The archive will be for anybody to access and use (there may be some restrictions due to copyright and data protection). The archivist will catalogue the material, describing the content and placing it in context, information that will help users locate material relevant to their particular enquiry. Once the material has been catalogued, the archivist will shift focus to developing plans to engage a range of audiences that might include:
- Cultural historians looking to compare and contrast the experiences of two large cultural infrastructure projects including the benefits and the impact
- Local historians researching the history of the area
- Anybody curious to find-out more about an event from the programme – how it happened and who was involved
- Artists, writers and other creatives who may wish to use the content as a point of inspiration for new work
- There will also be opportunities to use the archive to engage local schools and colleges in a variety of creative and fun ways.
One aspect that is often overlooked when thinking about the archive is the website, which contains a wealth of information about the team and the programme. Most web content has a short life and there is a risk this will not remain accessible for long. As the website owner you can register the domain with the UK Web Archive or the Internet Archive so the website can be captured throughout the programme. Note that this is not a substitute for the archivist collecting digital records themselves and carrying out digital preservation work to ensure the files are appropriately cared for in the long term. Rather, it is complementary, and it is helpful to let the archivist know you have registered the domain.
In conversations with producers and creative teams about archiving large cultural infrastructure projects some aspects arose time and again. These are addressed in the following sections but if you have any questions, please contact Archive Sector Development at The National Archives: asd@nationalarchives.gov.uk.