The following diagram displays a simplified potential lifecycle of an archival item from acquisition through to use. It shows how the different stages inter-relate, and which sections of this guidance relate to each stage.

The National Archives has produced Archive Basics, a set of resources for those new to the sector or those who may not be archive professionals, which contains some useful information on subjects not covered by this suite of documents: see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/managing-your-collection/archive-basics/.

For more detailed advice on specific issues, please feel free to contact the Archives Sector Leadership at The National Archives, email asl@nationalarchives.gov.uk. On most occasions queries will be dealt with by the Regional and Networks Team, which exists to develop links with and support any organisations and groups that care for archives in England.

Institutions or groups with large and well-organised archival holdings, premises with suitable storage and ancillary accommodation, formal governance structures, and relevant policies and procedures, may wish to consider applying for Archive Service Accreditation. Museums can do this in addition to Museum Service Accreditation. Please see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/archive-service-accreditation/ for more details. Even if you feel that you are not yet ready to apply for Accreditation, the standard and its accompanying guidance can act as a useful tool for future planning and continuous improvement.

If you would like people to know about the collections you hold and how to access them, consider having an entry in The National Archives' online “Find an Archive” Directory. See https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/find-an-archive.

Finally, this guidance is intended to be a living document, and will change from time to time as web links change, new advice becomes available, or additional information is incorporated.

This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. To view this licence, please visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/

Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to asl@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

We have tried to minimise the use of jargon in this guidance, but inevitably some unfamiliar terms will be used. Simple definitions of such terms are provided below:

