Reimagining local studies in Devon: Reclaiming the local community’s published heritage in an age of austerity

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect that government austerity policies has had on local studies in Devon and suggest a possible alternative means of maintaining local studies’ collections.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents an historical survey of local studies provision in the county since the nineteenth century and outlines the present local studies’ landscape.

Findings

The findings show that local studies’ provision has been severely affected by eight years of progressive cuts to public library funding and that present publications, both printed and digital, are no longer being adequately recorded.

Practical implications

This paper suggests that in Devon, the museum sector may be a more appropriate home for local studies’ library provision than are archive services.

Social implications

Volunteers in libraries, museums and archives across Devon will be involved in maintaining a union catalogue and a bibliography of local publications.

Originality/value

While this is a suggested solution for Devon, it may not be applicable in regions with different traditions of heritage provision.

Citation

Maxted, I. (2019), "Reimagining local studies in Devon: Reclaiming the local community’s published heritage in an age of austerity", Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, Vol. 68 No. 8/9, pp. 703-711. https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-01-2019-0007