Local studies and me

Janet Knight, Local Studies Assistant at the Rochester upon Medway Studies Centre from 1993 to 2008, looks back at her time in local studies:

Firstly I would like to declare that working as a local studies and archives assistant for many years was fulfilling, exhilarating and fascinating.

My schooling after the War was mediocre and as much as I loved history not everyone in our class did, so lessons ended up being all giggles and yawns.

I did a variety of jobs over the years. I worked as a rental car manager for 10 years, but it was never what I ever imagined myself doing. It was extremely stressful and at times very unrewarding with no fulfilment. My real love was history especially medieval.

So imagine my joy when I applied for and got a job at Rochester upon Medway Studies Centre in 1993. At my interview I was given my first glance of the strongroom it was full of wonderment and surprises, then I was shown the Local Studies Area and  I knew I just had to land the position of Local Studies Assistant.

How incredibly lucky was I that the Team at the Centre saw in me a passion for history and a desire to learn about past and present life. They offered me a once in a lifetime experience of working with archives and local studies. In the many years I worked at the Centre it never disappointed.

So what was it that made this job, being a local studies and archives assistant, so special?

Local Studies and Archives are closely linked but different.  When used correctly and together Archive collections and Local Studies collections are a marriage made in Heaven.

For instance, the Local Studies materials could help answer questions posed by documents in the Archive collection or fill the gaps between official documents and so assist researchers.

It was about caring and preserving unique and rare documents and then making them available to all who want to research the history, people, places, and events of the local area.

It was about using and spreading information to all ages. It was about needing to provide and care for ephemera, photographs, written evidence, memory tapes and so very much more. It was about protecting all these resources for future generations to share. It was about keeping wonderful documents for ever- never to be lost.

And now in the computer age it is about saving them and sharing them in whatever format is desired.

Local Studies staff of course need training and qualifications; these are very are important.  But this job requires a passion and dedication to finding out about the past and sharing it with people today and in the future. I am so glad that I was given the opportunity.