• Accessioning – the act of recording the provenance of an item or collection that is being transferred to your care.
• Accessions Form – a pro forma for recording details of a newly acquired collection, its source, ownership and conditions. It should be signed by the donor/depositor and staff as a formal record of the transfer. One copy should be given to the donor/depositor as a formal receipt.
• Accessions Register – a formal, permanent, record of all archival material coming into the care of your organisation, containing the key information about content and ownership.
• Archive (Office) – a specialist collecting institution, run by a local authority, government body, university, business, charity, or other organisation, usually with professionally qualified archivists on staff, and with purpose-built storage and research facilities. Sometimes called a Record Office, though this is now less common.
• Archive Service Accreditation – a scheme for defining and recognising good practice and agreed standards for archives across the UK. Comparable to the UK Museum Accreditation Scheme. The Standard and Guidance set out best practice for the sector and can form useful planning tools, and something to gradually work towards, even if you are not yet in a position to apply for Accreditation.
• Archives – collections of documents which have been selected for permanent preservation because of their value as evidence or as a source for historical or other research. Such records are created by the activities of organisations and people; they serve an active purpose while in current use and some of them are later selected and preserved as part of an archival collection. Archives can be in physical formats such as volumes, plans and photographs, or can exist purely in a digital form. Unlike published material, archives are usually unique and irreplaceable.
• Archives Hub – a JISC supported project to provide cross-searchable online catalogues from a range of Higher Education, Business, and Special Repository archives. See https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/.
• Archives Sector Development – a department of The National Archives responsible for providing advice and support to external organisations and groups holding archives.
• Archives & Records Association UK & Ireland [ARA] – the lead professional body for archivists, archive conservators and records managers: https://www.archives.org.uk/.
• ARCHON number – a unique code assigned to organisations listed in the online Find an Archive directory. This code is key to using the Manage Your Collections in Discovery facility.
• Arrangement – the act of sorting a collection in a meaningful manner to reflect its original order or the functions of its creating body. In collections with no structure it may be appropriate to arrange items in thematic or chronological sequences. The catalogues of a well-arranged collection should be easy to navigate by researchers and staff.
• Arts Council England [ACE] – the government appointed lead body for the museums sector in England, responsible among other things, for the UK Museum Accreditation Scheme and a number of funding steams. See https://www.artscouncil.org.uk  There are different arrangements in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
• Association of Independent Museums [AiM] –a membership network for independent museums, galleries and heritage organisations across the UK: https://www.aim-museums.co.uk/.
• Aviation Heritage UK – a Subject Specialist Network in the museum sector; the national body for the preservation of aviation related items. See https://aviationheritageuk.org/.
• Benchmarks 3.0 Conservation Planning for Archives, Libraries and Museums [An updated version of Benchmarks in Collections Care, produced by the Collections Trust]–a downloadable self-assessment checklist, which sets out clear, realistic and measurable levels of performance for the care of collections.
• Bequest – an item or collection that has been left to your organisation under the terms of a will. It is, in effect, a gift/donation.
• Box list – a quicker method of processing a large collection by producing a list which indicates the general contents of each box of material, so that potentially useful items can be more easily identified and located.
• BS 4971:2017, Conservation and care of archive and library collections [ISBN: 978 0 580 94654 7] – one of the two key standards for the storage and care of archive collections, used alongside BS EN 16893:2018. These standards replace the earlier BS 5454:2000 and PD 5454:2012 to which you may still see references.
• BS 5454:2000, Recommendations for the storage and exhibition of archival documents – a superseded standard to which you may still see references.
• BS EN 16893:2018, Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Specifications for location, construction and modification of buildings or rooms intended for the storage or use of heritage collections [ISBN: 978 0 580 90371 7] – one of the two key standards for the storage and care of archive collections, alongside BS 4971:2017. These standards replace the earlier BS 5454:2000, and PD 5454:2012 to which you may still see references.
• Catalogue – a detailed list of items within a collection, organised in a structured and meaningful way, and providing individual reference numbers so that individual items can be easily located.
• Cataloguing – the act of describing the contents of an item or collection in a structured and meaningful way, which conveys the essence of the documents without fully transcribing them. Also see Listing.
• Collecting Policy – a formal policy, which can be a simple statement, that clearly sets out what you are interested in collecting to supplement your collections, and, ideally, what you are not interested in collecting. This should be publicised for the benefit of potential donors and other organisations in the sector. It should reflect the aims of your Mission Statement.
• Collection – the highest level of cataloguing, comprising all the records received from a single source. Sometimes referred to as a Fonds. For complex collections Sub-Fonds or Section can be used to reflect the high-level organisational structure, such as sites, departments, or constituent companies.
• Collection Level Description – a short summary of the material contained in a collection, including information such as creator, subject matter, and covering dates. This can be created using the Accession Register entry. It does not allow individual items to be easily identified or located, but does signal the existence of a collection in your care.
• Collections Management System [CMS] – specialist software developed for use in the archives or museums sectors, often embedding core documentation standards, and having interlinked modules for functions such as accessions, catalogues and conservation. Some systems allow images to be attached to database entries, and some can display searchable catalogues online. See https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/archives/cms-dams-options-for-archives.xls for a comparison of the features of different systems.
• Collections Trust – an organisation which provides standards and advice for the museums sector: https://collectionstrust.org.uk/.
• Conservation – specialist care of collections by intrusive methods such as repairing tears and dealing with damp, mould or pest damage, in order to repair or stabilise items for use or display.
• Creator – a mandatory element when cataloguing under ISAD(G). Record the name and life-dates of the person or organisation predominantly responsible for the creation and assembly of the material. Generally this only will need to be recorded once in relation to the whole archival group. Equivalent to Object Production organisation/people/person in Spectrum.
• Crisis Management Team – a cross sector team which co-ordinates efforts to preserve business records in cases of liquidations, administrations, takeovers and other circumstances where business records may be in danger.
• Data Protection Act, 2018 – UK legislation replacing the Data Protection Act, 1998, and making additional provisions around areas not covered by the General Data Protection Regulation [GDPR]. The law covers how you collect, store and use personal information relating to living persons. For summary guidance on how the Data Protection Act and GDPR relate to archives, please see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/legislation/archives-data-protection-law-uk/.
• Date of Creation – a mandatory element when cataloguing under ISAD(G). These are the dates when the documents in the unit being described were originally created or the date that an event or image was captured. Equivalent to a number of Date fields in Spectrum.
• De-Accessioning – a formal process for ethically transferring or otherwise disposing of collections or items that do not fit in with your Collecting Policy.
• Deposit / Loan – an item or collection that is transferred to your care, but ownership has been retained by the Depositor. Deposits can be indefinite, they can be for a set number of years, reviewable at the end of the period, or they may be temporary, perhaps for the duration of a special event or exhibition, or so that they can be copied. Deposits have always been more common in the archives sector than in the museum sector.
• Depositor – a person or organisation making a deposit or loan of archival material. They remain the owners of the collection and should be liaised with if it is being published, used in exhibitions, or disposed of. Efforts should be made to maintain up-to-date contact details of depositors.
• Digital Asset Management System [DAMS] – specialist software for storing and accessing digital records, such as document files, CAD plans, emails and photographs. See https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/archives/cms-dams-options-for-archives.xls for a comparison of the features of different systems.
• Digital Preservation Coalition [DPC] – an organisation concerned with resilient long-term access to digital content and services. See https://www.dpconline.org/.
• Discovery – the online catalogue of The National Archives. External organisations can host their catalogues on Discovery, using the Manage Your Archives on Discovery facility. Discovery also incorporates a resource known as the National Register of Archives [NRA], which includes references to significant collections held by archives throughout the UK and beyond.
• Disaster Plan – a document identifying physical risks to an archive, containing key contacts, and setting out responsibilities and actions in the event of a disaster such as flood or fire.
• Donation – See Gift.
• Donor – person or organisation making a gift of archival material.
• File – an intellectual rather than a physical description – the usual level for cataloguing a volume, file, or bundle of papers. Small groups of organisationally-or intellectually-related loose documents, photographs or plans are sometimes be catalogued at this level rather than at Item level.
• Encoded Archival Description [EAD] – an international standard, closely linked to ISAD(G), and using XML format files. The standard uses tags to distinguish the different parts of an electronic finding aid, in a way that can be interpreted and processed by different computer systems.
• Extent of the unit of description – a mandatory element when cataloguing under ISAD(G). This should be given in the most meaningful way; for example, five boxes, or two feet or 1 file. In many cases this is only given once for the whole archival group. Equivalent to Number of Objects and Physical Description in Spectrum.
• Find an Archive – an online directory of archive-holding bodies throughout the UK, and beyond, hosted by The National Archives. Every organisation listed is provided with a unique code, called an ARCHON number.
• Fonds – See Collection.
• Functional Analysis – an intellectual tool that looks at the role or roles of a record creator or creators, and analyses how the documents reflect the ways in which these roles were fulfilled.
• General Data Protection Regulation [GDPR] – EU legislation, adopted in the UK, which covers how you collect, store and use personal information relating to living persons. For summary guidance on how GDPR and the Data Protection Act, 2018, relate to archives, please see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/legislation/archives-data-protection-law-uk/.
• Gift / Donation – an item or collection where the ownership is transferred to your organisation. The donor may still retain copyright on some material.
• Gloves – see Nitrile Gloves.
• Institute of Conservation [ICON] – the professional body for the conservation of cultural heritage: https://icon.org.uk/
• ISAAR (CPF) – the International Standard Archival Authority Record For Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families, 2^nd edition (2004). A standard developed by the International Council on Archives for creating archival authority records for significant record creators, enabling easier linking of collections.
• ISAD(G) – the General International Standard Archival Description – Second edition, collaboratively produced by the International Council on Archives as a standard for archival cataloguing. At its core lie six mandatory elements of description [Reference, Title, Creator, Date of Creation, Extent of the unit of description, and Level of Description].
• Item – the smallest unit used for cataloguing purposes, below File, such as a single document, photograph or plan.
• JISC [originally the Joint Information Systems Committee] – a membership organisation, supporting the Higher Education, Further Education and Skills sectors in all things digital. They have produced useful research-based guidance relating to digitisation and digital archives, and host the Archives Hub. See https://www.jisc.ac.uk.
• JPEG [Joint Photographic Experts Group] –the most common type of compressed digital image file. They are good for working copies of images, and for putting images online, but trade quality for size, and can lose detail when repeatedly used. For this reason TIFF or JPEG 2000 files are better for preservation copies.
• JPEG 2000 – a type of compressed digital image file that is good for preservation copies. Also see TIFF.
• Level of Description – an intellectual classification which helps to form the hierarchical arrangement of a collection and catalogue, grouping related material together logically. See Collection, Section, Series, File and Item. The Level of Description is often a required field in specialist cataloguing software systems, and is also required for Manage Your Collections in Discovery. Equivalent to Record Type in Spectrum.
• Listing – a quicker and less thorough alternative to Cataloguing. Akin to creating an Inventory in museums practice.
• Loan – See Deposit.
• Manage Your Collections in Discovery – a free initiative by which simple EXCEL catalogues from external organisations can be created and hosted on The National Archives' on-line Discovery catalogue.
• Mission Statement – a formal summary of the core purpose, aims and values of your organisation, which should be agreed by your governing body. This can then be used to provide context for your Collecting Policy and other activities.
• Museum Development Officer – a member of staff of one of the regional museum development programmes, funded in England by Arts Council England. The organisation of each team differs, but they usually concentrate support on those museums that have achieved or are actively preparing a submission for the UK Museum Accreditation Scheme. There are slightly different arrangements in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. See https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/supporting-arts-museums-and-libraries/supporting-museums/museum-development-programme.
• NDSA Levels of Digital Preservation –one method of self-assessing your organisation's state of preparedness for the challenges of digital preservation. See https://ndsa.org/activities/levels-of-digital-preservation/.
• Nitrile gloves –disposable gloves which help to keep items (and hands) clean, and are particularly recommended when handling photographic items. They are far less likely than latex gloves to cause allergic reactions. Cotton gloves are not recommended for use with archive collections as they can make it difficult to turn pages or carry out similar fine tasks, and they soon get dirty.
• Original order – unlike books, archives often lack full meaning or significance as individual items. Their true meaning often arises from their relationships with other documents and the people or organisations that created and used them. Where possible, archives should be kept in the order in which they were originally created or used. This original order allows custodians to protect the authenticity of the records and provides essential information as to how they were created, kept and used. Sometimes this original order has been lost through poor handling or re-sorting.
• Packaging – storing items within suitable materials to minimise exposure to dirt and light, help minimise environmental fluctuations, and help protect against accidental damage.
• PD 5454:2012, Guide for the storage and exhibition of archival materials – a superseded standard to which you may still see references.
• Photographic Collections Network –a Subject Specialist Network in the museum sector, for photographic collections and archives. See https://www.photocollections.org.uk/.
• Preservation – care of collections by non-intrusive methods such as packaging, environmental controls, and the creation of surrogate copies.
• Provenance – the history of ownership related to a group of records or an individual item in a collection; the creators and any subsequent owners of the records and how the records relate to each other. Provenance provides essential contextual information for understanding the content and history of an archival collection. Records which were created, assembled, and/or maintained by an organisation or individual should be represented together, and distinguished from those of any other organisation or individual. It is important to record details of where a collection came from, such as the creating company or individual, or how it was amassed.
• Purchase – an item or collection purchased by your organisation, using internal funds and/or grant assistance. If an item is purchased for you by someone else, it will then be either a Deposit/Loan or a Gift/Donation from the actual purchaser.
• Reading Room – See Search Room.
• Record – a synonym for document.
• Record Office – equivalent to an Archive Office,though the title is less commonly used now than in the 20^th Century.
• Records Manager – a role found in larger organisations and businesses. The Records Manager is responsible for creating a Retention Schedule, in compliance with legislation and administrative needs, identifying which items should be retained permanently and which can be confidentially destroyed after a number of years. They will often be responsible for safely storing and retrieving non-current items away from office areas. Ideally, they will pass significant items to the archives when they are no longer required for business purposes.
• Reference – a mandatory element when cataloguing under ISAD(G). Any description should include a reference, often in the form of a code but it can be a name, which is a unique identifier for the unit being described. The reference usually gives not only a unique identifier but is usually the principal way in which the hierarchical organisation of the arrangement is made clear. Equivalent to Object Number in the Spectrum standard.
• Regional and Networks Team – the team within Archives Sector Development at The National Archives, which liaises directly with archive-holding bodies and related networks, and which includes the Sector Development Managers.
• Relative Humidity [RH] – the amount of water vapour present in air expressed as a percentage of the amount needed for saturation at the same temperature. It is important to monitor RH as persistently high levels can result in mould outbreaks on archival material.
• Retention Schedule – a document which sets out how long certain types of internal records should be retained before being transferred to the Archives, re-assessed, or destroyed. Its complexity will depend on the nature and size of your organisation. Some records will be included for legal reasons (financial regulations, GDPR etc), while others depend on how much those records are required for day-to-day administrative purposes. For more information, developed for charities and voluntary organisations, please see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/archives/management-framework-for-retention-and-transfer.pdf  
• Rules – a series of instructions relating to the use of archives in the Search Room or Reading Room, suited to the specific circumstances of your organisation, and primarily designed to protect the documents. They can include clauses relating to what personal items are allowed or not allowed in the room, how to handle items carefully, and any conditions for use and re-use of information. Many organisations make researchers' signed agreement to the rules a condition of using the facilities. It is particularly important to explain the rules to new users, particularly those who have not previously used archives elsewhere, so that they can appreciate why rules such as “no pens” are in place.
• Search Room [or Reading Room] – a workspace set aside or created for the consultation of documents and other archival materials, and in which users of these items can be invigilated (users of original archives should not be left unsupervised in case of theft, damage or other misuse of items). Suitable equipment should be available, such as an appropriately sized desk or table, seating, adequate lighting, power sockets for laptops, and a computer for viewing digital materials such as images and catalogues. For small organisations this may not be a separate room but could be a space in a shared office. Consider what else is held in the room, or takes place there, so that there are no accidental breaches of GDPR.
• Section – an intermediate level of description between Collection / Fonds and Series, when cataloguing. It is interchangeable with Sub-Fonds. For complex collections Section or Sub-Fonds can be used to reflect the high-level organisational structure, such as sites, departments, or constituent companies.
• Sector Development Manager – a member of staff of The National Archives, with responsibility for liaising with, advising, and supporting organisations holding archives. The Sector Development Managers are responsible for geographical regions within England, and also have specific areas of focus including, at the time of writing, Science and Technology, Transport, and Businesses, which all relate to aspects of the aviation and aerospace sector. For a list of contacts, please see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/our-archives-sector-role/contact-the-team/
• Series – an intermediate level of description, between Collection and File / Item levels when cataloguing. Used for groups of related material. For complex collections, these can be divided into Sub-Series, and Sub-Sub-Series.
• Spectrum – the collection management standard for the UK museum sector, produced by the Collections Trust, and currently on version 5.0. The standard is freely available online at https://collectionstrust.org.uk/spectrum/ , together with useful documents showing how Spectrum relates to the Archives specific standards ISAD(G) and ISAAR (CPFP).
• Standards – For archive standards see BS 4971:2017, BS EN 16893:2018, ISAAR (CPF) and ISAD(G).
• STICK (Scottish Transport and Industry Collections Knowledge Network) – a Subject Specialist Network in the museum sector, encouraging wider engagement with transport and industrial collections in Scotland. See http://www.stickssn.org.
• Sub-Fonds – see Section.
• Subject Specialist Network [SSN] – a number of bodies in the museum sector, set up to provide advice and guidance on collections related to specific themes, the most relevant to the aviation and aerospace sector being Aviation Heritage UK, the Photographic Collections Network, STICK (Scottish Transport and Industry Collections Knowledge Network, and the War and Conflict Specialist Network. See https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/download-file/SSN_contact_list_june2019_0.pdf for more information.
• Terms of Deposit – the conditions under which you will accept new material into your collections. In this case “Deposit” is shorthand for all forms of acquisition. The terms should be made clear to potential donors and depositors to avoid the risk of later misunderstandings. You could, for instance, attach a copy to the Accessions Form.
• The National Archives – a non-ministerial department, and the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, and for England and Wales. They are expert advisers in information and records management and are a cultural, academic and heritage institution. They fulfil a leadership role for the archive sector and work to secure the future of physical and digital records.
• Thermo-hygrometer – a device, often now electronic, for measuring temperature and Relative Humidity.
• Thermo-hygrograph – a device which records the levels of temperature and Relative Humidity on a chart, to show fluctuations over time.
• TIFF [Tagged Image File Format] – a type of uncompressed digital image file which does not degrade with use. Such files are large, but are good for preservation copies, as are JPEG 2000 files.
• Title – a mandatory element when cataloguing under ISAD(G). Unlike books, archival resources generally do not have given titles, and when they do, they can be misleading or inadequate. Archivists therefore usually supply titles, composing titles that uniquely and clearly identify the resource. This is particularly important for electronic descriptions which are being searched, rather than being browsed. Equivalent to Title in Spectrum.
• UK Museum Accreditation Scheme – a measure of nationally agreed standards for Museums and Galleries. Administered in England by Arts Council England.
• War and Conflict Subject Specialist Network – a Subject Specialist Network in the museum sector, open to not-for-profit organisations and groups who look at stories linked to conflict, from the First World War to the present day. See https://www.iwm.org.uk/partnerships/subject-specialist-network.

Depending on the nature of your organisation, the way in which you collect archives will vary enormously.

• If you are a business archive, the majority of your archives will have been produced internally as part of the everyday activities of the company, and then transferred for safekeeping when they are no longer of current use, but have been identified as being worthy of permanent preservation.
• If you are a museum, you will probably have a large number of separate gifts, of varying sizes. You may hold records of companies and organisations that no longer exist, personal collections of papers, or miscellaneous collections accumulated by individuals.
• If you are a private collector, special interest society, or a group of enthusiasts, you may have purchased items and obtained copies from other places, relating to a specific theme, as well as accumulating records relating to your own activities.

