Northern Bollocks

We in SQA would not want to seem biased against the north of England in any way. Our regular readers will have noted our previous blogs on northern issues Historic charter goes missing and New regional super repository.

However, we are delighted all the same to turn our attention to the North West England Euro-Region. Here, as elesewhere, the minions of the EU have been busy.

Cheshire Record Office. One of many record offices reeling under implied criticism.


We refer to a shocking EU-funded document Engaging archives with Inspiring Learning for All: a report prepared for the North West Euro-Region of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) by Jocelyn Dodd and other members of the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries at Leicester University, published in 2005.

This report seeks to analyse the lack of take-up among archivists of the MLA's initiative Inspiring Learning for All in the north west. The entire report can be read here.

The report is breathtaking in its content and tone. The disregard for professional archivists in operating non-statutory services with minimal resources demonstrates how government initiatives have become far removed from the real logistical nature of local government and other record offices.

We await further offerings.

For more breathtaking assaults on archives read:

Bollocks, Bullshit and Balderdash;

A figment of our imagination;

and

The Bollocksian Theory of Archives

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