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From Your Archives

What is Your Archives?

Your Archives is an exciting and accessible resource that enables anyone to share their knowledge of Britain's rich archival heritage and to reuse historical information in a way that has not previously been possible.

What technology does Your Archives use?

Your Archives is a wiki, built using MediaWiki, the same technology pioneered by Wikipedia online encyclopaedia. Therefore, users familiar with this technology will recognise the design of Your Archives.

Launch of Your Archives

Your Archives was launched in April 2007 as part of The National Archives' online services. It is a community of record users where people can share their knowledge of British history and archival sources held by The National Archives, and by other archives throughout the UK. Your Archives is clearly distinct from The National Archives' main website, because it is designed for you to develop and use as you undertake your research into the nation's archives and history.

What you can do on Your Archives

Users can contribute to Your Archives in numerous ways. You can:

• edit pre-existing pages
• submit your articles about historical subjects
• submit your articles about records held by The National Archives or elsewhere
• expand upon a Catalogue entry
• publish your transcription of a document, including ones that are available on DocumentsOnline and other online services
• add information to build upon The National Archives' other resources such as the Research Guides and the National Register of Archives
• use it as a workbook to store useful information discovered during your archival research
• collaborate with other users working on similar subjects or to work together on research projects

How you can see original archival documents

Most articles in Your Archives contain links to The National Archives' online Catalogue which may provide further information about the document and allow you to browse or search for similar material. By following the link to the Catalogue you can also order the document to see if you decide to visit The National Archives, or to order copies.

Let us know what you think

User feedback is very important to the continued improvement of Your Archives, so please contact us via the Feedback page if you have any ideas, concerns, or words of praise.

Please contribute and let us know what you think.