Another busy week filled with many different activities. I carried on with the archiving and preparation of various documentary archives initially, and was given another set of archives to prepare for Newbury. Finally I have worked my way through the Hampshire archive and placed all the files into document cases ready for deposition, and in addition to that I have almost completed my assigned tasks for Buckinghamshire - so my to-do list is shrinking slightly! The majority of Wednesday to Friday was spent repackaging a selection of physical archives destined for the Museum of London. Naturally, strict guidelines needed to be followed meaning that finds that had been packaged even slightly incorrectly needed to be repacked. Hopefully I have met the standards they expect!
I also caught up on some reading this week, focusing on caring for digital data in archaeology. With digital data becoming increasingly common there is a growing concern that physical media is impermanent, and constantly changing, so other methods are necessary for preservation. Digital archiving ensures that information is preserved regardless of how it has been stored in the first place. This archiving process, like the documentary and physical one, comes with set standards that ensure the data is manageable and easy to access.
By Catherine Coates