Accompanying handout for the presentation by Cathy Smith, Senior Manager, Strategic Collection Development and Fleur Soper, Collections Advisor at The National Archives, given at the Connecting Collections event, 5 March 2010, BT Centre, London.

1. __________________________________________________________________________________
Archives for the 21st Century
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Archives for the 21st Century is the new government policy created by The National Archives and The Museums,
Libraries and Archives Council.
It is a call to action for publicly-funded archive services in local authorities and universities to recognise the
essential contribution that archives can make to the development of policy and the delivery of services locally.
Cultural and Learning partnerships
One of the recommendations within the policy is for • Potential partners understand the contribution
archive services to actively participate in cultural and cultural heritage can make to the achievement
learning partnerships and opportunities. of their strategic aims, and include them in
implementation.
Archives and cultural heritage organisations have a
powerful role to play in supporting formal and • Our cultural heritage covers a vast range of
informal learning, community cohesion and a sense of subjects: a good partnership can deliver
local pride and belonging. They can make a clear
projects for culture and learning in a huge
contribution to the delivery of local policy initiatives,
through partnerships with other cultural, learning and range of academic subject areas.
information organisations. To do this the sector must
Treasure House
be engaged with the decision-making processes.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council has created a one-
stop cultural site that combines a museum,
For archives to prosper they need to develop more
library, art gallery and archive with great
effective partnerships with organisations seeking to
improvements to the standards of collection
support learning and community cohesion. Involving
management.
users more in the design and delivery of their services
will create opportunity and give clarity on the
The new building, completed in 2007 with a grant
priorities they need to meet.
from the Heritage Lottery Fund, holds the
collections of the East Riding Archives, Beverley
Benefits Local Studies Library, Beverley Art Gallery,
• The audience for archival information is Beverley Guildhall and the Archaeology of the East
broadened and enlarged, and users have Riding Museums Service.
access to the cultural heritage resources they
need and want. Increase in resources
The Treasure House Education Officer now works
• Communities are more actively involved in the across all services and paper conservators can
development and delivery of services. work across the archive, library, museum and
gallery. The services share meeting spaces,
• Archives and cultural heritage organisations education and conference facilities, a permanent
increase their access to resources and and temporary exhibition space; a cafe and public
contribute more effectively to wider areas.
government policies around identity, learning,
community and place.
nationalarchives.gov.uk

2. The results
• Active users increased significantly from people with a range of mental health problems has
around 4,000 to 12,000 in the first year. changed and is changing.
• The archive has an additional 120,000 users
due to the knock-on effects of being in a The emphasis is on understanding, recording and
shared service. making heard the memories, feelings and responses
• The conservation workshop has a public of those most closely involved - the medical staff, the
viewing facility to encourage awareness and patients and their families and friends in an informal
raise engagement during visits. setting.
• Customers have modern storage facilities and
a great place to visit which has a café and a Using the MLA’s ‘Revisiting Archive Collections’ toolkit
tower overlooking Beverley Minster. Surrey History Centre and MIND explored ways in to
create user generated content that tells the stories of
The move to the Treasure House has transformed the the patients and staff in their own words.
way in which they can ensure the long-term
preservation of the collections and make them Creating a legacy for London 2012
accessible to an expanding range of users. Previous Games have often lacked a comprehensive,
accessible archive as part of their legacy.
Surrey History Centre The Record is an initiative led by the Museums,
In partnership with the Woking branch of MIND the Libraries and Archives Council and The National
Surrey History Centre explored records of Brookwood Archives. It aims to ensure that there is a
Mental Hospital with former patients and staff who’d comprehensive record of the 2012 games and Cultural
worked there. The project looked at records already Olympiad reflecting its sporting, social, historical and
held by Surrey History Centre as well as creating oral cultural significance.
history recordings of those that experienced the
hospital. Our partners
This is being achieved through a working partnership
Partnership here was crucial; early on archive staff with a wide range of stakeholders, ranging from
recognised that outreach sessions would be lead by national institutions to small community associations.
MIND staff, whilst the archive service was able to This builds on established links with government,
provide document expertise as well as an education archival and cultural institutions and creates new
room and exhibition area. There was a positive relationships with sporting bodies and broadcasters.
impact, with very active participation in the project, a
conference and exhibition and for some regular use of Outcomes
the Surrey History Centre. We are working together to build a comprehensive
collection for future generations.
Results One of the planned outcomes will be a federation of
The project won the Landmark Award in 2008, for linked multimedia archive collections, hosted by many
running an ‘innovative and original project which different collaborating organisations but accessible
makes creative use of archive material and which through a single, user-friendly online portal…and it’s
makes a real contribution to the community’. called….The Record.
Since the success of the Brookwood project the The UK government wants to create an inspiring
History Centre has continued to build their legacy through the Olympic festival: The Record is a
partnership with Woking MIND, to explore different key element in safeguarding the information that will
ways in which the documentary records can be used document what has been achieved.
to help understand how the care and treatment of
nationalarchives.gov.uk

3. Useful links and resources
Archives for the 21st Century: the government policy on archives
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/policy/aft21c/
The Museums Libraries and Archives Council strategic planning http://www.mla.gov.uk/what/strategies
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council 2012 Programme
http://www.mla.gov.uk/what/programmes/setting_pace
The Treasure House http://www.eastriding.gov.uk/treasurehouse/
Surrey History Centre http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/
Woking Mind http://www.wokingmind.org.uk/
The Record: London 2012 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/2012/
Collections Trust Revisiting Collections http://www.collectionslink.org.uk/Increase_Access/revisiting_collections
The National Archives provides guidance and information on records and archives for the sector. This is available
on our website under Archives Sector Development: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives/
nationalarchives.gov.uk