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This module is inetended to introduce you to the nature of archives, to the history and development of the pattern of archive keeping in the UK, and to the current legislative and strategic frame within archive services operate. It also considers the issues associated with the design and management of archive buildings and storage, preservation, conservation and access which taken together constitute the "physical defence" of archives.

This module is concerned with the many and various classes of records that may be found in county and other non-specialist record offices, such as the principal classes of local, public, official and deposited records, which range widely in date and content from medieval to modern times. Particular attention is given to the relationship between the creators and the records they create, with the purpose of fostering the contextual understanding that is essential both to the appropriate management of archives and records and to their use for research and information purposes.

Palaeography and Diplomatic provide the necessary expertise for the study and interpretation of official documents. Palaeography, however, has a broader significance, since it extends beyond official documents to include the whole range of manuscript material which has survived from previous centuries, whatever its context. Palaeography is the study of old handwriting, with the primary aim of learning to read it, but with further, more subtle purposes, as indicated above. Diplomatic is the study of the form of official documents, considering both "external" and "internal" characteristics, and especially the standard formulae common to particular categories. The general purpose is to achieve correct interpretation but, as with Palaeography, Diplomatic involves a range of skills.

The `moral defense? of archives will be dealt with from acquisition to appraisal, weeding, sampling, de-accessioning, sorting, arranging, describing and the preparation of finding aids. The emphasis of the module is on students gaining a firm grasp of the principles that underpin archival description and of the relevant national and international standards. A substantial part of the course is concerned with the impact of information technology on archival description and the dissemination of archival information by electronic means. Students will have the opportunity to use CALM2000, the current leading archive management software package. Students will also be made aware of current initiatives to create archive networks and of the development of protocols for electronic data exchange particularly Encoded Archival Description.

Within a survey approach, and concentraning on post-Conquest developments, this module considers the administrative structures of government and other organisations that generated substantial ranges and series of records from medieval times to the seventeenth century, and demonstrates the continuing history of offices and institutions which originate in the middle ages and evolve through modern times. It therefore provides a framework of knowledge for the Sudy of Records, and Palaeography and Diplomatic modules.

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