A fundamental principle of the archive sector is that documents should remain as part of an identifiable collection, normally that in which they came into your hands. For instance:

• Business records of JD Merryweather & Sons, joystick manufacturers.
• The PJ O'Reilly photographic collection.
• Personal papers and ephemera of Ted Davies.

This allows items within the collection to be arranged in a meaningful order, and for it to be clearly seen how they relate to each other.

This also means that collections should not be split up and merged with other collections thematically. There is nothing wrong with creating links at an intellectual level (e.g. specific indexes of photographs or plans), and in practice it may make sense to store similar formats of material together (e.g. large plans or photographs), but the integrity of the collection should be respected, and items should be easily identified as part of a specific collection. The main exception to this rule is if you have a large number of single items, received from a variety of sources, and with no obvious links, in which case it might make sense to group these together, e.g. Miscellaneous Manuals. [“Miscellaneous” as a term is commonly frowned upon in archival circles, but often used in practice as it is a useful catch-all for items that cannot otherwise be categorised].

It is useful to have the policy available publicly, such as on a website, so that potential donors/depositors know if they are contacting the right organisation.

If you are offered material which is not of interest, you can use your Collecting Policy as a justification for refusal without causing offence. It is helpful if you can point the enquirer towards another organisation that might be interested.

If you are an accredited museum or archive, you will need to have a formal Collecting Policy signed-off by your governing body. However, for smaller organisations and groups, a statement of your collecting interests may be sufficient at this stage.

For more information on Collecting Policies, please see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/archives/archive-collection-policy.pdf

Almost inevitably, you will be offered a collection where some of the material falls within your Collecting Policy and some does not. You will need to decide whether the collection should be maintained in its entirety, or if it is appropriate to split the collection, with the non-relevant material being transferred elsewhere. The final decision may depend on how closely the material inter-relates. You may even decide that the whole collection is best housed elsewhere because the non-aviation material is more significant than the material in which you are interested. Your Sector Development Manager can offer advice on such matters or put you in touch with other organisations who may be interested in such collections.

Collections Development

If your organisation is well-established, you may wish to focus your collecting activities, and target known gaps, by developing a Collections Development Policy and Plan. Collections development policies explain how collecting practices will be achieved and developed over time, identifying collecting priorities and strategies. They detail the resources needed to deliver the policy and prioritise those activities that are essential to proactive collections development. Specific guidance on Collections Development can be found at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/managing-your-collection/developing-collections/collection-development/.

Accessioning

It is very important that you record and retain key information about the source of the collections that you acquire. This may be needed at a later date to prove ownership, for asking permission to copy items, or to link together related collections.

If you are in a Business Archive, or are an Accredited Museum, you will be familiar with the concept of Accessioning. Practice varies between the archives and museums sectors (the Object Entry process is not routinely used in archives, where the Accessioning process includes key elements of Object Entry). The key information to record at this point is:

• A unique Accession number. This might be a running number, or a combination of the year of accession and a running number commencing at one.
• Date accessioned
• The name and address of the donor/depositor (this can be their business address if appropriate)
• Their position within a company or organisation (if appropriate)
• Telephone/email for ease of future contact.
• Whether it is a gift, a deposit, or a purchase.
• Whether it is an addition to an existing collection.
• A rough description of the item/collection, including what it is, the covering dates, and details of the creating individual/organisation.
• Approximate covering dates.
• A rough estimate of the size of the collection.
• A note on formats to help identify storage requirements, particularly if the records are digital.
• A note on any issues relating to condition, to help identify preservation requirements.
• If there are any conditions relating to access (e.g. personal information that should be closed for a number of years, or items subject to commercial confidentiality).
• Are they are the copyright owners of the items and, if so, are they assigning copyright to you? If they are the copyright owners, do they wished to be contacted for permission before you copy items for external use? [Be aware that copyright normally lies with the creator of a document or their employer, and their heirs/successors until the date it expires. It is not the same as ownership of a document.]
• If they are happy for you to use images online.
• If they are happy for you to use items in exhibitions.
• If they wish you to return items that you choose not to retain, or whether you can transfer them to another organisation or confidentially destroy them.

Carefully recording this information at the Accessioning stage can save a considerable amount of work at a later date, and it is not always possible to gather all the relevant information retrospectively.

Archival practice is for an Accessions Form containing this information to be issued to the donor/depositor, as a formal receipt, and for a duplicate to be retained. These should be signed by the donor/depositor and the member of curatorial staff dealing with the accession, ideally including their title/position within the organisation. The Accessions Form provides proof of transfer of ownership and consent to any agreed terms and conditions of deposit.

It is best if the Accessions form can be completed immediately so that you can obtain all the relevant information from the depositor/donor, but in practice it may often have to be completed retrospectively, which does make it harder to obtain a signature.

It is useful to have a template Accessions Form which can either be filled in on a computer then printed off and signed, or filled in by hand if that is more practicable. You may find it useful to place your Terms of Deposit on the back of the Form. Be careful to maintain the running number of accessions in chronological order, as gaps, or out of order entries can cause confusion at a later date.

Core information should then be transferred to an Accessions Register. If you have a Collections Management System, there may be an Accessions Module in which you can also enter the information for convenience. Remember that personal information should be stored securely and donor/depositor details should not be publicly available if they are private individuals. If your Accessions Register is handwritten, try to make the writing as legible as possible, for the sake of your colleagues and successors. In the museums sector it is common to keep a copy of the Accessions Register on a separate site so that the information is retrievable in case anything happens to the original. The location for the copy needs to be secure because of the personal data contained in the Register, so another repository would be preferable to a private home.

It is quite likely that, even if you now have an Accessions Register, it does not date back to the beginning of your organisation's collecting activities. Try to retrospectively collate the information for at least your largest and most significant collections, using any correspondence or paperwork you can locate, or by re-contacting known donors/depositors.

For the sake of consistency, it helps if only a limited number of people are involved in the Accessioning process. However, it is common for items to be left at a front desk “for consideration” on days when the curatorial staff are not available, or handed over during external events. It is important that any staff and volunteers who might receive documents (or objects) in such circumstances, should be aware of the proper procedures, and that they record the key information, especially contact details. Otherwise, at worst, you will end up with shelves full of un-provenanced, and possibly unwanted, items, with no way of contacting the owners; and at best, you will create lots of additional work for the curatorial team trying to collate all the information correctly.

If you are a private collector or informal group of enthusiasts, it would still be useful to record details relating to newly acquired items. The information could be of use in the future if you develop into a formal society or museum, or if your collection is eventually passed on to a museum or archive.

Accessioned items should either be catalogued straight away if you have capacity (particularly if there are a small numbers of items, or particularly significant items), or else packaged and clearly labelled with their Accession number, and then transferred to your storage area until such time as they can be properly catalogued.

The exception to this rule is if the items are contaminated with mould or infested with pests, in which case they should be placed in isolation until they can be professionally treated, so as not to risk contaminating other collections. If you do not have a separate room for quarantining such material, you should think very hard about the significance of a contaminated collection before taking it into your care, because of the likely costs of treatment and potential risk to other material in your collections. Some collecting policies will indicate that material requiring extensive conservation will not be accepted.

If items are placed in storage without being labelled it can be very difficult to retrieve them at a later date, you may not be sure you have located the whole collection, and there is a risk of separate collections becoming accidentally mixed – holding shelves tend to be rather messy and items are often moved around to create space or to locate other items, especially if more than one person works on the collections.

De-Accessioning

If your Collecting Policy is much more recent than the formation of your organisation, you may wish to re-appraise your existing collections to see if they are still relevant to your mission. Many organisations collect indiscriminately in their early years, but become more focused as they develop or when they begin to run out of storage space. If collections are identified as being outside your Collecting Policy, it may be appropriate to De-Accession them and return them to their owner, transfer them elsewhere, or otherwise dispose of them – again, your Sector Development Manager can advise on the ethics and practicalities of this approach. The National Archives has developed specific guidance on Deaccessioning and Disposal, available at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/Deaccessioning-and-disposal-guide.pdf. You should maintain records of what has been de-accessioned, why, and on whose authority, in case questions are raised at a later date.

This guidance links to Sections 2.1 (Collections Management), 2.2 (Collections Development) and 2.3 (Collections Information) of the Archive Service Accreditation Standard.

Arrangement and cataloguing are closely linked as parts of a single process; that of establishing physical and intellectual control over a group of archives. Arrangement is the intellectual and physical organisation of a group of documents (often creating order from disorder), while cataloguingrefers to describing the contents in order to create an accurate representation of the whole and its constituent parts, and providing the contextual information needed to understand it and its creator. The latter will be dealt with in more detail in Section 4. Cataloguing, below.

To arrange archival material in a meaningful manner you will need to apply (and sometimes adapt) established archival principles, whether consciously or unconsciously.

1 Internal records

Depending on the type of organisation you are, and how long you have been in operation, you may have generated a large quantity of internal records relating to your organisation, its work, and its members and officers. Even the smallest organisation will have accumulated items like minute books, accounts, title deeds, correspondence, publicity material and photographs of activities.

First Steps

If you are starting from scratch, this might involve some investigative work surveying locked cupboards, desk drawers, attics, basements and safes to ensure that no material is overlooked. There is no harm repeating this process every few years as many people, at all levels of an organisation, from Trustees to engineers to marketing staff, tend to retain documents (whether paper or in electronic format) long after they are needed for administrative or workplace activities. Also, be watchful for the opposite trait – someone tidying an office, or clearing out a storage area, and about to throw away significant items. Good internal communications and frequent reminders, are essential, particularly in large organisations. Your colleagues need to remember that the archives exists, and that they can contact you if they think they have something that needs to be retained long-term.

If you are part of a large, established, organisation, there may be a Records Manager, on the staff. They will be responsible for preparing Retention Schedules, identifying which records should be retained long-term, and which should be disposed of after a specified number of years, for legal or administrative reasons. You will need to build a good relationship with your Records Manager, to ensure that items identified for permanent preservation are passed to the archives in due course.

In smaller organisations, you may end up unwittingly performing the some of the tasks of a Records Manager, simply by selecting certain items for permanent preservation and leaving the rest where you found them, or approving the disposal of those items no longer required. Useful guidance on appraising current administrative records in charities and voluntary organisations, can be found at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/archives/management-framework-for-retention-and-transfer.pdf.

Ideally you will be able to bring everything together in one space, which will include areas for sorting and storage, as well as room for a computer – some important recent records may only be available as electronic files – Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, emails, or CAD drawings.

It can be helpful to begin by making a rough list, not in any detail, of what archives there are, where they are, and roughly how much there is. For example, ‘Trust minutes- filing cabinet A, top drawer', ‘Trust Deed – framed on wall in meeting room'.

Almost invariably groups of records will have been kept together, though perhaps not in good order and with stray documents intermingled. These groups, or series, are the building blocks of your arrangement and description, so they should be retained intact. Do not rearrange them on the basis of chronology or subject matter. 

