Welcome to the International Council on Archives’ online learning course “Organising Family Archives”. Designed to provide simple practical guidance on looking after these precious family artefacts, the course explores taking care of family archives. It covers what they are, how to organise and list them, how to package and look after them so that they are properly preserved and what should be kept and what can be discarded. It discusses the particular requirements for ensuring computer records will be accessible and readable in the future, how to create digital copies to share with family members and planning your project to identify, document and preserve the family archives. There are also references to useful resources. The course is intended for the general public, no prior knowledge of using or working in archives is necessary. If you have collected or inherited papers and photographs that document your family and want to ensure that they can be understood and used by future generations, this is the course for you.

This is the main course page displaying the list of nine sections. Note the status bar at the bottom of the page which will indicate how much of the course you have completed. It is best to go through the course materials as they are organised into sections from section 1 to section 9 but we have allowed you the freedom to skip ahead if you want to see what is coming up. You will need to view all of the presentations and complete all the quizzes (achieving at least 60% correct answers) to receive a certificate. The certificate of completion will clearly itemise all the course elements. Make sure you read the Learner Guide provided in Section 1 to make the most of your learning experience.

We hope you will enjoy the course!

Online course fee:
In view of the current exceptional global situation, the ICA is making this course available at a reduced rate €75 €50