Residents can explore thousands of historic photos and news clippings from Canvey Island’s past when the Canvey Community Archive holds its next session at Canvey Library on Saturday 11 July.
The free drop-in runs from 10am to noon on the High Street, with no booking needed. Visitors can browse a selection of images and articles spanning decades, read people’s memories, and see the community website at canveyisland.org. Children who are at school can bring their passports to be stamped, and anyone with their own photos or recollections is invited to bring them along — the archive team will scan contributions for inclusion on the site.
The archive launched in April 2008 in partnership with the Essex Record Office, Essex County Council Libraries, and East of England Museums Libraries and Archives, but has always been run by local residents. Within three months of going live it won a regional prize in the Nationwide Community & Heritage Awards, and a 2015 Heritage Lottery Fund Award funded new equipment and the ‘Taking the Archive to the People’ outreach scheme, which particularly targeted older residents without computer access. More recently the team saved a local papers collection, adding around 2,000 photos, and they are preparing to scan a large backlog of negatives.
The digital repository now holds over 8,500 pages of island history and attracts about 13,000 site visits a month from more than 1,000 registered online readers worldwide. Its educational role is formally recognised by the Children’s University, which lists the archive as a Learning Destination. The library sessions form part of a regular programme of monthly events designed to connect the physical collection with residents who might not engage with it online.
Archive volunteer Janet Penn can be reached on 01268 511945 for further details.
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