Situated in the stunning Dyfi Valley, Dyfi Biosphere (colloquially known as Ecodyfi) is a Machynlleth-based organisation which contributes to local projects to help encourage sustainability and community participation with a focus on ecology and economy. It began its first project in 1998 and has grown to take on multiple projects since. Understandably, with multiple projects comes the creation of numerous records which need sorting and organising for future use and preservation.
WHAT ARE WE DOING?
As a result of numerous records being created at the Dyfi Biosphere, it became the job of trainee archivists studying the MA degree in Archives and Records Management at Aberystwyth University to appraise the records in the Dyfi Biosphere office. The records deemed suitable for archiving would then be sent to the National Library of Wales’ archives, where they would be kept for long-term preservation alongside other collections concerning environmental activities. Other records regarding the conception of the organisation itself would remain on site at the Dyfi Biosphere office, while others irrelevant to either organisation would be recycled.
This project involved the student archivists working hard over a period of 10 weeks to sort through an abundance of records located in the small office space and side room at the facility through the tasks of locating, identifying, labelling, and examining every single record within the space!
THE RECORDS
The records themselves ranged from official project plans to printed correspondence e-mails, existing in a variety of different formats. These formats ranged from A4 paper documents to huge plastic records which were too large to be opened within the space (as well as the occasional odd floppy disk or videotape)! Some of these records included a variety of activities such as a collection of relief maps for windfarm developments, artist collaboration posters for promoting projects, and local community-based gardening schemes.
The content of the records themselves mostly included references to projects that had been established and contributed to by Dyfi Biosphere, such as short festivals in Machynlleth’s town centre which hugely benefit the local community. However, there were also projects which involved long-term engagement and widespread involvement, such as Tyfu Dyfi, a project which encourages sustainable food production and growth in the region.
Overall, the number of records being sent to the National Library of Wales was staggering, with 10 boxes of records including 153 files (and that’s not including all the records that were kept at the institution or destroyed)!
Additionally, a catalogue was created to provide the Dyfi Biosphere staff as well as the National Library of Wales with information about the records in their care. As all records are accounted for and organised in terms of projects they relate to, this will allow for the finding of records to be a much easier task in future!
The project had the archivist students learn a variety of new skills in terms of archival practice and methods of records management. Experience in digital cataloguing, for example, was something that the students had to pick up quickly. Alongside this, many of the students had never attempted a packaging project before, so this was a first for them in terms of practical experience. Students learned to appropriately label and describe records, handle material with care, and organise them in a suitable way to complete the two catalogues to professional standards.
PARTING WORDS
This archiving project helped give the National Library of Wales important records regarding Dyfi Biosphere’s projects to add to their collections regarding environmental projects in the Dyfi region, while simultaneously equipping the trainee archivists with essential and invaluable experience for their future careers in the archives and records management sector.
Written by Aberystwyth Archive Administration Students
Category: Article