Memorandum submitted by the Society of
Archivists
This submission is reflective of the membership
of the Society of Archivists across the country, who have been
consulted for their views.
The Society of Archivists, founded in 1947,
is the principal professional body for archivists, archive conservators
and records managers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Through
its members, it is committed to working for high standards in
the provision and care of archives and the effective management
of record systems, including the retrieval of information from
them. The Society advises, submits evidence and makes comment
on matters of professional concern to people or organisations
whose activities affect archives and records.
As a general comment, the Society welcomes this
inquiry, and notes that the Committee plans to look at "the
roles and responsibilities for English Heritage, the Heritage
Lottery Fund, local authorities, museums and galleries, charitable
and other non-Governmental organisations in maintaining the nation's
heritage". Archives services too care for the nation's heritage
as custodians of its documentary heritage, and the Society is
disappointed that archives were not mentioned anywhere in the
inquiry's briefing statement. To protect, preserve and make accessible
the nation's documentary heritage is the reason archives services
exist.
The Society makes the following comments on
the specific points raised in the call document as follows:
1. WHAT DCMS
SHOULD IDENTIFY
AS PRIORITIES
IN THE
FORTHCOMING HERITAGE
PAPER
The Committee should consider the latest National
Council on Archives parliamentary briefing (November 2005: http://www.ncaonline.org.uk/materials/2005_nov_final.pdf)
in their research, as it highlights very succinctly the current
challenges and threats to the nation's archives.
The Society believes that the Committee should
consider the current confusion as to government responsibility
for archives, which is currently split between DCMS, for archives
in general through the MLA, and the Department of Constitutional
Affairs (DCA), for public records through The National Archives.
This split responsibility is not healthy for safeguarding the
archival heritage of the country, and should be resolved if there
is to be effective further legislation to increase and clarify
the current disparate statutory protection for archives and provision
of archives services, itself an area of confusion. Such legislation
was strongly supported in the responses to the public consultation
Proposed National Records and Archives Legislation—proposals
to change the current legislative provision for records management
and archives, issued for consultation from August to November
2003 by The National Archives. The Society also believes that
such legislation is much needed.
In particular, the Society also believes that
DCMS should argue the case with the Treasury for greater incentives
such as tax concessions for preserving heritage collections in
general, and archives specifically, where these are in private
hands. Business heritage collections especially are a cause for
concern, a situation highlighted in the January 2006 edition of
the Museums Journal.
2. THE REMIT
AND EFFECTIVENESS
OF DCMS, ENGLISH
HERITAGE AND
OTHER RELEVANT
ORGANISATIONS IN
REPRESENTING HERITAGE
INTERESTS INSIDE
AND OUTSIDE
GOVERNMENT
Although archives, museums and libraries are
closely linked there is still a fundamental lack of understanding
of the differences between the three domains, particularly among
decision-makers in national and local government, but also even
among the regional agencies that ostensibly represent the heritage
sector. Archives are overwhelmingly smaller, with fewer employees
and generally smaller budgets. However, these factors are often
overlooked when all three domains are being assessed together
on their performance and success at implementing new cross-domain
initiatives and in meeting Government objectives.
It was only two years ago that the report of
the Archives Task Force, an MLA sponsored inquiry, published its
findings. Despite being well-received, no money has been forthcoming
from government to take forward its recommendations. This contrasts
with the museum and library sectors, which each have their own
distinct funding streams. (Renaissance in the Regions and
Framework for the Future). There is similar discrimination
in the Designation Scheme, extended to archives and museums in
2005, although only designated museum collections can receive
money from the Designation Challenge Fund.
As the Committee plans to examine the remit
and effectiveness of DCMS, English Heritage and other relevant
organisations in representing heritage interests inside and outside
Government, the work of the Museums Libraries and Archives Council
(the MLA) on behalf of the archives sector should be included
in this assessment. There remains concern about the understanding
and commitment surrounding archives within the MLA, compared to
the other domains.
