Examination of Witnesses (Questions 340
- 342)
TUESDAY 23 JANUARY 2007
MLA
Q340 Helen Southworth: So it will
all be effective?
Mr Batt: We are looking at performance
indicators and these will be voluntary. We are hoping to have
performance indicators in play early next year which will allow
archives to assess themselves. There is a voluntary scheme that
National Archives have as well to allow self-assessment. All of
those will provide the means of helping the archives themselves
to understand where they have strengths and where they have weaknesses.
We believe that is probably a more effective way in the short
to medium term of bringing about improvement.
Mr Wood: If I can add to that.
A role that MLA has, and fulfils very well, is in workforce development,
leadership development and best practice. A lot of the experiences,
both in the museums and archives sectors, in developing, if you
like, a customer focus in the way services have developed is being
applied to the archives sector. I know from meeting people from
the Society of Archivists a couple of years back that there is
a younger generation of archivists who are very keen to latch
on to this as a means to change the culture in that sector as
well and make it much more open, much more focused on delivering
services to visitors and tourists as well, changing the way that
even county archives work. We have tapped into enthusiasm there
and a lot of MLA's work is in this below the radar but very effective
work of—
Q341 Helen Southworth: Their enthusiasm
has to be backed up by resources.
Mr Wood: Yes, it does, absolutely.
The enthusiasm also helps put forward the arguments which get
the resources. I think that is where MLA has been very effective.
MLA has generally been very, very good at workforce development
and setting standards through the Museum Accreditation Scheme
which reorient these institutions and change their focus, and
I think that is where they have achieved a lot.
Q342 Chairman: On that note, can
we wish you every success with your lobbying of the Treasury.
Thank you very much.
Mr Wood: Thank you very much.
Any help you can give us would be welcome.
Chairman: Thank you.
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