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There is no summary of this meeting yet. One is written once the council publishes the minutes. The agenda and papers are below.
In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by both Authorities, the following interest was declared: Councillor R V Smith – Item 4 (Accessions to Archives) – Personal.
Resolved that the Minutes of the West Glamorgan Archives Committee meeting held on 13 September 2024 be approved as a correct record.
Further to the minutes of the previous meeting, the County Archivist verbally updated members of the committee on the following matters: Archives Online Catalogue – the process around the new contract continues to be progressed via IT and the supplier and will hopefully be signed off shortly, which will enable the catalogue to be back online in the new year. Joint Working – the bid for funding had unfortunately been unsuccessful ,but archives staff have since liaised with members of LBGTQIA+ community to discuss an oral recording of memories etc, and this seems to be a good way forward.
The County Archivist presented a report which outlined the work of the Joint Archive Service during the period September – November 2024. Use of the Service He reported on the figures relating the use of the service via its various platforms both in person and online. Talks and Seminars He reported that three schools have received sessions during the period since the last meeting. He outlined that the service has contacted all the schools in the local area that had previously entered the Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative to explore whether they we could assist with any current historical projects. This includes 7 schools from Swansea and 9 from Neath Port Talbot. Chris Saunders outlined he would share the archives services details with all schools in NPT via their monthly meetings with headteachers in the new year, this should help raise awareness and hopefully increase take up. The service has also run three sessions for university students and continues to host the monthly meeting of the Glamorgan Family History Society, Swansea Branch. Other Engagement and Joint Working He outlined that further to the discussions at the last meeting of the Archives Committee, staff met with Harriet Eaton, Neath Port Talbot Heritage Officer, who provides a service to schools within Neath Port Talbot. The purpose of the meeting was to explore ways in which we could work together effectively and support Harriet in the work she does. As a result of the meeting the service had also identified some new communication channels to publicise the work we do for schools within Neath Port Talbot. The Archive Service has submitted digital copies of several documents, with associated descriptions, to a project run by National Museum Liverpool called House of Memories, a museum-led dementia awareness programme which offers training, access to resources, and activities to enable carers to provide person-centred care for people living with dementia. The Archive Service had also hosted the launch of History of Swansea vol. 3, part 1 by Gerald Gabb in the searchroom on November 4th. Online Exhibition He outlined that the service has recently prepared an online exhibition on the Aberafan Charter, which was granted to the borough of Afan by Leysan ap Morgan, lord of Afan, in c.1306. He outlined his view that the charter is one of the jewels of our collection and is a unique example of a charter granting rights to a borough from a Welsh Lord rather than a Norman. Rarely seen by the public, it has perhaps not received the attention it deserves previously, and this exhibition is aimed at remedying the situation, and tells the story of the charter and how it came to be written, and links it with the old charter chest that is on display near the public entrance to Port Talbot Civic Centre. It also features a new transcription and translation of the charter, as well as a facsimile of its text and seal. The intention of this is to make it widely available and to enable it to be studied and understood. It is our intention to continue to do this with our other medieval charters as time permits. It can be viewed on our website at https://www.swansea.gov.uk/archivesaberafancharter Digital Preservation He reported that the Archive Service has entered into a joint consortium for the management of digital archives in Wales. This consists of West Glamorgan, Gwent, Glamorgan, Conwy, North East Wales Archives, and Swansea and Cardiff Universities. University of Wales Trinity St David (UWTSD) has now withdrawn, but Powys Archives has since expressed an interest in joining. As a result of the withdrawal of UWTSD, the original plans to put together a funding bid for an additional member of staff to upload digital material into the repository on behalf of the three Swansea-based repositories have not been pursued, but capacity has been found for our part of the work to be completed by our existing staff. Training will become available in January and the work of uploading the material will begin then. Moving the Collections He outlined that building work continues on the former BHS building in Swansea to transform it into Y Storfa, Archive Service staff are continuing behind-the-scenes work in preparation for the move. Progress has been solid and the position is that 95% of the volumes and rolled maps have been boxed, all other material is boxed, and all the boxes have been barcoded to help keep track of them during the move. Staff are also undertaking a project to monitor the environment within the boxes, to ensure that as full picture as possible is known about the strongrooms’ environmental conditions prior to the move. Environmental conditions in the new premises will also be monitored and stabilised before the collections can be moved. In the meantime, two industrial dehumidifiers have been deployed as backup to ensure that the collections are in the best condition possible before the move. Staff He reported that Lowri Jenkins had left her position at the end of October, she had been in post as Archivist since May. This left a vacancy in a pivotal role in the Archive Service and efforts were made to recruit a successor as soon as possible. In her place we have recently appointed Amy Mitchell, a recent graduate from the Aberystwyth University archives course, and she will start work early in the New Year. Professional Meetings and Training He listed the various professional groups, meetings and training undertaken by staff had attended during the quarter. Accessions of Archive Collections He detailed the various archives received by the Service during the quarter.
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