Take a look at the new community archives website - an easy way to look at archive content from all over the UK in one place.
The National Council on Archives launched Britain's first community website for archives on September 26 to help celebrate the start of the Archive Awareness campaign 2006.
From Hereford's Cider Museum to Derbyshire's Magic Attic Archives, www.communityarchives.org.uk showcases a wide variety of archives and helps people uncover the treasures lying in the country's collections.
The site offers a unique forum for archives to communicate with each other to share opinion and promote their collections and special events.
The Archives Awareness website
Members of the public are encouraged to contribute their own experiences of their local archives and discover how their community has changed over the years.
This year's Archive Awareness campaign launches this autumn with a record number of events taking place in archives across the UK over the next few months.
The 2006 theme is 'Neighbourhoods and Woods' and encourages people to investigate the history of their own community and woodland.
"The Archive Awareness Campaign has gone from strength to strength in the last three years and we hope this year's campaign will encourage even more people to enjoy their local archives. The new website, www.communityarchives.org.uk, offers a fantastic chance for people to connect with their local history and learn more about their community," said Ruth Savage, Policy and Development Officer of the National Council on Archives.
The Campaign aims to reveal the treasures of the 2000 archives across the UK and Ireland. It is supported by the National Council on Archives, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and The National Archives.
For more details about this year's Archive Awareness Campaign visit www.archiveawareness.com