It may be that papers relating to the same thing, for example, minutes of the governing body, are to be found in more than one place. Material that you would expect to find, because it ought to have been kept is missing, in whole or in part. If such records can't be found, are they in the hands of the organisation’s officers, current or previous? Have they been destroyed? Try to establish as much information as you can, even if it is negative.

Resources

With the material identified, you are now ready to begin arranging the material. But first you need to assess your available resources.

Time

How much time will you have to devote to this? Have you been able to set aside a period for largely uninterrupted work to bring the records into order? Do you expect to have a regular day a week, or less? Will you only have odd half-hours when there is nothing more pressing?

Help

Are there any volunteers willing to help? If so, will training and supervision take more time than doing the job yourself? There is little to be gained in arranging a small proportion of the records beautifully, if it means the rest has been completely neglected (this does not mean that all the material need be given equal attention).

Money and assets

What material resources are available? Are there funds to buy archival quality storage materials?

Space

Is there space to work? Will there be dedicated and suitable space for storage?

Archival Principles

The two core principles that should always inform archival arrangement are the principle of Provenance and the principle of Original Order, used in conjunction with Functional Analysis. Common sense also plays an important part – if something looks wrong or makes no sense, it may well be wrong.

Provenance

The principle of provenance means that records which were created, assembled, and/or maintained by an organisation or individual should be kept and described together, and distinguished from those of any other organisation or individual. This means, for example, that if a trust runs two separate museums, this should be reflected in the archives: the sets of records from the Trust, and those relating to the activities of the two sites, should be kept as discrete groupings, not combined into one on the basis of subject or form or date. On the other hand, if a museum's displays are at one site, but there is a separate outstore, it is possible that related items, created by the same staff carrying out the same activities, could be found at both sites, and should be integrated when they reach the archives.

Respecting this principle means that every document will be traceable to its origin and will be maintained as part of a group having the same origin. It serves to protect the integrity of records in the sense that their origins and the processes by which they were created are reflected in their arrangement.

Original order

The principle of original order means that the order of the records that was established by the creator should be maintained whenever possible to preserve existing relationships between the documents and the evidence that comes from the order. Original order does not necessarily mean the order in which things were originally created; it means the order in which they were last used as working documents. Do not necessarily assume that a record, for instance a letter found with Trustees' minutes, should automatically be reassigned to a series of correspondence kept elsewhere. It may be that that the letter is the evidence presented at the meeting as evidence of maladministration in the organisation.

Functional analysis

Original order and provenance are the key principles to be applied in the course of arrangement, but in themselves they do not provide an overarching logic governing overall arrangement. For this the use of functional analysis is helpful. This is an intellectual tool that looks at the role or roles of a record's creator or creators, and analyses how the documents reflect the ways in which these roles were fulfilled. In terms of an organisation it means focusing on the administrative structures and business processes designed to implement the work of the organisation and organising the records accordingly. This sounds more complex than it is: it arises quite naturally from the process of compiling your retention schedule and collecting policy.

Common sense

In applying archival principles, there is another principle to be followed, that is, common-sense. There will be times when it is clear that a document found in a particular place would be much better placed elsewhere. There are times when parts of the same record sequence have been kept in two completely different locations for no good reason. Often there is no one right way to arrange archives, there are different ways, and a good knowledge of an organisation (or life of an individual) can help in making decisions.

If in doubt, perhaps talk things through with a colleague, to see if your approach makes sense to them, or look for the online catalogues of similar organisations to your own, to see if they have already dealt with the same issue.

Basics of Arrangement

Most organisations, even those very different in size and objectives, will have certain things in common.

Governance

All organisations should have documents covering their governance and establishment, legal status and ordering the way they are run. These can include documents like:

• Trust deeds, Constitution, Charity Commission schemes of management, Rules, Minutes of governing bodies, Annual reports, Membership records, Correspondence of the officers and central authorities.

Core activities

The next area might be the core activities of the organisation; the way in which it fulfils its raison d'être. For a Museum these can include collections, exhibitions and education.

This is an area where at a later stage you might consider going beyond passive reception of records being created and adopt an active policy to capture the life of the organisation, through a photographic record, audio-visual recordings or oral histories.

Essential support functions

Then there is documentation of the essential support functions required to carry out the core work of the organisation. These include:

• Finance and resources: annual accounts, trust accounts, Treasurer's records, fund-raising appeal accounts and literature.
• Property: deeds, Tenders, specifications, architectural plans and drawings, photographs relating to major projects e.g. new buildings and extensions.
• Staff: personnel and volunteer records.

Other support activities

These are those activities which support the support functions, such as publicity and outreach Committees, single project Working Parties, newsletters.

Non-essential activities

It is likely that an organisation will have records relating to activities which it is good to be able to do but are not necessary and could be curtailed. This will vary from organisation to organisation but might include activities such as involvement in external campaigns and establishment of subsidiary organisations.

Finally, it is necessary to consider material created inself-conscious recording of events, such as histories, press reports and photographs, and also any separate collections that were created under the auspices of your organisation, such as the personal papers of particular staff or volunteers.

Useful guidance on arranging and describing personal papers can be found on the Religious Archives Group website at http://religiousarchivesgroup.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/preserving-religious-archives-version-e6-1.doc

Arrangement in Practice

Where any particular series of documents should be placed within this framework is dependent upon how your organisation operates.

Arrangement and description are parts of one process. By arranging you are preparing the ground for description. The two usually go hand in hand but even if you are unable to describe the components of the archive in any great detail, the collection should nevertheless be arranged, as far as resources permit, according to the same principles. And of course, the arrangement should as far as possible be seamless between current records and historic archives so that when records are ready to come into the archives, they fit into an existing structure.

Inevitably, in large organisations, there will be periodic re-structures. Departments will merge, split, appear and disappear. People will move around and roles will change. Try to make sure that your arrangement has enough flexibility to cope with such changes, both historic and yet to come. It can be useful to spend time researching the administrative history of your organisation, and talking to key people involved with it over time. This can help to put the changes into context, fill in gaps in the documentation, explain why things were done a certain way, and assist with the next stage: cataloguing.

2 External records

Depending on the nature of your organisation, many, if not most, of the records in your archive will have been received from external organisations, businesses and individuals. Many of the same principles apply to arranging such external records, particularly Provenance (keeping the records received from a particular source separate, in a discreet collection), and retaining the Original Order as far as possible, though this may not be possible, or even advisable in small collections or those of a very miscellaneous nature.

Common-sense plays a large part in arranging miscellaneous collections. For instance, if there are clearly some business records, group these together, separating out the separate businesses where possible, all the while bearing in mind which companies are linked by ownership and descent. Likewise, separate sections for categories such as printed material, photographs and ephemera can be useful. A major purpose of arrangement is to guide users easily towards related or similar material in the collection. Archivists tend to arrange items chronologically within groups of similar material, but for published material, alphabetical arrangements may sometimes be more appropriate.

The groupings made at this stage will form the basis for a hierarchical catalogue in all but the smallest and most straightforward collections.

Don't agonise over the fine details of arrangement, you can always make adjustments during the cataloguing process, if more information becomes available or you change your mind.

For inspiration, look at the online catalogues of organisations with similar collections to see how they have arranged comparable collections, or arrange a visit to talk with the people who created the catalogues, to learn from their experiences, and if they would have done things differently in hindsight.

This guidance links to Section 2.3 (Collections Information) of the Archive Service Accreditation Standard.

There would be little point in arranging your archive without then providing a description of it. However much time and expertise there is available, making a descriptive list of the archival holdings is essential. The ideal archival description should provide a brief but accurate representation of the archives so that anyone using them (archivist, curator, colleague, volunteer or researcher) can discover if a document exists, locate it within the collection, and understand its context.

Cataloguing gives you an opportunity to check the contents of collections, identify any documents which are particularly interesting and also any which should not be open for research (e.g. they contain personal or confidential information). For archives open for research, describing what you have and, ideally, making full catalogues available online will enable potential researchers to complete their initial investigations before they visit you. Importantly, it also allows researchers to discover what you don't hold in your collections, avoiding unnecessary enquiries, and saving your time as well as theirs.

Ideally, every item within a collection would be catalogued individually. However, cataloguing can be a very time consuming process, and many established archives have significant backlogs of material waiting to be catalogued, amounting to many years of staff time. For this reason, listing at a box level, or even at a collection level, is preferable to nothing, and at least gives an indication of the what you hold, allowing you to fill in the gaps at a later date. Such a description has similarities to creating an Inventory in the Spectrum standards.

Listing at box level gives you a good overview of the contents of a collection:

• It allows you to make a quick assessment of any major issues with the condition of the material or any special storage needed because of its format (e.g. photographs, textiles, audio-visual or digital material).
• It allows you to identify material that might be particularly significant for research and it enables you to spot any material that might need special access restrictions.
• When material is listed, it allows you to take physical and intellectual control of it – it is like stock control in a shop.
• When you provide access, it safeguards material, as you know what you have and what you are making available to researchers.

A Collection Level Description gives a short, holistic overview of the collection, recording the creator, covering dates and size of the collection, key individuals, organisations, companies, events and places, and noting particularly significant documents or themes. Such a description can be based on the information compiled during the Accessions process, and augmented as time allows. Such a description is indicative of the general nature and contents of the collection, but does not allow you to identify or locate individual documents for researchers without further work.

The Nature of Archival Description

The depth and the detail of archival description can vary widely, from detailed calendars recording individual letters, to summary box-lists recording little more than the number of the box on the shelf and a brief title, for example, ‘Newsletters'. To provide more detailed and generally more helpful description, it is necessary to consider all the archive in context.

Context is among the features distinguishing archives from books, an otherwise similar information source. In an archive each unit is part of a linked relationship based on its origination, a hierarchy that is based on the processes of creation and use. The recognition of this hierarchy is built into the process of arrangement and description. It begins with the whole and then proceeds to the sub-components of the whole, then sub-components of sub-components, down in some cases to individual items. In general you should proceed from the central to the peripheral, then the general to specific and the earlier to later. The creation of a hierarchical catalogue differs from museum practice where the Object number assigned during Accessioning, and perhaps a sub-number, are the usual final references used for locating objects.

Elements of Description

Describing archives is a matter of deciding what it is about the documents that needs to be recorded. ISAD(G) breaks down the description of any archival unit into its logical parts. It analyses these parts and highlights the elements that may be present. These elements are grouped into a number of “Areas” as follows:

IDENTITY STATEMENT AREA

Reference code(s)

Title

Creator

Date(s) of creation

Extent and medium of the unit of description (quantity, bulk, or size)

Level of description

CONTEXT AREA

Name of creator(s)

Administrative / Biographical history

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE AREA

Scope and content[often called Description in practice]

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

Accruals

System of arrangement

CONDITIONS OF ACCESS AND USE AREA

Conditions governing access

Conditions governing reproduction

Language/scripts of material

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

ALLIED MATERIALS AREA

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Publication note

NOTES AREA

DESCRIPTION CONTROL AREA

Archivist’s Note

Rules or Conventions

Date(s) of descriptions

These elements do not necessarily need be presented in a particular order, or separated into different fields, and they do not need be made explicit, particularly in typed or word-processed catalogues. Moreover, not all the elements are essential. In practice, archivists do tend to use the ISAD(G) order and separate out the elements in accordance with it. The areas and elements can provide the structure for a catalogue database, and are intrinsically built into some of the available software systems (see the section on Cataloguing Practicalities below).

