A PLAN to create a treasure house of local memories is being put together on the Island.
People have been asked to submit their personal diaries and those of relatives to be stored as a way of recording social history in a scheme run by the British Museum and Isle of Wight County Records Office.
One of the Island organisers, Frederick Fisher, of Prospect Road, Shanklin, said: "Sadly, the modern diarist is fast becoming a dinosaur as social websites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter become the chosen medium for jotting down our daily thoughts.
"When we lose someone close to us it can be difficult to know what to do with their diaries. We spend a few minutes glancing through them and feel close to the person who has written them. The dilemma is what to do with the diaries; keep them or throw them away?
"The latter choice is heart-rending but more often than not they are discarded to the bonfire or become landfill."
Mr Fisher said there was now an alternative, through a co-ordinated effort between the Island’s County Records Office and the British Museum to rescue diaries for long-term storage.
"The scheme is known as the National Diary Repository and the objective is to save diaries for future study regardless of their language, date or content," he said.
"Directly associated material such as letters, photographs or address books is also accepted and housed with any given diaries.
"Some people may be concerned about the content being too personal, which may offend people still alive. In these cases the donor can place a caveat on the diaries ensuring they will not be accessed for a period of time.
"This may be several decades, which would still be acceptable, as the diaries are of interest only in the long-term."
• Donors can contact the county archivist and Island heritage manager Richard Smout on 01983 823820 or 01983 823821 or e-mail record.office@iow.gov.uk.
Reporter: richardw@iwcpmail.co.uk