Toolkit

In 2020 we are publishing a new version of the CILIP Local Studies Group Toolkit. The aim is to produce a freely accessible online guide that will help and inspire local studies professionals and para-professionals to provide an excellent local studies service within their authority. Initially, it is being published in sections on our blog. A consolidated version will appear later. 

The toolkit is split into themes. Each theme covers a key area of our work and contains sources of ideas, tips, advice and a tool to measure your effectiveness, both as a resource and as a service.

Local Studies Collections come in all shapes and sizes, so we have chosen to focus this advice on collections held in local studies collections in focal centres around the UK, such as those held by unitary authorities or collections held in large towns or cities, but we also aim to make references to material that should be held in county collections.

The most important point is that this is aimed to be a working document for the entire community, so we need your help. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, examples of best practice that you wish to share or, even better, completely disagree with points in this guide, please let us know. This guide will only be as good as the contributions you make.

Editorial Board:

• Norma Crowe, Local Studies Librarian, Medway Archives Centre
• Julie Davis, County Local Studies Librarian, Wiltshire
• Paul Hudson, Learning & Outreach Manager, Worcestershire
• Tony Pilmer, Librarian, National Aerospace Library & formerly Local Studies Librarian, Slough (Editor-in-Chief)
• Tracey Williams, Heritage & Local Studies Librarian, Solihull

Contributors:

• The Staff of Medway Archives Centre
• Terry Bracher, Heritage Services Manager, Wiltshire
• William Farrell, Research Services Consultant, University of Leicester Library
• Martin Hayes, County Local Studies Librarian, West Sussex
• Alice Lock, Formerly Local Studies Librarian, Tameside 
• Andrew Walmsley, Formerly Community Heritage Manager, Lancashire

Thanks must also go to Don Martin who edited the Local Studies Guidelines. These Guidelines were the basis for many of the sections in this toolkit.