Essential elements

The six elements which are considered essential to archival description are given in the ISAD(G) Identity Statement Area. They are:

Reference

Any description should include a reference, often in the form of a code but it can be a name, which is a unique identifier for the unit being described. The reference should not only provide a unique identifier but is usually the principal way in which the hierarchical organisation of the arrangement is made clear.

Equivalent to Object number in Spectrum.

Title

Unlike books, archival resources generally do not have given titles, and when they do, they can be misleading or inadequate. Archivists therefore usually supply titles, composing titles that uniquely and clearly identify the resource. This is particularly important for electronic descriptions which are being searched, rather than being browsed.

Equivalent to Title in Spectrum.

Creator

Record the name and life-dates of the person or organisation predominantly responsible for the creation and assembly of the material. Generally this will only need to be recorded once in relation to the whole collection or archive group.

Equivalent to Object production organisation/people/person in Spectrum.

Date of creation

These are the dates when the documents in the unit being described were originally created or the date that an event or image was captured.

Equivalent to Date – earliest/single, Date – earliest/single certainty, Date – earliest/single qualifier, Date – latest, Date – latest certainty, Date – latest qualifier, Date – period and Date text in Spectrum.

Extent of the unit of description

This should be given in the most meaningful way; for example, five boxes, or two feet or 1 file. In many cases this is only given once for the whole collection or archive group.

Equivalent to Number of Objects and Physical description in Spectrum.

Level of description

This is the most complex area for non-professionals to understand but it essential to understanding how to keep archives.

Equivalent to Record type in Spectrum.

Levels of Description

The idea of hierarchical relationship is key to understanding the archives and the connections between material.Virtually every archive collection will be hierarchical and multi-level. This is a key difference between archival and museum practice.

ISAD(G), therefore, breaks down description into levels. There are preferred terms for the levels, with technical definitions. These are useful in thinking about the relationships within archives but very few collections will follow such a pattern precisely.

Collection [sometimes called a Fonds]

The whole of the records created and/or accumulated and used by a particular person, family or corporate body in the course of the creator's activities and functions, e.g. Hawker Siddeley; Manchester Airport; Sir Frank Whittle.

[All but the smallest organisations will, therefore, have more than one Collection in their custody, and is better to describe their entire holdings as Collections in the plural rather than Collection in the singular, in order to avoid confusion.]

Section [sometimes called a Sub-Fonds]

A sub-division of a Collection containing a body of related documents, corresponding to sub-divisions in the originating agency or to major chronological, functional or similar groupings of the material itself, e.g. Personnel.

Series

Documents arranged in accordance with a filing system or maintained as a unit because they result from the same accumulation or activity; have a particular form; or because of another reason arising out of their creation, receipt or use, e.g. Finance Committee Minutes; Plans.

File

An organised unit of documents grouped together either for use by the creator or in the process of archival arrangement, because they relate to the same subject, activity or transaction, e.g. Correspondence 1952-1984. [This level can sometimes be confusing as an intellectual File does not have to be a physical paper file; it can also be a volume or a group of loose items.]

Item

the smallest intellectually indivisible (not necessarily physically indivisible) archival unit, e.g., a letter, report, photograph, recording.

These levels are flexible. Each of the higher levels can have their own sub-levels: Sub-Sections and Sub-Series are common in descriptions of complex organisations. But some collections or archive groups are not that complex. And some material does not require particularly detailed listing.

The levels of description are intellectual rather than physical, but they help with the hierarchical arrangement and numbering of a collection and catalogue. They do not need to be explicitly shown in printed catalogues, but they are a mandatory field in specialist cataloguing systems that are compliant with ISAD(G), and are used for Manage Your Collections and the Archives Hub (see the section on Cataloguing Practicalities below for more on these initiatives).

Multi-level rules

Descriptions composed in strict adherence to these rules can be cumbersome and repetitive, so ISAD(G) offers four rules to govern multi-level description:

1. Description should pass from the general to the specific.
2. Information should be relevant to the level of description.
3. Descriptions should be linked.
4. Avoid repetition of information given at a higher level.

The fourth rule needs to be clarified. With many descriptive lists being composed and made available online, searching is supplementing, or replacing, browsing from a list of contents. You may, therefore, find it useful to repeat Title information in order to ensure that the Search process picks up all the relevant records and to help minimise navigation through levels of the catalogue.

All the levels from Section to File can have sub-levels but only two levels are absolutely necessary: Collection and Item, and it is in fact possible for a collection to comprise a single Item, in which case only one level of description is required.

NOTE: There is nothing to stop you adding additional fields to your own catalogue that will be useful to you and your users. For instance, you could choose to have fields in which to tag keywords, such as subject (e.g. aircraft type, unpowered flight, ground crew), format (e.g. plan, photograph), location (e.g. standardised place-name, grid reference) or technical information (e.g. type of system, type of component, identification marks), which might not appear in the free text fields. Keywords can be standardised by creating a drop-down menu, or left as free text, depending on your requirements. In a spreadsheet, such fields can be used to sort the data in different ways.

Cataloguing in Practice

The depth and sophistication of description will depend upon the nature of the material, the complexity of the arrangement, the time available, the detail required to make sense of an archival unit, and the expertise available. As this implies, arranging and describing generally proceed together.

However, arrangement and description can be time-intensive activities. Given the limited staff time that may be available, it may not be possible to arrange material in depth and produce a detailed list as a one-off exercise. In such a situation, they can be approached as a part of ongoing process whereby arrangement and description progress incrementally.

The following examples relate to cataloguing the records of the fictitious Rasen Flying Club.

From a Collection Level Description to a full Catalogue

1. Collection Level Description

Accession 2017:21 Records of the Rasen Flying Club and the Rasen Air Show, including minutes, accounts and publicity material, c1920-1967.

2A. Simple Box List

Box no.	Title	Description	Dates	Notes
1-5	Rasen Flying Club	Membership and administrative records	c1920-1954	Includes some photographs
6-7	Rasen Air Show	Correspondence files	1948-1967

2B. More detailed Box List

Box no.	Title	Description	Dates	Notes
1	Rasen Flying Club	Membership lists and subscription account books	c1920-1954	Early records incomplete
2	Rasen Flying Club	Minutes	1922-1954
3	Rasen Flying Club	Correspondence files	1934-1954
4	Rasen Flying Club	Publicity material	1948-1953	Includes photographs of air shows, 1950 & 1952
5	Rasen Flying Club	Accounts	1924-1954

• Full Catalogue

Here are the possible levels of description for a single item from the contents of Box 4 of the collection which has now been hierarchically catalogued under the collection reference RFC.

References can be wholly numeric, a mixture of numbers and letters, or a mixture of collection name and numbers: whatever best suits your organisation. Different levels of the hierarchy should be separated by a forward slash /.

RFC Rasen Flying Club and Rasen Air Show, c1920-1967

RFC/1 Rasen Flying Club, c1920-1954

RFC/1/7 Publicity, 1948-1953

RFC/1/7/2 Records of the Fourth Air Show, 1950

RFC/1/7/2/12 Photograph of fly-past by Lancaster, 24 June 1950

A finished printed catalogue would not look like this, as all the items in each sub-level are described together in reference order, and are best displayed in a tabular form such as below:

RFC/1/7/1/15	Letter from Peter Gwynne Enclosing receipt for payment of programme printing costs.	12 Aug 1949
RFC/1/7/2	Records of the Fourth Air Show	1950
RFC/1/7/2/1	Flyer	1950
RFC/1/7/2/2	Programme Printed by P Gwynne & Sons.	1950

Contextual Information

The six elements of the Identity Statement Area of ISAD(G) offer the bare bones necessary for description. But is usually helpful to add some additional information. Using ISAD(G)’s Context Area and the Content and Structure Area provide for the addition of an Administrative / Biographical history and Scope and content information.

Administrative / Biographical history

This is to provide an account of the creator of the unit of description (whether a person, a family or an organisation) to place the material in context and make it better understood. This is usually found at the collection level but can be useful at lower levels of description too.

RFC Records of the Rasen Flying Club, c1920-1954

The club was formed shortly after the end of World War I by a group of returning local pilots. A field at Sandsgate was purchased for use as an airstrip. After the end of World War II a series of Air Shows were held, which proved popular, and were continued after the Club itself folded in 1954 because of the advanced ages of the surviving members.

Scope and content [Description]

This provides information about the nature of the resource being described. This should allow potential users of the archive to judge the relevance of the unit of description to their research. It may include information about the subject, form or intellectual characteristics of the records being described, the activity that generated the records, or the time period covered.

RFC/7 Publicity, 1948-1953

The publicity records are principally flyers and programmes for the annual Air Shows, which commenced in 1947. The bulk of the material dates from after 1950, when the separate Air Show Committee was formed.

Following the structure of ISAD(G) to divide out descriptive elements is a useful checklist, a way of ensuring necessary and useful information has been included, making it as easy as possible for anyone else to see what there is at a glance. If your description will be made available online, it is important to remember that a search will often produce results where the context is not obvious. Hence, it can be desirable to repeat some Title information across levels, to aid the searcher.

Cataloguing Practicalities

If you are new to the world of cataloguing you may find it useful by starting with a small discreet collection, perhaps of fairly ephemeral items, and using an old-school pencil and paper approach. A printed pro-forma with the core elements of description will help you to remember the key information to record.

Essential elements
Level of description	This will be either File or Item if you are describing a single physical object.
Reference	You can leave this blank until you have everything in its final order, or if you prefer, assign a temporary number.
Title
Creator
Dates of creation
Extent
Additional useful elements
Scope and content	Often called Description. Use this for descriptive information additional to the Title.
Conservation	Use this to record any issue with the item, or work that has already been carried out on it.
Archivist's note	Use this for any other relevant information. If you use this regularly for similar information, you may need to add another non-essential ISAD(G) element to your proforma.
Location	This will help you locate the item again when you need to put it in its final arrangement and add the reference.

We would suggest making two copies, of which one should be placed with the document or documents you have described (it can be temporarily attached with a brass or plastic paper clip, or tucked into the file or volume). Keep all the other copies together, and you can later sort these into a meaningful order to create an intellectual arrangement of the collection. In many cases, little re-arrangement will be necessary, but for very miscellaneous collections, a variety of approaches are possible, as long as it makes sense. You can then create additional sheets for higher levels of description to create a hierarchy: the Collection, and any intermediate levels such as Series. When you are happy with your arrangement, you can assign permanent numbers on the sheets. Next you can re-arrange the actual document in the same order, adding the reference numbers in pencil. Finally, you can type up the sheets into a document, spreadsheet or database to create your finished catalogue.

