We originally posted this on LinkedIn on 19 September 2025, but have decided to publish it here too:

“With the seasons changing and our financial year wrapping up, we have been reflecting on what has been a fun and varied 12 months of work, including:

– Supporting museums, libraries, and archives in Wales to develop digital asset registers and digital strategies
– Options appraisal for new collections management systems for an archive service
– Development of a digital strategy for an independent museum
– Review of a public library’s local studies collection and creation of a collections policy
– Supporting a national museum in assessing its digital preservation capabilities and helping another start to develop its capabilities
– Developing a range of guidance and case studies around archives and digital preservation
– Data analysis and reporting of archive-sector data
– Evaluation of various National Lottery Heritage Fund projects
– Supporting various National Lottery Heritage Fund projects and grant applications
– Collection scoping assessments, including personal papers, synagogue records, and newspaper archives

Kevin Bolton’s highlight was meeting Tebot the cat in an archive and helping to facilitate the sixth year of The National Archives’ digital peer mentoring network.

Larysa Bolton’s highlight was Polish bakeries in West Yorkshire and being a focus group participant for ICOM’s “Supporting Decolonisation in Museums: Focus on Ukraine” guidance.

We rarely post these issues much, as we believe actions speak louder than words, but we also want to acknowledge that it has been another awful 12 months – both with the growth of racism and hate in the UK, including Islamophobia & antisemitism, and with continuing global conflicts. Our love and solidarity are with those, especially colleagues and clients, who have been affected or are trying to make a difference.

Looking forward to the next 12 months of work and Shana Tova to those who celebrate next week.

Larysa & Kevin”