CIfA Archaeological Archives Group - From Past to Future: Archiving 2000–2025

Description

The CIfA Archaeological Archives Group (AAG) would like to invite you to join us for this year’s day conference and AGM, where we consider how current archaeological archiving practices reflect the changes, challenges, progress and transformation of the sector since the millennium.

The world of archives has transformed dramatically in the last quarter of a century. Just ten years ago, the AAG was running basic training on how to ‘put things in boxes’, and now members of our group tackle a wide variety of more complicated challenges. To name a few:

• Large infrastructure projects, and their often-collaborative nature, have changed the way that archivists work, offering challenges, opportunities and room for new specialisations. 
• Legacy projects, and the associated task of bringing collections up to date with modern guidelines, are more central to our practice.
• New technologies – changing and advancing all the time – offer new data and information as well as challenges for data gathering in the field.
• The introduction of digital archiving and the Archaeology Data Service have revolutionized our processes, making our archives more accessible than ever.
• Cross-sector collaboration and awareness of archiving within individual organisations have significantly increased in recent years, opening new avenues of working and changes to project processes and management.

So, what is going well, and what has room for improvement? Where do we see archiving going over the next 25 years, and can we agree on the next set of priorities for the AAG? getting back to basics and reminding ourselves why we all get together in the first place - to share good practice and celebrate archaeological archives. 

Agenda

09:30 - Registration (Tea/coffee available)
10:20 - Welcome, Sam Paul
10:25 - Karl Marx and Clothes Pegs, Helen Parslow, Albion Archaeology
10:45 - Reflecting on the AAF: Two Decades of Progress and Future Pathways for Archaeological Archives, Claire Tsang, Archaeological Archives Forum
11:05 - Making the Most of All that is Left, Duncan Brown
11:25 - Past, Present and Future: Archives at Headland Archaeology, Charlotte Self, Headland Archaeology
11:45 - AGM
12:05 - Lunch (provided). Includes tours of the ARC
13:20 - Meeting the archive challenge of the Growth Agenda in Cambridgeshire, Sally Croft, Cambridgeshire County Council
13:40 - ADS-easy and Beyond: The Last Decade of Digital Archiving at the Archaeology Data Service, Burcu Aksahin, Archaeology Data Service 
14:00 - Unlocking the BILNAS Archive: Enhancing Discovery through Linked Open Data, Anne Marie Williamson, British Institute for Libyan and Northern African Studies
14:20 - How Can we Build Carbon Considerations into the Archaeological Archiving Process? Dan Miles, Historic England
14:40 - The Roles of the Archaeological and Digital Archivist in Structuring the Archives of Infrastructure Projects: a View from Backstage in Registered Archaeological Organisations and the Archaeological Archives Group Theodora Anastasiadou
15:00 - Tea/coffee break
15:20 - Transfer of Title Guidance Discussion Panel and Discussion of the AAG’s Future
16:00 - Close

View the 2025 conference programme here

Additional information

Archives Group can support with advice about travel from Wellingborough railway station to Chester House. Please indicate when completing the registration form if you would like information about travel options or if you would be interested in ride sharing options.

Price

• £30 CIfA member or Archives Group supporter
• £47.50 non-member (includes 1 year of Archives Group supporter membership)
• £15 student

Refunds

A full refund may be given on cancellations up to two weeks before the event. As the venue requires two weeks' notice for catering requirements, within two weeks of the event, refunds may only be given in exceptional circumstances. To request a refund, please email us at conference@archaeologists.net.