When you are more comfortable with the cataloguing process you can skip this paper phase, or perhaps just use slips of paper with temporary numbers. You can enter your descriptions straight onto computer, and carry out the sorting virtually.

When creating a hierarchical catalogue for a large collection, it is usual to create entries for the higher levels of description first. These then act as a framework for navigating the collection while (or until) the individual items are catalogued. This allows separate people or teams to work on the collection at the same time, slotting their work into the overall structure, and allows work on the different sections to be prioritised if some are more important than others, or required in a shorter timescale.

Catalogues are mostly computer-based these days, as this allows for quick keyword searchers, eases corrections and edits, and enables text to be cut-and-pasted elsewhere – a huge advance on handwritten and typescript catalogues and indexes. The software used will depend on the resources of your organisation and the computer literacy of your staff and volunteers.

At a basic level, a word processed list is legible, can be quickly printed or emailed, and can easily made available online as text within a web page, or as a document or PDF attachment.

A spreadsheet such as Microsoft EXCEL or its equivalents is more sophisticated as rows can be sorted to present the information in different ways, and excerpts can be printed clearly using Mailmerge techniques. More importantly, the information can be automatically exported to more specialised database as your organisation grows.

Catalogues can also be exported from EXCEL to The National Archives “Discovery” catalogue if you do not have your own on-line catalogue, or wish to share your catalogue more widely. For more information on this free initiative, please see: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/finding-records-in-discovery-and-other-databases/manage-your-collections-in-discovery/.

Specialist archival databases are known as Content Management Systems [CMS]. These can present catalogues on-site, and on-line, in the structured hierarchies described above, and may incorporate the mandatory elements of ISAD(G) to help with the process of cataloguing. A range of commercial systems is available, for which you would need to budget purchase costs and annual support costs. There are also open-source systems if you have sufficient technical knowledge at hand. The National Archives has produced a spreadsheet which compares the features of many of these systems, available at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/archives/cms-dams-options-for-archives.xls.

The Archives Hub is a JISC-sponsored initiative to provide cross-searchable catalogues from a range of Higher Education, Business and Specialist archives. Catalogues are imported using Encoded Archival Description [EAD] files. The Archives Hub provides an EAD Editor online cataloguing tool, or entries can be exported from an appropriate Content Management System. See https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/ for more information on this initiative.

Numbering

This process is carried out in parallel with cataloguing, and is essential for locating items described in the finished catalogue.

Boxes should be marked with the running numbers of the contents, so that the correct box in a sequence can be easily identified. There is no standard way of marking references on boxes. Some archives write on the box in pencil, while others use special pens, sticky labels, or even bar codes. The key is for the references to be clearly written and visible at a distance and/or in poor light. It can be very frustrating to try to find an item in a hurry when you can't read the references on the boxes. If your storage area is well lit, pencil may be sufficient, but consider alternatives if the lighting is poor.

If your boxes have removable lids but part of the base still shows, it is best to write the numbers on the base section as lids can sometimes go astray. You may even consider duplicating the numbering on the inside of the box in case pencil numbering gets rubbed away, or labels dry up and fall off.

Any folders or other packages within boxes should also be marked with the running numbers of their contents, to ease location of items.

Individual items should normally be numbered with a soft pencil (usually 2B), which won't damage the paper and can be erased if a mistake is made, or references are altered later on. Items should not be numbered with any form of ink as this is permanent, cannot be altered, and chemicals in the ink could affect the document in the long-term. The location of the numbers will depend on house style (front or back of a document; top or bottom of the sheet; inside the front cover of a volume), but should be easy to find and not so small as to be difficult to read. Photographs should always be numbered on the back.

Some formats, such as shiny photographic paper are difficult to mark with pencil, so seek advice on what is best used instead (e.g. chinagraph pencils for the backs of photographs).

Any protective packaging should be numbered as well as the item inside (though this may not be necessary for individual items stored in polyester sleeves if the number can be seen through the packaging, or the item will never be removed from the numbered packaging.

This guidance links to Section 2.3 (Collections Information) of the Archive Service Accreditation Standard.

Note. The core of this document is based on Archives for Beginners – Description, prepared for the Religious Archives Group, expanded with elements from Archive Principles and Practice: an introduction to archives for non-archivists (available on The National Archives website but currently under revision), both of which are Crown Copyright.

Archives are inherently fragile because of the materials they are made of (including acidic paper and the chemicals in inks), their treatment and storage before being earmarked for preservation, and their susceptibility to damage. In order to preserve them in the long-term, they need to be stored in conditions which are cool, dry and stable, with minimum exposure to natural or artificial light. They also need to be packaged adequately and handled carefully. Providing good storage conditions slows down deterioration over time and helps to prevent damage from dirt, mould or pests.

Increasingly, we are being asked to look after archives which exist only in digital formats, which pose their own problems in relation to long-term preservation.

In an ideal world, all archives would be stored in perfect conditions, complying with international standards – secure, in a stable suitable environment, and protected from risks. In the real world many collections are stored in far from ideal conditions such as in attics, basements, garages and metal industrial units, subject to extremes of temperature and humidity, and at risk from fire, water, pests or theft. Risk cannot be avoided completely, but steps can be taken to manage and minimise such hazards. This document aims to offer some practical and realistic advice to help you to preserve your collections for the future.

Standards

The key current standards for archival buildings are:

BS EN 16893:2018, Conservation of Cultural Heritage. Specifications for location, construction and modification of buildings or rooms intended for the storage or use of heritage collections [ISBN: 978 0 580 90371 7].

BS 4971:2017, Conservation and care of archive and library collections [ISBN: 978 0 580 94654 7].

You may still come across references to BS 5454:2000 or PD 5454:2012, the first version of which was issued in 1977, and which remained the key standard in the sector until replaced by the two current documents.

Although these standards lay down best practice, they are realistic in that they recognise the limitations of many existing premises. If you are having a new storage area built or converted, please make your architects aware of these standards at an early stage. As is the nature of such documents, they are very technical, but they still contain a lot of useful advice about environmental conditions, shelving, packaging and hazards that can be used by all custodians of archives, as well as the specialist advice on construction. There are many practical steps you can take to protect your collections by identifying and mitigating risks.

Organisations with limited resources may not be able to purchase copies of the Standards, but your Sector Development Manager will be able to offer advice on their contents and make suggestions on how to comply with specific aspects of them.

Buildings

Unless you are fortunate to have a new-build planned and financed, you will most likely have to make the best of whatever storage area you are assigned.

Services running through the storage area should be minimal. Avoid areas with gas, water or sewage pipes, particularly main risers, or where there are hazards from above such as kitchen areas and toilets. Electrical wiring, sockets, lighting and equipment should be checked for safety to reduce the fire risk, and where possible, any wiring should run through metal conduits. Master switches for electrical circuits should be outside the storage area.

The roof and any windows should be checked to make sure they are watertight, and any nearby gutters, downpipes and drains should also be regularly checked for blockages, and well maintained. If the area is known to be liable to flooding, lower shelves should not be used for storage, and plans should be in place to quickly evacuate the contents most at risk.

Be aware of open roof spaces above the storage area, through which fire can easily spread. Also think about potential hazards in adjacent areas, such as combustible chemicals, fuel, and wood. Storage areas should not be adjacent to any areas (internal or external) where hot work such as welding is carried out, because of the fire risk. Ideally, the storage area should have fire-resistant walls, ceilings, floors and windows, and four-hour resistant fire doors. Smoke detectors should be fitted inside and outside storage areas, and connected to the site's alarm system.

The floor-loading should be sufficient to bear the weight of the collections and shelving. For this reason archives can often be stored in basements, which can have particular risks of flooding or dampness.

Solid floors are preferable to carpets in storage areas, as carpets can harbour dirt and insects.

For a small collection it may not be feasible or appropriate to have a separate storage room, but consider investing in a secure, fire-proof cupboard. Even a normal metal cupboard can be locked and will offer some protection.

You should invest in monitors so that you can be aware of how your storage area performs over the course of the year, and can take appropriate steps to minimise fluctuations. Thermo-hygrographs record the levels of temperature and Relative Humidity on a chart, to show fluctuations over time. Relatively inexpensive electronic thermo-hygrometers, which can be hand held or wall mounted, display the current temperature and Relative Humidity. You can also purchase small electronic monitors which sit on shelves or in boxes or display cases. For these, you download the information periodically, so they show fluctuations over time rather than giving instant readings. It is important that monitoring equipment is correctly calibrated, and periodically recalibrated, if it is to give accurate results.

Dirt, dust and pollutants are an issue, particularly in urban areas, and are hard to control unless your storage area is relatively air-tight, and filtered air-handling equipment is installed.

Ultra-violet light can be harmful to archival materials so, as a minimum, blinds should be installed on any windows.

Security

The area in which archives are stored should be secure. Ideally, there should be no external doors or windows and the roof should be secure. Any ground-level windows should be at least locked, and preferably blocked up or barred. Internal doors should be locked when not in use, and access to the keys restricted to staff responsible for the archives and caretaking staff. If small collections area kept in cabinets rather than a specific store room, these should be kept locked when not in use. Intruder and fire/smoke detectors and alarms should be installed if possible.

Only authorised staff or volunteers with responsibility for the archives should normally have access to the storage areas, and only they should remove any items from storage. A paper slip should be left in place of any document removed, so that it is clear what has been removed, who currently has it, and where it should be eventually be replaced. A log should be kept of all withdrawals and returns.

External contractors and maintenance staff should be supervised at all times when carrying out work in storage areas in case of accidents or theft. Many fires in historic buildings start as a result of hot-work (welding, soldering etc) being carried out by contractors, and they may not appreciate the valid reasons for not having open liquid containers in archive storage areas.

Storage

Packaging

Wherever possible, archival items should be packaged. Boxes help to protect items from disorder, dirt and water, and can help to minimise environmental fluctuations. The best boxes are made from acid-free card, with brass staples. If your budget does not stretch to the purchase of specialist boxes at present, you can use any strong, clean cardboard box as a temporary solution (e.g. photocopy paper boxes), but do not use boxes that have metal fastenings or been used for storing food as these may attract pests. Plastic boxes are not normally recommended because many contain chemicals that could affect the contents, and if they have airtight lids there is a risk of condensation leading to mould.

Folders and boxes should be of an appropriate size so that items can be stored flat without being crushed or folded. If possible the contents of a box should be packaged in clearly labelled folders made from acid-free paper or card, which can be tied up with unbleached linen tape if necessary. This can help to keep the contents in order and prevent them being damaged while looking through the box for a specific item. Small items within a larger box should be placed within a suitably sized folder to help protect them. Unrelated items within a box should be packaged separately so that they don't get mixed up and can be easily identified. If loose items were originally in a file or bundle it is useful to number them consecutively so that the original order can be maintained. It may help to break down the contents of such files and bundles into smaller units (say 50-100 pages) which are easier to package.

