At the end of the last century the great heritage debate transformed thinking about public engagement with the past in historic sites and museums. Do new initiatives in archives promise something similar in public engagement with history now, and how might new digital initiatives help?Sarah Rees Jones and Victoria Hoyle give an overview of some of the current new developments in public use of archives that are developing in York, from digital initiatives and new archival search software using artificial intelligence to the development of new public services. What is the value in cross-sector collaboration between the arts and sciences and between universities and archives in developing new archival practice? Where do we go next?Sarah Rees Jones is a medievalist and the Director of the Institute for the Public (IPUP). Victoria Hoyle is a part-time PhD student in the Department of History, University of York.