The website’s rich resource of thousands of photographs, documents and maps has been compiled and digitised by volunteers working in Poole History Centre over the years since it was founded in 2000.

Making all this data accessible through a user-friendly website has been made possible by a grant from the Poole Historical Trust.

Poole History Centre is a free research resource provided by the Borough of Poole and available for anyone to drop in to research local and family history. It is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am 3pm. Poole Museum is open Monday to Saturday, 10am–5pm. Both the Museum and the History Centre are fully accessible.

Borough of Poole Museum Service is not only one of the most used and visited in the whole of the South West, it is also now one of the most popular on the social network, Twitter, having recently welcomed its 1,000th follower.

He is Sam Tresman from Bournemouth, who is aiming to become the youngest solo rower of any Ocean when he attempts to row across the Atlantic in November, raising funds to support the Prince’s Trust.

Museums are increasingly finding Twitter an exceptionally useful place to  promote their activities and services, and to network with other museums and organisations. In a recent poll of the most powerful brands on Twitter, a Museum – Tate – was judged the strongest of all internationally.

Poole Museum’s tweeting was even recently acknowledged for its high performance by the Culture Minister, Ed Vaizey.

Michael Spender, Museum Manager, Borough of Poole, said: "We are finding that Twitter is really building our connections with a number of communities, including the Museum and Voluntary sectors. Most importantly, perhaps, we are now reaching many local people who might not have considered visiting the Museum in the past, particularly younger people. It takes very little time to do the tweets, and is a fantastic, free way to engage with the public."

Anyone with an internet connection or smartphone can join Twitter at www.twitter.com and read the Museum’s tweets on www.twitter.com/poolemuseum.

As part of the ‘Christmas on the Quay’ event people are encouraged to join us in decorating the Museum Christmas tree. We have a variety of decoration ideas for you to make or if you are feeling creative, simply design your own. You can also make decorations to take home with you for your own tree.

This year you can also enjoy a Victorian Christmas experience in the historic and atmospheric Scaplen’s Court, where you can purchase a glass of mulled wine or hot fruit punch with mince pies warmed on the range. There will also be fun Victorian Christmas activities taking place.

All the activities are free and all materials are provided. Just come along on the night as it would be wonderful to see you there. This is always a popular event so please arrive early to avoid disappointment.

Cllr Peter Adams, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Culture and Community, Borough of Poole, said: "Poole Museum offers a wide range of seasonal activities for all the family and ‘Christmas on the Quay’ is a fun event that I would encourage people to enjoy.

"I hope residents will join us to decorate our Christmas tree and take advantage of the opportunity to explore Poole Museum and Scaplen’s Court Museum at this special late night opening."

The Museum and shop, which stocks a wide range of gifts and stocking fillers, will be offering a 10% discount for this special event and will stay open until 8pm. Activities will run between 5-8pm.

The talk, Poole’s Vanishing Heathlands, forms part of a wide-ranging programme about Poole’s rich heritage hosted by Poole Museum Society and Poole Museum Service. It will look at why heathlands are such a vital part of Poole’s landscape.

Borough of Poole’s Nature Conservation Officer, Jez Martin, will discuss the rich history, archaeology and wildlife to be found on the heathlands, and the measures that are needed to care for the landscape. Jez will bring a wealth of knowledge about Poole’s natural environment to the talk.

The talk will last for around an hour with the opportunity to ask questions after. It is free to attend, however donations are warmly welcomed and tea and coffee will be provided.

Poole has more than 500 hectares of heathland, the equivalent of more than 700 Wembley-sized football pitches. It is home to a rich tapestry of plants and wildlife including the rare smooth snake, sand lizard and Dartford warbler. Fires, vandalism and fly tipping can all cause real problems for this natural environment.

Michael Spender, Museum Manager, Borough of Poole, said: "Poole Museum Service is committed to supporting the council’s drive to protect Poole’s wonderful environment. This talk will highlight issues and the benefits to be gained from our heathland. It should be of interest to everyone who wants to see these areas protected."

