Current & recent project
Funding the Archive Sector
2011-12 Co-Investigators: Elizabeth Shepherd, Louise Ray Research Fellow: Marie Laperdrix
This project, a collaboration between UCL:DIS and The National Archives
will investigate the current landscape of funding of the UK archive
sector. It will seek to answer three key research questions; How are
archives in the UK currently funded? What funding sources are
under-developed within the UK archive sector? And what appropriate
advice and training support can be delivered by the Archive Sector
Development department of The National Archives to improve access to
additional funding sources?
User participation
2010-2013.
AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award, UCL:DIS in collaboration with The
National Archives, 'We think, not I think: harnessing collaborative
creativity to archival practice; implications of user participation for
archival theory and practice'.
For the original bid see http://www.ucl.ac.uk/dis/icarus/projects/CDA-Oct_2009-furtherdetails-final-headed.pdf
For further details of the project click here
Freedom of Information and records management
2008-2009. Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Shepherd
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, this project
investigated the impact of the UK Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000
on records management services in public authorities. More specifically,
the project examined how well records management services prepared for
and coped with the first three years of FOI implementation; what
contribution records management services make to the ability of public
authorities to comply with the FOI Act; how the user experience of FOI
is affected by the management of records; and the implications of FOI
for good practice in records management.
Website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/infostudies/research/icarus/foi-impact/
Community archives and identities
2007-2009. Principal Investigator: Andrew Flinn
This project investigated the importance of community archives, and in
particular the role of these archives in the production of community
identity via academic and popular public histories, exhibitions and
other interactions. Community archives are collections of materials (and
the custodial institutions or organisations which hold them) that are
created and held within communities and outside the formal heritage
sector. Although many of these initiatives have a relatively long
history, the importance of these collections has only recently been
widely recognised amongst cultural policy-makers and professional
organisations. However these collections provide many challenges to
traditional professional practices.
Website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/infostudies/research/icarus/community-archives/
Archival description and presentation
2007-2010.
AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award, UCL:DIS in collaboration with The
National Archives, 'Multiple narratives, multiple views: exploring the
shift from paper to digital archival description'. Doctoral student
Jennifer Bunn is carrying out this research.
Students’ expectations of the job market in archives and records management in the United Kingdom
2007-2008. Principal investigator: Geoffrey Yeo
This project, funded by Unilever plc, sought to investigate the
expectations and preferences of postgraduate students entering the job
market in archives and records management. The objectives of the
research were to find explanations for the varying levels of response to
advertised vacancies and offer insights into the factors and influences
that might determine whether new entrants to the profession decide to
apply for a particular job vacancy.
Digital lives
2007-2009.
This Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded project focused on
personal digital collections and their relationship with research
repositories. It brought together expert curators and practitioners in
digital preservation, digital manuscripts, literary collections,
web-archiving, history of science and oral history from the British
Library, University College London and the University of Bristol.
Website: http://www.bl.uk/digital-lives/
Research infrastructure
ICARUS has been instrumental in establishing a research infrastructure
for the emerging academic discipline of archives and records management
in the UK. Two projects, notably the AHRC-funded Network project,
ARMReN, have resulted in, for the first time, a baseline map of research
activity, a research network and the beginning of a UK research agenda.
ARMReN
2006-2007. Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Shepherd
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Networks scheme, ARMReN,
the Archives and Records Management Research Network, sought to help
develop research in the discipline of archives and records management.
It linked academics, researchers and professionals through research
workshops and archives and history seminars. It aimed to collect and
disseminate information about research projects in the theory and
practice of the management, preservation and accessibility of records,
foster the development of young academic researchers in the discipline,
act as a central point for the exchange of ideas and encourage new
collaborative partnerships.
Mapping the research landscape
2006. Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Shepherd
Funded by a British Academy Small Research Grant, this project aimed to
improve the quality and quantity of academic research in the discipline
of archives and records management by creating a map of the research
landscape for the discipline in the UK. The research sought to establish
the state of academic and professional research during the period
1995-2006, evaluate the output of research in the UK, establish how
academics and practitioners have used research findings, identify areas
of weakness and strength for research in the UK, identify research
opportunities and make proposals for future priorities for a research
agenda.
