ARA Midlands Summer Launch Event!

ARA Midlands is excited to offer a rare opportunity for diversity training in accessibility specifically aimed at archivists and records managers.

At our meeting in Birmingham on June 9th, Philip Milnes-Smith and Iida Saarinen will present ‘An Introduction to Disability and Accessibility for Record Keepers’. Through both presentations and small group discussion, this workshop aims to develop our understanding of disability, disability history and how to tell it. With lived experience of disability, our trainers will also offer an informed view of accessibility, including in recruitment and retention, premises and events.

Philip Milnes-Smith (he/him) is a former Special Education teacher now working as the Digital Archivist at Shakespeare's Globe. He has also worked on a disability history project at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. An ARA Diversity and Inclusion Ally, he leads the Accessibility working group.

Iida Saarinen (she/her) has a background in historical research and higher education teaching. She is currently working for National Records of Scotland as Records and Archives Engagement Archivist. An ARA Diversity and Inclusion Ally, she is also an active member of the Accessibility working group.

Philip and Iida are founder members of the Disability Collections Forum, which was established in 2022 to support colleagues working with disability collections in libraries, archives and museums.

The workshop will be held at the Birmingham Midlands Institute (BMI) in the heart of Birmingham, 11 minutes from New Street Station, and will run from 11am to 4pm. Lunch and a tour of the BMI’s historic library are included.

Tickets are priced at an unmissable £6 for ARA members and £9 for non-members, plus Eventbrite fees (please provide your membership number when booking).

Philip and Iida will be providing extensive handouts and offering further opportunities to continue the CPD and conversations outside the session.

What others have said:

• “A brilliant event, more of the same please!”
• “outstanding presentation”
• “interesting and thought provoking”
• “as a person with direct lived experience I felt heard and hopeful for the future of the sector”

If not now, then when? Book your place today!

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Birmingham & Midland Institute, 9 Margaret Street, Birmingham, United Kingdom