Fragile volumes are best protected by custom-made book boxes if you have sufficient resources.

Larger items that won't fit in boxes can be wrapped in suitable packaging such as acid-free card, calico, or Tyvek (a breathable polyethylene material). Again, unbleached linen can be used to tie up such packaging. Normal card luggage tags can be used as labels, though conservation-grade alternatives are also available.

Map cabinets can be used for storing large flat items. If you use wooden map cabinets, lining the drawers with archival paper or card can help to protect against any acid in the wood.

Photographs should ideally be stored in archival polyester, polyethylene or polypropylene pockets or sleeves. Brand names include Melinex, Mylar and Polymex. Theses should then be stored within archival boxes if possible.

Boxes should not be over-filled as this can cause the contents to be crushed and damaged, and can also make the boxes heavy and hard to handle, increasing the risk of them being dropped and posing a Health and Safety issue for staff and volunteers.

Shelving

Shelving can be metal or wooden, static or mobile, depending on budget. The important thing is that it is strong enough to bear the weight of the collections; suitably spaced so that top shelves can be safely accessed; and there should be a clearance of at least 150mm (6”) at floor level in case of flood. Ideally, shelving should not be placed directly against an exterior wall or window, and should be open to allow for a free circulation of air. Wooden shelving is more of a fire risk unless treated with retardant, and when new can also give off acetic acid, so metal racking tends to be preferred.

The higher the shelving you install, the more you will need to use steps in order to safely access material. Bear this in mind when planning the aisles between shelves. Ideally, steps should have handrails for safety, and wheels to enable easy movement.

For staff Health and Safety, particularly heavy items should be stored at lower levels, and their weight clearly marked on the packaging. It is also worth investing in wheeled trollies so that heavy items can be wheeled around rather than carried.

Very large items may require different forms of storage such as long wall-mounted shelves or map cabinets.

Housekeeping

Storage areas should be kept clean and tidy. Vacuuming will normally be sufficient, and it may be worth investing in a specialist museum vacuum. Do not use water, or cleaning materials such as sprays and polishes which can contain chemicals that could harm the collections. If an area is particularly dusty, consider wearing face masks during cleaning.

The cleaner, tidier and better lit the storage area, the easier it is to spot problems such as mould or insect/rodent damage. Staff and volunteers should be trained to know what to look out for. Invest in some insect traps so that you can monitor the level of any problem.

Boxes, folders, rolls and shelves should be clearly labelled so that items can be easily found. A shelf-list can be a useful tool for locating items. However, think about the security of particularly valuable items, and consider acquiring a safe if this might be an issue.

Disaster Planning

The major risks to your collections are fire, flood, theft and unauthorised access. What would you do if disaster struck? It would certainly be a stressful, confusing, and potentially hazardous situation, made even worse if you had no idea what to do, or who to contact. For this reason, it is wise to prepare a comprehensive and up-to-date Disaster Plan for your site, and for it to be easily accessible by key personnel.

First think of the things that can potentially go wrong on your site, then look at what steps you can take to prevent things going wrong, and then plan what to do if despite your efforts there is an incident of some sort.

Issues to consider include the following. What is the fire resistance of your walls, ceilings and doors? Are fire extinguishers available and have staff been trained in their use? Is there drainage with one-way valves, to let water out of the storage area in the event of flood or fire suppression? Where will you temporarily store salvaged collections? Where will you dry slightly damp material? What will you do about badly damaged material? If your collection contains significant material, consider subscribing to a disaster recovery company with bulk freezing and drying facilities.

Your Disaster Plan should include key contacts (home numbers for staff, as well as contact details for utilities and contractors), together with responsibilities and procedures. If you are an Accredited Museum, or moving towards Accreditation, this should already be in place. Key staff should have copies at home so that important phone calls can be made even if it is not possible to get on-site immediately.

Consider going on courses to learn about salvage techniques. Find out if there is disaster group for museums in your region that you can join. You may wish to store a basic disaster kit containing items such as wellingtons, gloves, torches, mops and buckets, plastic sheeting and blotting paper on your premises to help you deal with small-scale issues, such as a minor leak. But be realistic – in the case of a major incident the emergency services will not let you into the building until it is safe.

There are commercial organisations offering salvage and restoration services including bulk freezing and storage of soaked books and documents, so that they can be thawed and treated systematically. If your own resources are sufficient, you might consider subscribing, or joining a local consortium, in case of a flood, or damage caused by fire suppression. Such organisations may also offer training and advice on disaster planning.

Archives are difficult to insure because they are generally irreplaceable. Available insurance tends to cover treatment costs in the event of a damage, and this is another thing to consider for peace of mind if your organisation's resources allow, and your collections are of particular historical or technical significance.

See https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/memo6.pdf for some introductory advice on risk management and recovery plans. The London Fire Brigade has issued some detailed advice, including template documents for preparing emergency response and salvage plans for heritage buildings at https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/property-management/fire-safety-in-heritage-and-historical-buildings/emergency-response-and-salvage-plans-for-heritage-buildings/

Most sites are only left unattended for a few days at a time, such as on weekdays or weekends (depending on opening patterns), and over the Christmas or Easter holidays. Some organisations check premises periodically over such closure periods to make sure they are secure, alarms are working and there are no other issues. The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 raised the issue of unplanned extended closures and how best to lock-down an archive repository through measures such as unplugging non-essential equipment, turning down the heating, making arrangements for remote working, and maintaining contact with stakeholders.

In the museum sector it is common to keep a copy of the Accessions Register on a separate site so that the information is retrievable in case anything happens to the original. The location for the copy needs to be secure because of the personal data contained in the Register, so another repository would be preferable to a private home. If your catalogues are not computerised, you might consider lodging copies of the most important catalogues off-site as well. Such copies could be invaluable if an incident affects your working areas rather than your storage areas.

Digital Archives

Digital archives, whether born-digital, or created as part of a deliberate digitisation programme, pose their own problems in terms of long-term preservation. Even the smallest organisation will now have digital files – word-processed minutes, spreadsheets of accounts, emails, and digital photographs. The specific problems posed by digital archives are still being addressed by the archives sector, confidence and training levels are generally low, and there are few dedicated digital archivists. However, organisations such as the Digital Preservation Coalition, The National Archives and JISC are developing accessible advice and training.

Two key issues to consider are back-ups and migration.

The back-up of electronic files is essential in case of equipment failure, accidental deletion, or data-corruption. This includes administrative files of your organisation, working papers, catalogues and digital archives in your collections. For organisations with limited resources, back-ups could take the form of CDs/DVDs or portable hard drives. For larger organisations, remote servers, data tapes, and/or cloud storage may be used. Ideally, there should be several copies of all data, at least some of which should be stored off-site.

Migration is necessary in order to keep digital files usable. Software is constantly evolving, and specialist programs, or even older versions of commonly used programs may become obsolete. You don't want to be in the position of having your data stored on old floppy discs which can't be read because your computer lacks disc drives, or having data safely stored on your system that is unusable because of obsolete file types, or the lack of relevant software. Migration, every few years, enables data to be stored in up-to-date versions of programs of, if necessary, transferred to a different program which still enables it to be accessed. Technology such as Checksums is being developed to help monitor any corruption of data over time.

A range of specialist Digital Asset Management Systems are available to assist with the long-term preservation of digital archives. They require a reasonable level of technical competence to set up and use, and there can be significant costs. Some systems are proprietary while others are open source. See https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/archives/cms-dams-options-for-archives.xls for a comparison of the features of different systems.

The NDSA Levels of Digital Preservation are one method of self-assessing your organisation's state of preparedness for the challenges of digital preservation. See https://ndsa.org/activities/levels-of-digital-preservation/ for their Level of Digital Preservation grid and downloadable explanations.

As with physical archives, an awareness of the issues that might affect your collections, and small steps towards addressing these, can all help.

This guidance links to Sections 1.4 (Resources: Spaces and storage) and 2.4 (Collections Care and Conservation) of the Archive Service Accreditation Standard.

The principles of Collections Care of archives do not differ greatly from those in the museums sector. These include keeping collections in secure, clean, dry, and pest-free storage areas, protected from light, pollution and dust by suitable packaging. Custodians should be familiar with, and users trained in, appropriate handling techniques, to avoid causing damage. There are very detailed published standards for collections care, some of which are not practical for many small or voluntary organisations to put into practice, but a range of simple, pragmatic actions can make a positive difference.

Benchmarks 3.0 Conservation Planning for Archives, Libraries and Museums is the latest version of a self-assessment checklist, widely used in the museums, archives and specialist libraries sectors. It sets out clear, realistic and measurable levels of performance for the care of collections. The benchmarks are based on the appropriate Standards. The Benchmarks can be downloaded for free in pdf and xls formats at http://www.ncs.org.uk/benchmarks3.php. The pdf version is good for reference purposes, while the xls allows you to enter your self-assessment and automatically calculates summary data. The completed assessment provides a snapshot of how well you are currently performing, and can act as a useful tool for future planning and prioritising, and for managing risks.

The document is divided into nine sections: Policy, Conservation Planning, Buildings, Storage, Cleaning & Pest Management, Environmental Management, Handling and Use, Digitisation & Surrogacy, and Emergency Preparedness. Under each heading there are elements of Good Practice and Best Practice, against which you can score yourself as met, partly met, or not met, and there is space to add your own comments.

English Heritage has produced a useful identification poster for the insect pests most often found in museums and historic houses. It is available in pdf format at https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/siteassets/home/learn/conservation/science/serpentine/insect-pests-historic-houses-poster.pdf

Modern media, whether photographic, audio-visual, or digital, present new challenges for custodians in terms of long-term storage and preservation. The Religious Archives Group has clearly summarised current advice at https://religiousarchivesgroup.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/section-3-modern-media.pdf

Conservation and Preservation

Books, documents and photographs are made of organic materials which are affected over time by both internal chemical damage caused by their gradual decay and physical damage caused by poor handling and storage. There is an enormous range of writing materials, inks and binding, which interact in different ways with chemicals and water, and which require specific techniques in order to mitigate or repair damage.

Professional advice should always be sought if you discover an infestation of mould or insects in your collection.

Modern conservation practice emphasises the importance of prevention of further damage (preservation), rather than carrying out extensive repair. This is something that we can all contribute towards, with minimal training and experience.

