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#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.
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 2/n
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 2/n
Few archives are literally dusty. Fewer still are metaphorically dusty. Those who have charge of archives follow a philosophy of care, not neglect.
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 3/n
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 3/n
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:
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 4/n
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 4/n
Chemistry lesson 
INF 10/41/13
Mince pies SP 14/189, f 7
Treasure Island NSC 5/215
Tally sticks E 402/2
@UKNatArchives
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 5/n
INF 10/41/13Mince pies
SP 14/189, f 7Treasure Island
NSC 5/215Tally sticks
E 402/2@UKNatArchives
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 5/n
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
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 6/n
MAF 100/53King George IV & Queen Caroline
TS 11/115/326/19Lost colony of Roanoke
MPG 1/584 Swans & reeds
BT 43/101/313051 @UKNatArchives
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 6/n
& finally, a penguin using a bow & arrows.
@UkNatArchives MR 1/1007/12
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 7/n
@UkNatArchives
MR 1/1007/12 #Archive30 #Misconceptions 7/n
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.
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 8/n
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 8/n
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.
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 9/n
#Archive30 #Misconceptions 9/n
Archives are for everyone because everyone deserves to have a past.
#Archive30 #ArchivesForEveryone 10/10
#Archive30 #ArchivesForEveryone 10/10
