Selection strategies for archaeological archives: Making archaeological archives sustainable

 Registration is closed for this event
The 2019 CIfA Archaeological Archives Group day conference will explore: how project-specific selection strategies are formulated to support future research needs, the collaborative working practices required to successfully implement a selection strategy, and the discussions and interventions required when the unexpected occurs. The AGM will follow the day conference.

 

CIfA Archaeological Archives Group Day Conference and AGM 

Selection strategies for archaeological archives: Making archaeological archives sustainable

Price: £10 CIfA members, £20 non-members

John Lee Theatre, Birmingham Midlands Institute

Description

The subject of archaeological archives is now being discussed at all levels in the heritage sector, but the issues of storage, access, best practice and sustainability are still pressing concerns. In 2016 the CIfA Archaeological Archives Group held a day conference on Selection, De-selection and Rationalisation, where it was clear that national guidance on selection and rationalisation was needed. A recent Society for Museum Archaeology project has now demonstrated that rationalisation of museum archaeology collections is not a cost-effective way to increase storage capacity. This leaves strategic selection of the working project archive prior to deposition, as the primary recourse to create sustainable archaeological archives and address the increasing storage issues faced by many. 
 
Over the past year a cross-sector working group, led by the CIfA Archaeological Archives Group and funded by Historic England, have developed an Archaeological Archives Selection Toolkit. This Selection Toolkit provides all archaeological practitioners, from project managers to material specialists, museum curators to local authority archaeologists, a set of resources to assist in the creation of a project-specific selection strategy.   
 
The aim of a selection strategy should be to ensure that the elements retained from a working project archive for inclusion in a preserved archive, are appropriate to establish the significance of the project and support future research needs.  
 
The 2019 CIfA Archaeological Archives Group day conference will expand upon the themes considered in the 2016 conference to explore: how project-specific selection strategies are formulated to support future research needs, the collaborative working practices required to successfully implement a selection strategy, and the discussions and interventions required when the unexpected occurs.

Presenters & sessions

  • Manda Forster, DigVentures
    Work Digital / Think Archive: collecting and selecting digital data for sustainable archaeological archives

  • Duncan H. Brown, Historic England
    A Survey of Archaeological Archive Selection Practice in Europe

  • Greg Campbell, ‘The Naïve Chemist’
    The end of GIGO? On-site prioritization of archaeological material recovery: marine shells as an example

  • Sam Paul, Heritage Consultant
    A Toolkit for Selecting Archaeological Archives

  • Helen Parslow, Albion Archaeology
    Something about the experiences of an Archives Officer in dealing with different museums over selection strategies

  • Kat Baxter, Society for Museum Archaeology
    The SMA’s rationalisation project, and why it shows the need for early-stage selection

  • Angela Middleton, Historic England
    Applying selection strategies to the London Wreck

Agenda - Linked here

Additional info

Note: Lunch is NOT provided with registration.

March 20th, 2019 9:30 AM (BST/UTC+1)   to   4:00 PM (BST/UTC+1)
Birmingham Midlands Institute
9 Margaret St
Birmingham, B3 3BS
United Kingdom
CIfA member £ 10.00
Non-member £ 20.00

CIfA member £ 10.00
Non-member £ 20.00