3. THE BALANCE
BETWEEN HERITAGE
AND DEVELOPMENT
NEEDS IN
PLANNING POLICY
An emphasis on built heritage is implicit in
the description of this issue. However, the contribution which
archives make to the care of buildings is often underestimated,
but it is essential that the link between buildings and their
documentation in historic records is appreciated. Archives hold
records of great value to the built environment and to its future
development. They allow informed and historically appropriate
planning decisions to be made. They also provide crucial evidence
on many sensitive historic building issues; and they hold vital
information about buildings' construction, and are regularly used
to resolve preservation and other problems. Widespread public
interest in this area is evidenced by the success of the BBC series
Restoration.
A similar case can be made for the documentation
of the countryside. Conservation areas and heritage sites need
to be understood historically in order for sensitive and informed
decisions about their future to be made. Archives' economic impact
in this area should be recognised, as should the fact that archives
exist as both data and as tangible objects from the past—to
make contact with archives is to touch history, just like a visit
to an historic property.
4. ACCESS TO
HERITAGE AND
THE POSITION
OF HERITAGE
AS A
CULTURAL ASSET
IN THE
COMMUNITY
Archives provide vital resources for understanding
and appreciating our heritage on personal, community and national
levels. They are the memory of the community and underpin all
interpretation of our heritage. As such, they should be given
a high priority for resources so as to ensure long-term preservation
and particularly to open them up further for wider access.
The inquiry's interest in "access to heritage
and the position of heritage as a cultural asset in the community"
is of particular relevance to archives, which already provide
high-quality and uniquely meaningful access to heritage every
day to a broad range of users. The first three phases of the online
archives network Access to Archives (A2A) http://www.a2a.org.uk/have
shown the sector's commitment to making archives more accessible.
No other sector has the range and quality of on-line finding aids
that archives have. However, the nation's archives are an asset
whose greatest potential is largely still waiting to be unlocked.
The forthcoming round of projects, under the
auspices of A2A 4, will nurture community archives, taking this
work a step further, and a step outward into communities. By collecting,
preserving and making accessible the histories of all kinds of
communities, their contribution to and place in society will be
affirmed and valued. However, A2A 4 is only a short term project,
funded primarily by the HLF, and the core funding needed to continue
this work is not available in the majority of archives.
The success of already completed projects has
shown the impact archives make on people's lives, to which the
popularity of the television series "Who do you think
you are?" gives powerful testimony, with an average audience
reach of 4.2 million per episode. "Who do you think you
are?" is supported by the Archives Awareness Campaign
http://www.archiveawareness.com/, which has worked to publicise
the existence and use of archives through hundreds of popular
events. Celebrations of national heritage, such as Trafalgar and
the forthcoming Brunel anniversary have all relied on archives.
New and younger audiences can be introduced
to archives through education: the current Archives Awareness
Campaign includes a short story competition for Keystage 2 children
called "Victorian Voices", drawing inspiration from
archive material. The Museums & Galleries Education Project
(Phase 2: 2003-04) showed what could be achieved with appropriate
funding. There were 21 successful projects in the South West region,
for instance, though only two involved archives. Nationally, fewer
than one in five public archives have an Education Officer.
The records of government, business and cultural
life are increasingly created in electronic form. The diversity
of electronic records and frequent changes in computer technology
present a range of challenges that need to be tackled in order
to ensure that these records remain accessible over the long-term.
The Digital Preservation Coalition http://www.dpconline.org/was
set up in 2001 to foster joint action to address the urgent challenges
of securing the preservation of digital resources in the to secure
our national digital memory and knowledge base. The National Archives
are also playing an active role in storing and preserving digital
material. However, there needs to be a greater focus in this area,
and on records management to ensure that the nation's archive
collections continue to develop and remain relevant and complete.
This is particularly the case where organisations public and private
keep their own archives, but continue to create new records.
5. FUNDING, WITH
PARTICULAR REFERENCE
TO THE
IMPACT OF
THE LONDON
2012 OLYMPICS ON
LOTTERY FUNDING
FOR HERITAGE
PROJECTS
In general, the Society believes that funding
needs to be prioritised, directed and most of all seen to be shared
fairly between the many competing demands and sectors requesting
it.
