"I am looking forward to the new challenge and the opportunity to use the scientific and practical knowledge I have acquired in recent years in the Kevelaer archive," says Mr. Bodden.
After gaining an initial overview of the holdings stored in the city archive, he now has numerous tasks ahead of him. These include the traditional tasks of cataloging and preserving the archive material as well as user support, but also various projects. One particular challenge will be to develop and introduce new ways of working for transfers from the digital administration and to generally improve the accessibility of the archive on the Internet.
"There are many construction sites in the digitization of archives, but Ms Weigel has already initiated many things in recent years that I can now build on," says Mr Bodden. "We are also well networked with the KRZN, the LVR and the state archives, so we will be closely involved in ongoing modernization processes while my team and I work on the day-to-day tasks at the same time."
One of the current tasks is to oversee the relocation of files from the administration building on Hoogeweg to the new administration center on Kroatenstrasse and to organize the interim archives of the organizational units.
"In Till Bodden, we have been able to recruit a young, highly motivated historian to head the archive," says Mayor Dr. Dominik Pichler. "I am sure that with him, we will not only continue on the path to a digital city archive, but will also be able to focus on the historical work of the city archive."
The city archive at Venloerer Straße 33-35 has modern equipment and a small, dedicated team. It is the central point for all questions about the city's history and is open to the public by appointment. In addition to Mr. Bodden, Beate Hendricks deals with incoming user inquiries; Marlene Fischer focuses on the digitization of images and files. The town archive is happy to accept images of Kevelaer's history from citizens on loan for digitization. Citizens interested in history also have the opportunity to support the work of the town archive on a voluntary basis.
You can contact the city archive on 02832 122-218 or by e-mail at archiv@kevelaer.de.