From Pithead to Sickbed and Beyond exhibition

The National Library of Wales is hosting an exhibition until April 2nd 2016 entitled From Pithead to Sickbed and Beyond. Here's the description:

A partnership exhibition with the National Waterfront Museum Swansea, which looks at the buried history of disability in the British coal industry between 1780 and 1948 and before the NHS. Drawing on new historical research the exhibition tackles questions such as: How were disabled people in coal mining communities treated and viewed, what were their lives like and what does the history of disability in the South Wales Coalfield teach us?

The exhibition is being held in the Upper Central Hall at the facility in Aberystwyth. Further details available at https://www.llgc.org.uk/index.php?id=6801.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including my recently released Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html. My Pinterest account is at https://www.pinterest.com/chrismpaton/.

TNA podcast - the history of learning disability

The latest podcast from the National Archives at Kew is entitled He is so silly he would rather have a half pence than a shilling: Discovering the history of learning disability. It is a 48 minute long talk by Simon Jarrett about "the history of people with learning disabilities, known variously over time as idiots, imbeciles, defectives and the mentally handicapped".

To listen to the talk visit http://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/discovering-the-history-of-learning-disability/ or download for free from iTunes.

Chris

My latest genealogy books are Tracing Your Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), Discover Scottish Civil Registration Records, and Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet. My next Pharos course is Scotland 1750-1850: Beyond the OPRs, which commences May 14th 2014, 5 weeks, price £45.99.

Jodi Awards 2013

The Jodi Awards are presented annually to "promote the cultural equality of disabled people through the use of accessible digital media; the provision of accessible information and learning content; the involvement of disabled people in the process of creation, design and evaluation of digital media." The initiative is steered by the Jodi Mattes Trust, which was created in 2003 as part of the European Year of Disabled People. Started in England, the project was extended to Wales in 2006 thanks to support from CyMAL, then to Scotland in 2008, thanks to support from support of Museums Galleries Scotland, Scottish Libraries and Information Council and the Scottish Archive Network.

As part of the initiative's tenth anniversary three new awards are to be presented this coming November for the following categories - Access Planning and User Involvement, Innovation, and Legacy and Impact. There will also be an International Award for best website outside the UK. For details of previous winners see www.jodiawards.org.uk/awards-listing. NB: "The judges will be particularly interested in projects that have been evaluated after completion of the project."

Who can submit a nomination? "Museums, art galleries, heritage sites, archives, libraries, and disability organisations can submit a nomination, as well as commercial companies (commercial companies are invited to submit nominations in association with a service provider)." For more, see www.jodiawards.org.uk/eligibility.

Full details of the application criteria, and the nomination form itself, are available at www.jodiawards.org.uk/home. The deadline for applications to be submitted is Friday August 2nd 2013.

Good luck to all those nominated!

(With thanks to Ben Bennett from the Scottish Council on Archives)

Chris

My new book, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet, is now available from Pen and Sword. My Scottish land and church records ebooks are available at http://www.gen-ebooks.com/unlock-the-past.html, whilst my next Pharos Scottish course, Scottish Research Online, starts Sep 4th - see http://pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Time to smash a few brick walls...!