Creating and managing archives for local history groups

The rapid growth in access to the Internet, allied with a burgeoning number of reliable historical data sources now available on the World Wide Web. has suggested to many holders of local records that they might make them available to a larger audience. But there is also a dilemma: experts on local records may not possess expertise on software or the Internet, whereas software technologists may not know enough about both the subject and the usefulness of local records to enable them to design ways to exploit those records fully. The author's specific experience (a background in practical engineering and computing, coupled with a long-term interest in local history) has led to an initiative that brings together expertise in both these areas and that may be of interest to many others who are grappling with a similar problem.