Cllr Peter Adams, Portfolio Holder for Culture and Community Learning, Borough of Poole, said: "Attending these fascinating talks on a wide range of topics gives people an opportunity to learn more about some of the more unusual features of Poole. It is always nice when people take an interest in the area they live in and Poole Museum Service is helping them to do that."

Further talks planned for 2010 will cover subjects as diverse as artist Augustus John’s time in Poole, Carter Tiles and the Poole Logboat.

Poole’s Vanishing Heathlands starts at 2pm on Saturday 7 November at Poole Museum. Booking is essential and to reserve a ticket, contact Katie Gardiner on 01202 262607, or email c.gardiner@poole.gov.uk.

The workshop will be held in the historic Town Cellars, now the Poole History Centre, within Poole Museum. The event is being held to celebrate the Festival of Learning and the day will include an exclusive tour of some of the resources in the History Centre and guidance about how to use them.

Those who attend, working either singly or groups, will be able to create a portfolio about a building in the Old Town. People can choose from a number of options including medieval structures, Georgian mansions and Victorian warehouses. Staff will be on hand to help and there will be time to explore the old town for inspiration, so photographers please bring your cameras.

The workshop is free but numbers are limited so to book your place either visit Poole Museum or call 01202 262600.

Cllr Peter Adams, Cabinet Portfolio for Leisure and Culture, Borough of Poole, said: "This is a great opportunity for people to learn more about Poole’s fantastic buildings and also the facilities available in Poole History Centre. Poole has a wonderful heritage and days like this encourage people to discover more about the history of the area."

The day will give people a great opportunity to learn about resources available in Poole History Centre and develop their research skills.

Ceri Lewis

Poole Museum and Scaplen’s Court have been officially ‘accredited’ by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).

The MLA’s Museum Accreditation Scheme sets nationally agreed standards for all museums in the UK. The award shows that the service measures up to these standards, meeting the guidelines on how it is run, how it looks after its collections and the services it provides visitors.

Borough of Poole Museum Service, which runs both museums, looks after Poole’s collections of artefacts and documentation relating to the history of the town and Poole Harbour.

Cllr Peter Adams, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture, Borough of Poole, said: "The awards of full accreditation to Poole Museum and Scaplen’s Court are a feather in the cap for our Museum Service, and show that we are looking after our collections and visitors in the way we should be. I congratulate Poole Museum Service."

Notable strengths of the collections on display in the refurbished Poole Museum are internationally important maritime archaeology, including the Iron Age Poole logboat and an outstanding selection of Poole Pottery.

Scaplen’s Court is a Grade One listed building and a scheduled ancient monument.  It houses displays of toys and other artefacts, which are used in sessions run for Poole and Dorset schoolchildren.

Michael Spender, Museum Manager, Borough of Poole, said "As well as demonstrating that we are caring for our collections, accreditation assesses the services we provide for our users, so it is pleasing that we have received the awards.  However, we always want to improve these services and will continue to do so."

Budding young archaeologists between 8-16 years old are invited to sign up and take part in a very exciting programme between 10.30 am – 12.30pm. The club will meet on the second Saturday of every month at Poole Museum. The first six months will focus on a number of activities including ancient jewellery and pottery. Keen archaeologists will also learn about maritime archaeology, artefact identification and ancient cookery.

On the launch day, YAC members will have the chance to become prehistoric artists and create chalk carvings and spiral art.

Archaeologist Julian Richards is known for the television show Meet the Ancestors, and more recently appeared in the BBC’s Timewatch programme. Julian will be encouraging young children to sign up to Poole’s YAC and learn more about archaeology.

Cllr Peter Adams, Cabinet Portfolio holder for Leisure and Culture, Borough of Poole, said: "Poole has an extraordinarily rich past. The launch of Poole Museum’s Young Archaeologist’s Club will provide local children with a wonderful opportunity to experience archaeology first hand, and to find out more about the history of the area."

Anyone young people interested in joining the Poole Young Archaeologists Club should get in contact by email at pooleyac@googlemail.com

For further information contact Louise Diffey on 01202 262628 or at l.diffey@poole.gov.uk

For more information on the Nationwide branch go to yac@britarch.ac.uk