LEADERS (Linking EAD to Electronically Retrievable Sources)
2001-2004. Principal Investigator: Susan Hockey; Senior Research
Fellows: Chris Turner, Geoffrey Yeo; Research Fellow: Anna Sexton
The LEADERS project developed a generic computer-based toolset to enable
the creation of an online environment which integrated EAD encoded
finding aids and EAC authority records with TEI encoded transcripts and
digitised images of archival material, in a way that was flexible enough
to handle a wide variety of archives. The aim was to contribute
significantly to the enhanced provision of remote user access to
archives. The project was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research
Board.
Website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/leaders-project/
e-TERM (European programme for Training in Electronic Records Management)
2000-2001. Co-investigators: Margaret Crockett, Elizabeth Danbury, Elizabeth Shepherd, Geoffrey Yeo
UCL was a joint partner in a transnational project led by Archiefschool,
Amsterdam. The aim of the project was to design a trans-national
vocational training course in the management of electronic records to
meet the needs of administrators, information professionals, archivists
and records managers. e-TERM was initially targeted at educators and
training managers. It was funded by the European Commission Leonardo da
Vinci programme.
Website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/e-term/
Recently completed doctoral theses
Nancy McGovern (2009)
Technology responsiveness for digital preservation: a model
David Biggs (2007)
The records of the New Towns as a study in records management
Peter Sebina (2006)
Freedom of information and records management: a learning curve for Botswana
Segomotso Keakopa (2006)
The management of electronic records in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa: opportunities and challenges
Paola Casini (2004)
ISAD(G): synthesis or innovation in archival description traditions?
Elizabeth Shepherd (2004)
Towards professionalism? Archives and archivists in England in the 20th century
Victoria Lemieux (2002)
Competitive viability, accountability and record keeping: a
theoretical and empirical exploration using a case study of Jamaican
commercial bank failures
Emmanuel Adjei (2000)
The management of medical records in government hospitals in Ghana
Laura Millar (1996)
The end of ‘total archives’?: an analysis of changing acquisition practices in Canadian archival repositories
Recent MA thesis topics
Access and the sale of private family archives
Access to archives in France
Archival involvement in cross domain collaboration
Archival trends and their correlation with the key objectives of external funding bodies in the UK
Archives as text of remembrance
Archives of Iraq: ownership, truth, memory and identity
Are special collections in British universities still marginalised?
Developing a marketing programme for Waltham Forest Archives
E-mail management: issues, solutions, challenges and risks
Episcopal registration and the Diocese of London, c.1244-1338
Freedom of Information: illuminating the corridors of power?
Freedom of Information and records management in NHS Trusts
Funding priorities and their effect on new user groups
History groups and local heritage: independent community initiatives and professional bodies
How do archives satisfy the needs of users in an online environment?
How has the Freedom of Information Act 2000 affected archives and records management in UK public bodies?
Impact of Freedom of Information on archive services in museums and galleries
Impact of the Internet on service provision in British archives
International solidarity networks and their archives
Local history groups, archives and heritage services
London on film: the future of the capital’s moving image archives
Loss of archives through war
Making decisions on the release of sensitive information
Manorial accounts: form, content and use
Measuring the success of Black History Month events
Meeting the government agenda on lifelong learning: adult education programmes in local authority archives
Oral history and the quest for digital acceptance at the Cayman Islands National Archive
Reaching young users: archival outreach to primary school children
Records management and accountability in UK charities
Relationship between the profile of archive users and the profile and culture of the archive workforce
Role of ethics in archives
Standardisation of archival description: the case of ISAD(G) and ESARBICA
Use of archives by the ‘creative industries’
Web-based oral history in the UK
What is the value of archives?
Page last modified on 07 jul 11 08:38
