British Records Association

Category: News

  • Apply for the Janette Harley Prize

    We are delighted to announce that entry to the 2025 Janette Harley Prize is now open. The prize is intended to generate interest in archives, and raise awareness of research and achievements in the world of archives. It is open to applications from archivists, conservators, owners of archives, and researchers, including academic researchers, local historians and genealogists. The judges are particularly keen to receive more entries from conservators and local historians.

    Submissions do not need to have been published in hard copy. They can include electronic publications, blogs and other online means of promoting archives.

    A prize of £500 will be awarded to the winning entry.

    Previous winners of the Harley Prize:

    2024: Dr Eliza Wheaton (editor), for ‘Loving and Obedient? Family Correspondence of the Mores of Loseley Park, 1537-1686’ (Surrey Record Society vol. XLVIII, 2023).

    2023: the Prize was shared between two entries: Dr Ian Forrest and Christopher Whittick (translators and editors), for ‘The Visitation of Hereford Diocese in 1397’ (Canterbury & York Society, vol. CXI, 2021); and Dr Imogen Peck (Birmingham University), for “‘Of no sort of use’?: Manuscripts, Memory, and the Family Archive in Eighteenth Century England” (Cultural and Social History, vol. 20:2 for 2023, pp.183-204), and the accompanying blog series and online resources, part of the ‘Family Archives in Early Modern England’ research project supported by the Leverhulme Trust.

    2022: the joint winners were Dr Janet Weston (Centre for History in Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) and Charlie Barnes (Dead Earnest Theatre) for ‘Power and Protection – the history of the Court of Protection’, two short films and a website created as part of ‘Measuring Mental Capacity’, a research study funded by the Wellcome Trust. The films and website can be found online.

    The closing date for entries to the 2025 Janette Harley Prize is 31 July. We hope to announce the winning entry in November and the prize presentation will take place at the same time as the annual Maurice Bond Lecture, in spring 2026.

    Terms and conditions and further details about how to apply can be found on the BRA website. For any queries and to submit entries, please email our Secretary.

  • New Editorial Board members needed

    The British Records Association (BRA) provides an independent voice for archives. It promotes the preservation, understanding, accessibility and study of our recorded heritage for the public benefit: the nation’s records preserved, accessed and interpreted for the benefit of all.

    ARCHIVES is the journal of the Association, supporting its aims by publishing essays, commentaries, case studies and reports on all aspects of the care, preservation, accessibility and use of archives. ARCHIVES has been promoting the use of archives since 1949. It is now published in print and online in partnership with Liverpool University Press.

    The current editorial board has come to the end of its term and we now seek to appoint new members who will advise and assist the hon. editor in achieving the journal’s aims. We welcome the expertise of recently retired archivists and historians as well as applications from early career individuals who wish to broaden their experience and enhance their professional development by building their professional networks and gaining recognition for their role in shaping the development of the journal.

    Some of the ways that board members might be asked to assist are:

    • reviewing submitted manuscripts and/or help to identify appropriate reviewers;
    • making suggestions for both subject matter and potential authors, especially in areas that are currently under represented, such as post 1900 resources, minority communities, digital content, and archive holdings in Scotland, Wales, Ireland and beyond the British Isles;
    • actively promoting the journal to authors, readers, and appropriate academic and archival institutions;
    • promoting awareness of significant new accessions and retro cataloguing projects;
    • circulating information about conferences/events that could be used as journal promotion opportunities;
    • Participating in the updating of any policies and procedures in order better to reflect the needs of the journal.

    In order to facilitate the journal’s ability to keep up with changing professional and academic concerns, members of the board will be appointed for a five year term which may be renewed.

    BRA is a  registered charity. It has a limited budget and so is unable to offer remuneration related to the post.

    If you are interested in applying, or would like to know more, please contact us.

  • Basic Archive Skills Training

    The British Records Association is pleased to have the opportunity to support Margaret Crockett and Janet Foster (both formerly of The Archive-Skills Consultancy Ltd) in the delivery of their long-running Basic Archive Skills Training Day, originally developed in 1991. This online course is designed to provide participants with a basic grounding in the fundamental understanding and skills required for those making their way in today’s world of archives and records management.

    The first of the Training Days under BRA administration (which will continue to be delivered by Margaret and Janet, with Mark Pomeroy and Jonathan Rhys-Lewis as guest speakers) will take place on Thursday 5th June 2025.

    Places on the course may be booked on Eventbrite.