Frequently asked questions

Q: What is the Community Archives Development Group (CADG)?

A:  CADG is the sponsor of this research. It is made up of organisations and individuals concerned with community archives and provides a forum for regular exchange of views and information and a vehicle for development. It has been affiliated to the National Council on Archives (NCA) since July 2005.

Q: What are community archives?

A: They are groups of evidence brought together by people sharing an interest in finding out about their community and how it developed. They preserve an account of its past and present and often build on this to create awareness, interest and activity in the wider community.

Q: What is uniquely important about community archives?

A: Community archives allow groups of people who may often be unrepresented or overlooked in their society to identify, explore and celebrate their own communities.

Q: What is the biggest impact of community archives?

A:  Community archives allow users to develop new skills, and they promote historic narratives that would otherwise be lost.  And because community archives are a grassroots development, participation is empowering and encourages a sense of belonging to a community.

Q: What is in community archives?

A: Photographs, documents and oral histories arranged so as to represent a community’s understanding of its history and identity. The community may be based in the same geographical area, or it may be a community related by a shared interest, occupation, identity or ethnicity.   Most projects are geographically based, but a number are united by a common interest instead.

Q: How many community archives groups are there in the UK?

A: Difficult to be precise, because some groups may use different terms to describe their activities. But the category of community archives is now widely recognised and our research produced a lower estimate of 1,000 community archives and higher estimate of 5,000. We feel confident that a mid-point figure of 3,000 is a realistic estimate.

Q:  What is the origin of community archives?

A:  The local history groups popular in the 1960s and 1970s were in some ways precursors to community archive groups.   In the 1980s and 1990s the collapse of key industries threw many communities into crisis and generated a new concern with their historical identity. The recently-increased popularity of family history may also have encouraged more community archives to develop.

Q: Who runs community archives?

A: Most community archives have no paid staff and between one and fifty active volunteers. 30,000 volunteers are estimated to be actively engaged with community archives throughout the UK.

Q: What sorts of records are found in community archives?

A:  50% collect documents and sound archives – including oral history. Nearly 70% collect photographs and 80%  create electronic records from these sources.

Q: How are community archives run?

A: Many community archives are loosely constituted.  Fewer than 25% are registered charities and another 30% are part of an existing organisation.  45% are run completely informally.

A recent development has been the intervention of local authorities (for example in Norfolk and Cambridge) to help support and link together community archive groups, often using the Internet as the linking mechanism.

Q: How are community archives funded?

A: 50% receive funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).  More than 25% rely on donations and subscriptions.