If you have collected or inherited papers and photographs that document your family and want to ensure that they can be understood and used by future generations, this is the course for you!
Founded in 1948 under the auspices of UNESCO, the International Council on Archives (ICA) is the international Non-Governmental Organization that represents archive institutions and professionals. Its mission is to promote the effective management of archives and the preservation, care and use of the world’s archival heritage.
Today ICA is launching its new online learning course “Organising Family Archives” to a wider audience. It is specially designed to provide simple and practical guidance to anyone responsible for looking after this precious family heritage.
The course explores taking care of family archives, covering what they are, how to organise and list them, how to package and look after them so that they are properly preserved, what should be kept and what can be discarded, the particular requirements for ensuring computer records will be accessible and readable in the future, how to create digital copies to share with family members and planning your project to identify, document and preserve the family archives. There are also references to useful resources.
This training, aimed at a wide audience, has been specifically developed by Margaret Crockett, ICA’s Training Officer, who is a qualified archivist and consultant with experience in providing support and guidance in looking after personal or organisational archives to those new to the field.
REGISTER HERE
This course is available in English and French
The course is intended for the general public, no prior knowledge of using or working in archives is necessary.
The course consists of the following nine sections:
About this course: guidance for learners new to ICA’s online learning platform, overview of the course and the learning outcomes
Family Archives: what they are and how they are different from other information forms
Organising Archives: how to establish and document a structure for the archives and why this is important
Deciding what to Keep: why we don’t keep all records and information forever, how to choose what to keep
Keeping Family Archives: how to handle, package and store archives in traditional formats to ensure they are properly preserved for future generations
Managing Digital Archives: how to create, save, take in and preserve family archives in digital formats so they can be found and used over time
Digitising Family Archives: why and how to digitise family archives
Action Plan: how to manage your family archives project
Wrap-up: conclusion and advice on next steps
This course includes downloadable presentations, documents and videos, plus quizzes and optional exercise for you to test your understanding. Together these sections amount to a total of 6 hours. You have 3 months to complete the full course.
Course materials can be downloaded on to computers, smartphones and tablets and require an internet connection.
An ICA Certificate is issued upon successful completion of the quiz tests with 60% correct answers.
Online course fee: In view of the current exceptional global situation, the ICA is making this course available at a reduced rate €50