#Archive30 day 21. A thread about some classic #misconceptions about archives (aka an excuse to wallow in a few of my personal hobby horses):
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Misconception 1: Archives are dusty. This is the lazy journalist's stereotype or the dream of the odd scholar who perceives romance in a sprinkle of fairy dust.
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Few archives are literally dusty. Fewer still are metaphorically dusty. Those who have charge of archives follow a philosophy of care, not neglect.
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Misconception 2: Archives are all boring old files. A cursory glance at #Archive30 shows that this is untrue. Here are some examples of the variety of what can be found in government archives:
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Chemistry lesson INF 10/41/13
Mince pies SP 14/189, f 7
Treasure Island NSC 5/215
Tally sticks E 402/2
@UKNatArchives
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Blackpool rock MAF 100/53
King George IV & Queen Caroline TS 11/115/326/19
Lost colony of Roanoke MPG 1/584
Swans & reeds BT 43/101/313051
@UKNatArchives
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& finally, a penguin using a bow & arrows.
@UkNatArchives MR 1/1007/12
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Misconception 3: Archives are only for historians. Archives are not just about history. They are evidence of rights & responsibilities. But most people who use archives are, unsurprisingly, interested in the past.
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I believe that archives should be for everyone: partly because archives are interesting, surprising, heartbreaking & cool, & partly because the right of access is not limited to the few, the 'deserving' or the intellectual elite.
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Archives are for everyone because everyone deserves to have a past.
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