'A permanent house for local archives': a case study of a community's archives in County Offaly

摘要

Local authority archives services are a vital component in the development of the local history or the collective memory of a region. This article will examine communities that do not have ready access to local records. It will also examine the alternative solutions sought by such communities when preserving their documentary heritage and the importance of establishing a physical collection of archives in a locality. Despite legislation stipulating that each local authority must preserve and make available its archives, Ireland does not yet have a uniform local authority archive service model. Many city and county councils throughout the country have neither professional archivists nor standard archives services, leaving the preservation of archival materials in certain local authorities to national institutions, historical societies or private collectors.This article presents findings from a case study in 2014 of one such local authority, County Offaly. The article begins by presenting the theories in archival literature in relation to archives, community and memory.The article proceeds to an analysis of the local authority archive sector in Ireland, before presenting the perspectives of various stakeholders in County Offaly using data gathered from interviews and questionnaires. The study concludes that in the absence of local authority archives services, community archives will emerge to collect and preserve the documentary heritage of their regions.