After a career in archives it was salutary to do prolonged research on a historical biography and discover new ways of looking at evidence. Using the personal and business papers of Silas Burroughs (1846-1895), co-founder of the pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome & Co., I now see archives more than previously through a historical mirror and reflect on lessons learnt and the issues that unite and separate our professions. How many archivists study the content of the archives they preserve? Is it now a luxury to embark on research when working as an archivist? How has digitisation and the research methods now used affected our relationships with each other? Should archivists and researchers be better at sharing their needs and roles? These and other questions will be explored.
Venue: London Metropolitan Archive, 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R 0HB.
For more information and to book tickets, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/being-archivist-and-historian-through-the-looking-glass-tickets-535872417827