A Moving Story - What We Did This Month
Our collections will be on the move to new locations in Chester and Crewe before long - so everyone has had a very busy March! Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been up to …
The boxes mentioned in last month's update have already been put to good use and, as we’re out of storage space here, we’ve transferred 135 of them to the salt mine in Winsford. Their contents will be kept safe and secure, and they can also be viewed in either of our new centres when they open.
Archivists are on the home run improving collections information ahead of the move. We’ve decided which records will be sent where but with 80% of boxes stickered blue, green or pink, we needed to ensure we’re on track for the storage space available. So our archives assistants have totted up a box count of 14,757!
The next challenge is barcoding: we need to list the contents of every box on a spreadsheet with its newly applied barcode, to audit the move and capture new shelf locations. Working in pairs to ensure absolute accuracy, we’re still coming across interesting surprises along the way – recent finds include some 19th century banking papers relating to a prosecution for theft. The original auction guide refers to “a vivid view of a Dickensian underworld, featuring such characters as ‘Worcester John’, ‘Cotton Ball Cooke’ and Sarah Woolley, aka ‘Aunt Sally’!”
Local Studies colleagues finished sorting through our Trade Directories. These are useful and popular tools for people researching local and family history. Any duplicates will be shared between Chester and Crewe and, as some of the volumes dating back to the mid-19th century are irreplaceable, they’ll be available on request in our new archive research rooms.
Our Learning Programme launched a brand new Loan Box for primary schools - its theme is Royal Reflections and a school has already requested it via the Cheshire Education Library Service. School visit packs for the new centres are in development, on Shopping Through Time and Crime and Punishment.
With only six weeks of onsite volunteering left, our brilliant volunteers have been busy, clocking up an amazing 285 hours between them in March. Volunteer Officer Katie is looking at remote opportunities for those who wish to continue when the removal vans arrive, and planning the volunteer programme for when we re-open.
Business as usual end of year tasks were tackled. Year end numbers have been crunched, essential for upcoming evaluation.
All this is to say nothing of our digital build, our Community Engagement team producing audio tours and oral histories, and Conservation’s continuous challenge with oversized items that can’t be packed into boxes. More on all of this next month!
By Hannah Bate, Archives Assistant
