Swansea score
Neath score
Pre-visit information (telephone) Pre-visit information (printed materials)
100% 95%
96% 96%
Website Opening hours Physical access to and in the building Visitor facilities Catalogues and guides (including online guides) Document delivery Microfilm and fiche viewing facilities Copy services On site computer facilities Quality and appropriateness of the staff’s advice Helpfulness and friendliness of the staff The archive’s service overall
91% 89% 100% 100% 100% 98% 88% 98% 98% 98% 100% 100%
96% 80% 78% 91% 93% 92% 90% 100% 97% 100% 97% 100%
Percentage of correspondents who rated the Service as ‘good’ or ‘very good’
Staff changes In May 2012, Lorna Crook joined the staff as a part-time Family History Centre Supervisor. Lorna is a keen family historian herself and has previous work experience with Swansea Council. She has written an article for this report, which can be found below. Lorna has been job-sharing the post with Elizabeth Belcham, who will retire in 2013. Elizabeth has provided invaluable assistance to family historians in Swansea for over twenty years, in both West Glamorgan Archives and Swansea Register Office, and is known to many of our regular researchers. We all join in wishing her a long and happy retirement. The Archive Trainee for 2012/13 is Catrin James. Catrin is a BA graduate in Fine Art from the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (now Cardiff Metropolitan University). During July, August and September 2012, the Service hosted Mike Richards during part of his traineeship on the HLF-funded Conserving Local Communities Heritage (CLOCH) Project, which is led by Glamorgan Archives and is aimed at recruiting local unemployed men under the age of 30 into the heritage sector. Mike has now secured a permanent post with Swansea Libraries. Volunteers during the year have included Stephanie Basford-Morris, Howard Batey, Sarah Chapman, John Curtis, Steffan Dennis, Christine Febbraro, Ashley Jenkins, Vivien Lake, Kirsty Matthews, Susan McGuire and Heledd Williams. 12
Annual Report of the County Archivist 2012-2013