Methodist Baptist Congregational &
Independent Presbyterian Unitarian Roman Catholic
Dewsbury Parish Church
Bastardy Bond
Maps, Plans & Surveys
Enclosure Awards Tithe Maps Ordnance Survey Estate Surveys
Austonley Township Map 1801
Family & Estate Records
Family & Estate records: Title deeds,
accounts, leases, maps, rentals, surveys
Manorial records Court Rolls/Latin Whitley Beaumont
Survey Book 1820
Slaithwaite Manor Court Roll 1544
Business Records
S Crawshaw & Sons, Dewsbury
Bentley’s Yorkshire Breweries
Burdon & Wilkinson, Cabinet makers Huddersfield
Clubs & Societies
Crosland Hill Knitting Circle 1940
South Elmsall Inner Wheel
Countywide Records at Wakefield
Electoral Registers Petty Sessions West Riding Quarter
Sessions Hospital Records Prison Records West Riding &
Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council records
Registry of Deeds An inmate of Calder Farm Reformatory School
The Registry of Deeds in figures:
13,000 memorial volumes7 million deeds14 million pages21,000 deeds registered in the first twenty years of the registry2.7 million deeds registered in the last twenty
Any questions?
• Preserve the past
• Serve the present
• Protect the future