Archives are generally less well funded than
museums and galleries and rely on funding opportunities offered
by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) etc to increase accessibility
and develop new audiences in line with government objectives.
Poor core funding continues to be a very real threat to the rescue,
preservation of and broadening of access to archives. Without
adequate funding, archives cannot contribute fully to the government's
aim to make the country's heritage fully accessible to its citizens.
Many collections could increasingly be at risk because the relevant
archives do not have sufficient resources to take them into their
custody. Some archives are underfunded to such a degree that their
very existence is in doubt. Underfunding for archives needs to
be addressed, not only to meet the demand for new services, but
also in order to be able to maintain core functions. As highlighted
already, archives need funding comparable with the Renaissance
in the Regions funding for museums and galleries to enable
them to meet the aspirations of the Archives Task Force Report.
The Society refers the Committee to the NCA report Giving Value:
Funding priorities for UK Archives, 2005-10 http://www.ncaonline.org.uk/materials/nca_giving_value.pdf.
Some local archives repositories are a great
distance from the larger library and archive resource centres
and have to work particularly hard for support. The unique role
of local repositories in the regions should be recognised, and
appropriate funding be made available to archives in order to
raise performance levels and to meet increasing user expectations.
At the same time, there is a concentration of large numbers of
archives services in London, national, local and specialist (including
corporate), which represents another specific concern. Some of
the larger institutions are extremely well-resourced, while the
majority struggle with a chronic lack of resources and appropriate
facilities.
With regard to the 2012 Olympics, the Society
is concerned about the risk of funding being diverted from the
heritage sector. If funding for the Olympics is not raised from
the new scratch cards, then the HLF will almost certainly have
to make up the difference. Archives will have an important role
in recording the impact of the Olympics on the community, but
this will be compromised if HLF funding is diverted to core government
activities.
Archives are reliant on the HLF for much of
the funding that allows them to work imaginatively and successfully
on vital, socially inclusive projects, which mean so much to individuals
and communities. Continued and greater support is essential from
sources such as the HLF for both capital and revenue projects,
including opening up access to uncatalogued material, digitisation
projects and audience development work for archives and library
materials.
6. ROLES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
This area has largely been addressed earlier
in this response.
However, the Society does wish to highlight
and support the regional representation and organisation put in
place by MLA. Regional agencies can engage with the specific requirements
and needs of archives, archive professionals, archive users and
funders/employers (eg local authorities, governing bodies of archive-holding
institutions etc) and ensure that local needs are taken to the
national bodies such as MLA and DCMS.
A good example of this is the project that Archives,
Libraries and Museums (ALM) London has underway looking into developing
regional conservation facilities, which can be used by services
throughout the region. Such projects enable well-resourced services
to assist the less well-resourced in a region.
7. WHETHER THERE
IS AN
ADEQUATE SUPPLY
OF PROFESSIONALS
WITH CONSERVATION
SKILLS
Our heritage should be preserved not only for
this generation but also for future generations. There is no value
in allowing unlimited access to anything from a document to a
country path if that access is effectively going to destroy it,
wear it out or make it illegible within a generation. The use
of alternative media to allow access to artefacts, works of art,
books, manuscripts and written documents has gone a long way to
ensuring the preservation of the original but more needs to be
done to widen this form of substitution to the sector and its
collections.
Whilst the sector is growing, the training of
professionals to populate the sector is not always keeping pace,
nor are the salaries for heritage professionals in line with those
of other comparable professions. These are serious problems that
the Society believes need addressing urgently. The announcement
on 18 January by MLA of £1 million funding to support work
based training in conservation for 60 placements over four years
is an encouraging first step in the right direction.
CONCLUSION
The Society hopes that this submission, and
others from the archives sector, will draw the Committee's attention
to the very real contribution that archives services make in providing
access to heritage. However, the proper levels of resource are
necessary to unlock vital information in our archive collections
about communities and environments, about how they have changed
and evolved and become what they are today.
19 January 2006
| 
