Croydon (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Croydon Borough’s archives have secured a £10,000 grant to support research and public engagement, prompting fresh examination of historical records.
The Museum of Croydon has thus ate the news that the city’s libraries division has been awarded a £10,000 entitlement to support exploration for a special design.
After Jason Perry and his Conservative abettors vended off a sizable portion of the Riesco Collection of priceless, ancient, and antique Chinese pottery, the Museum, housed in the Croydon Clocktower, lost its sanctioned delegation.
In the meantime, four libraries have been shut down, books have been thrown out onto the street, and the facilities have been renamed “hubs” and given to private businesses and community organizations in place of librarians with formal training. The Year of Culture and more than £1 million in financing from the London Mayor came and went without leaving a lasting impression.
Therefore, the relatively modest £10,000 research and innovation grant from The National Archives, allocated directly to the council’s cultural team, represents a positive shift in circumstances.
In essence, the grant will be used to engage a researcher to try and figure out why Croydon residents aren’t using the borough’s archives. Some of the answers to their queries should be fairly clear.
“Access for All: Researching and Redesigning the Croydon Archives Digital Experience”
is the title of the project.
According to the Museum of Croydon:
“This research-led pilot will explore how different communities engage with our digital platforms, identifying motivations, interests, barriers and opportunities.
A freelance specialist will lead focus groups and user research, working with remote users, younger audiences and people who do not normally engage with our offer – to try out new ideas and co-design improvements to our website, catalogue and other digital engagement platforms.”
And then there’s this:
“The project will culminate in a creative digital engagement output and a sector-facing guidance document…,” our italics. They mean “report”, “… to support inclusive digital engagement across the archive sector.”
“This project is about opening up our heritage to everyone and making sure our stories are accessible to all,”
stated Jason Perry, the guy who shut down libraries, assisted in the sale of ceramics, and used public funding to enrich his business associates. which is pleasant.
Meanwhile, the Museum’s Atrium Gallery just inaugurated an exhibition of old photos of Croydon taken a century ago.
50 photographs by Charles Harrison Price from 1903 to 1939 make up Croydon Through the Lens of Charles Harrison Price, which provides an amazing window into pre-war Croydon.
Before selfies were a must-have for Victorian and Edwardian up-and-comers, Price’s professional employment was studio portraiture. However, when Price left his studio, he was always prepared with his camera to record people, events, and local scenes.
“Travelling around the borough with a cumbersome box camera in the sidecar of his motorbike, Price supplemented his studio income photographing everyday scenes for postcards,”
the Museum says.
The exhibition is a welcome partnership between the Museum of Croydon, CNHSS, and another reputable local history organization, the Bourne Society. The photographs in it come from the collection of John Gent, a former president of the long-standing and highly regarded Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society.
The show is available at the Museum of Croydon, Atrium Gallery, Level 0, Croydon Clocktower, Katharine Street, CR9 1ET, Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
How will the £10,000 grant be spent by the archives team?
The £10,000 entitlement to Croydon Libraries funds a freelance experimenter for the” Access for All” design to boost digital engagement. Benefits involve agitating walls to use the website, roster, and online coffers, helping shape redesigns for better public engagement without taking previous moxie.
Primary spending covers experimenter freights for running focus groups, assaying feedback from different druggies, and developing recommendations to redesign the website, online roster, and digital platforms.
Remaining finances support producing a creative digital resource showcasing findings, plus guidance for the libraries sector on inclusive practices, addressing low operationpost-austerity cuts. The design examines how different communities interact with the website, online roster, and other digital coffers, relating provocations, interests, walls, and openings for enhancement.