Ashford People’s Library

Volunteer to compile a library of oral histories of Ashfordians.

Ashford’s Peoples Library is a project to build a lasting collection of oral histories of the lives of Ashfordians and Ashford’s industries and businesses.  

Official records are often unable to tell the whole story

Through Ashford People’s Library we aim to:

• gather and preserve Ashford railway related experiences and images from the community
• make the collection publicly accessible
• promote Ashford’s railway history

Ashford People’s Library will:

• Add context  to artifacts
• Aid interpretation
• provide insight to the “lived experience” offered by individual’s lives.

Equipment grant

We are pleased to thank Cllr. Charles Suddards for a grant of £ 500, from his Ward Member’s Community Grant allocation, with which we have purchased equipment for recording and archiving of oral history interviews.

The equipment has been delivered, ready to start interviewing local residents and recording their histories.

We are now seeking volunteers to get involved in the Ashford People’s Library project:

• Interviewing residents
• Editing the audio recordings of interviews
• Transcribing the recordings
• Administration, including ensuring compliance with privacy and copyright legislation
• Managing the archives

Recording and some administration and management will be undertaken in the Museum or Annexe in Ashford Town Centre. Other work may be able to be undertaken at home.

We will be arranging training for all of these roles so if you are interested in getting involved, or know somebody who would be, please complete our form