Preservation involves a range of actions intended to minimise damage to documents. It can include:

• Removing extraneous packaging and accessories, cleaning items and checking their condition during the Accessioning or Cataloguing processes. These are likely to be the only occasions when you handle and examine an entire collection and can help to prevent long-term issues. Actions can include carefully removing items such as: staples, paper clips and bulldog clips which can rust (brass paper clips are a long-term alternative); elastic bands which can perish and stick to paper; any dried adhesive tape if it will come off without causing any damage; plastic wallets and file covers that may contain chemicals; spring bindings, lever-arch files and ring binders which have parts that could rust; insignificant envelopes, brown paper packaging, string and plastic bags. It is important to retain any information which is written on existing packaging that you are discarding, such as titles, addresses and postmarks, as it might be significant. The opportunity should also be used to clean off any dirt (soft brushes and sponge erasers are best for this) and check items for mould, damp or pest infestation, isolating any items that seem affected so that they can be treated by a professional and not contaminate other items.
• Packaging to reduce exposure to light and dust, and offer physical protection [see Section 5: Storage above].
• Minimising the risk of threats such as theft, fire, flood, pests, mould and extremes of temperature and Relative Humidity [see Section 5: Storage above].
• Careful handling to avoid unnecessary damage [see Section 7: Access below]. The handling principles should be followed by staff and volunteers as well as external researchers, and in all areas of your building including storage and reprographics. This will help to prevent avoidable damage to the items in your care.
• The creation and use of surrogate copies. This used to be by means of photocopies and microfilms/microfiche, but these days it is primarily achieved through digital images. These can be viewed online via a website, or offline via a computer, and easily shared by email, file-sharing application, memory stick or CD/DVD. Ideally, this means that the original documents rarely need to be used again, reducing handling and the potential for further damage. Preservation needs should, therefore, be one factor in deciding the priorities of a digitisation programme [see Section 9: Digitisation below].

This guidance links to Section 2.4 (Collections Care and Conservation) of the Archive Service Accreditation Standard.

Access is one of the fundamental reasons for preserving archival material. However, it needs to be carefully balanced with the needs for preservation. If you are a private individual, business or member organisation, there is no obligation to make your archives available to the public, and usage may be confined to colleagues and members, unless you make a conscious choice to make all or selected material available to researchers. However, if you are a museum open to the public, the archives you collect (as opposed to internal administrative records) form part of your wider collections, and are primarily kept in order to be used and enjoyed, so you should be able to make suitable arrangements for researchers, and the simply curious, to obtain information from them.

There is a variety of means of access, which will depend on your premises, the availability of staff or volunteers, and what technology you have. If you do not have space for external researchers, you may be able to offer a remote enquiry service by post or email. If you are very well resourced you may already have a sophisticated website which gives remote users the facility to view or purchase relevant digital images without needing to liaise directly with you. For some researchers, access to your catalogues, and the knowledge that an item exists, may be enough for their purposes. However, in many cases, researchers will want to visit you to view original material, and you will need to have suitable facilities and procedures to enable such visits.

If you offer a research service, it is helpful to put details on your website, indicating timescales for replies, how much research you are able to carry out, if there is a charge for the service and/or for any copies supplied, and the sort of information you may be able (or not) to provide, together with contact details and arrangements for payment.

Arrangements for On-site Access

Some of the issues to consider when opening your collections to external researchers are:

• Researchers will need to be able to find you. Details of your research facilities, opening hours, access arrangements and appropriate contact details, should be made available on your website, together with key policies and procedures, and details of your collections.
• You can apply to The National Archives to have a free entry in the online Find an Archive directory, which is a comprehensive directory of archive repositories in the UK. Please see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/contact-us/update-or-add-an-archive/ for details.
• Suitable desk space should be made available in a clean, tidy, area with good lighting, but preferably not direct sunlight. Thought should be given to what else is held in that area (risk of theft, data protection breach, Health & Safety issues etc).
• If items in electronic format are being consulted, suitable equipment will need to be made available so that it can be easily viewed.
• Staff and volunteers will require similar workspaces, so consider creating a dedicated “search room” or research area.
• You should create an area, ideally outside of the search room, where researchers and volunteers can leave coats, umbrellas, bags and refreshments. This reduces the risk of theft, but also keeps potentially damp clothes away from the archives. If you have more than one researcher at a time, you may need to invest in some lockers so that they are comfortable leaving their possessions out of sight.
• Unless there a regularly staffed search room, research visits should normally be by prior arrangement. This will enable space to be reserved, staffing arranged, and if possible, documents retrieved in advance. Depending on staff or volunteer availability, you may only be able to offer sessions on a specific day or days of the week. Local circumstances will dictate whether this matches some or all of your organisation's regular opening patterns, or is scheduled for days when you are not normally open to the public.
• Think about how visitors will gain entry to the research area? Should they report to your organisation's main reception desk, or come to a specific door and ring a bell? If the door is external, do you require an entry phone to allow remote access, or at least to let them know that it will take you a while to get to the door?
• If you are lone-working, you may wish to install a panic button or have a mobile phone at hand in case of an emergency.
• If you use CCTV for security, make sure appropriate notices are displayed, researchers are made aware, and procedures are in place for deleting recordings in a timely manner.
• If you require external researchers to provide ID with proof of address, or a reference or letter of introduction, make sure that this is made clear before their visit so that they can be prepared, e.g. on your website and in any correspondence or conversation. You should compile a list of what ID is acceptable. Decide whether you require researchers to declare what they are researching and how they intend to use their research.
• Also make it clear beforehand if you can allow researchers to take photographs of items, and if you charge for this facility. Consider copyright implications, and if you need to get them to complete copyright declaration forms. Also consider if there are some items that they cannot photograph, and how you make this clear. If you do not allow personal photography at all, do you have alternative means of providing copies?
• Most archives require researchers to sign-in on each visit so that they know who is in the building in case of fire, and to help compile statistics. If you ask for details such as full addresses, telephone numbers and vehicle registrations, make sure that these cannot be seen by subsequent visitors or you may be in breach of GDPR.
• External researchers should in most circumstances be supervised while looking at original material. This is to protect the documents from theft/alteration/addition, to ensure that they are handled with care, and that the physical arrangement is not mixed up or items replaced in incorrect boxes. Many institutions do not allow researchers to work through large amounts of uncatalogued material.
• Only pencils should be used when consulting documents. Pens, highlighters etc can cause permanent damage.
• Think about how you will facilitate breaks and trips to the bathroom. If you have to escort researchers to and from public areas for these purposes, as well as when they arrive and depart, think about how you can still supervise any other researchers whilst out of the room? This may be a case of having a colleague on call. If lone-working, you may need to lock the other researchers out of the room temporarily, or take away their documents and store them securely in a locked drawer, cupboard or safe while you are absent.
• Don't forget to plan how you will facilitate your own breaks as well: food and drink should not be consumed in a search room or research area, again because of the risk to the documents, and that prohibition should include you.
• When items are removed from storage it is important that they are replaced correctly, or they may be difficult to find in the future. A slip system is useful for keeping track of movements. This can take many forms, but the key feature is that a slip with at least the date, document reference number, and a name is left on the vacant shelf, and removed when the item is correctly replaced. Consider keeping a log of items issued so that you can check who last had the item (in case of theft) or what else was out at the same time if you can't find something at a later date (it is easy for single items to get put away with something else). Issue logs are also useful for quantifying which parts of your collections are used most often, and for monitoring whether any specific items are very heavily used.
• Discoverability. It is far easier to locate and issue items if they are catalogued and have individual reference numbers. Catalogues can take the form of print-outs, but it is more useful to researchers if they can be mounted online. Only large institutions can afford sophisticated online catalogues, but Word or PDF lists are better than nothing. See Section 4: Cataloguing above for more information on cataloguing and numbering.
• Staff will need to know how to locate items in storage, so a shelf-guide is useful.
• Original items should not normally be taken off site, or moved to parts of the building other than the store, search room, or areas used for cataloguing and copying, even by staff. If items are being formally loaned to another institution, or being taken off-site for copying or conservation treatment, make sure that suitable paperwork is prepared and retained. Items should not normally be loaned to individuals, other than on return to their owner if deposited.

Handling Archives

Archives are easily damaged accidentally, so all staff, volunteers and researchers should know how best to handle items in order to avoid unnecessary risks:

• No food or drink should be allowed anywhere near documents.
• Handle archives as little as possible.
• Ensure hands are clean and dry.
• Examine archives for signs of damage before making them available.
• Use only pencil or electronic devices for taking notes – never pens.
• Never use adhesive stickers to mark pages (or ‘Post it' type sticky notes).
• Use soft, flexible weights to hold pages in place.
• Never moisten or lick fingers to turn pages.
• Unpackaged photographs and negatives should not be handled with bare hands – use disposable nitrile gloves.
• Be careful when moving heavy items, use a trolley.
• Never carry heavy, awkward or large items on your own.
• Support documents at all times – large items need a large table. Bound volumes need supports such as foam wedges or pillows so that they don't open too far and damage the spine. Padded strip weights can help prevent plans or volumes with over tight bindings from curling upwards while being displayed or consulted.
• Have a clean, flat work space away from hazards ready before bringing out the archival material.
• Photocopying and scanning can cause damage to documents through exposure to strong light and closing the lid to flatten the document. If you must copy in this way, copy once only and keep the photocopy or digital scan to make other copies from. Document feeder trays on photocopiers and scanners can damage documents and should not be used for copying archive material.

Most established archives have a list of rules for consulting documents, which incorporate the above principles, with local variations in detail. These are often available online so you can look for examples which best match your own circumstances. Ideally, you should get your rules signed off by your governing body. Display the rules clearly in your search room or research area, put them on your website if appropriate, and explain them clearly to new researchers. You should ask new readers to sign an agreement to abide by the rules as a condition of access.

Display and Exhibition of Archives

The use of archival material in exhibitions and displays is a way of engaging far larger audiences than individual researchers, can highlight your collections, and inspire further research. In museums, archival material can add context to some of the objects.

However, because of their sensitivity to light and environmental factors, archives should not be put on permanent display. In addition, items on display are not available for detailed research, particularly if they are volumes displayed in a cabinet.

So consider what material you put on display, and exchange items regularly to avoid overexposure to light. Some items, such as newspapers, will be more vulnerable than others.

If you are part of a museum, work with your exhibitions colleagues to find compromises. You will know your collections better than anyone else, and can offer ideas for new displays, alternative items that can be rotated without detracting from a permanent display, and rarely requested but visual items which could enhance existing exhibitions.

Archives should be exhibited in locked display cabinets as these provide both security and a degree of environmental protection, and possibly specialist lighting. The quality and cost of display cabinets varies greatly and you will probably be limited to what is already available on site, or by what funds have already been allocated for this purpose.

BS 4971:2017 Conservation and care of archive and library collections offers detailed guidance on ideal environmental conditions for different types of material in exhibitions, together with advice on features and siting of display cabinets, and supporting and mounting items. In general terms, relative humidity should be maintained at similar levels to normal storage, temperature should not exceed 24^oC, and light exposure (particularly UV radiation) should be minimised. Keep displays out of direct sunlight or other bright light and consider having a cloth cover for the case when the contents are not being viewed.

At one-off events, it may be necessary to display original items on tables. Such displays should be supervised to guard against theft, and to make sure guests don't bring food, drink, pens, or even dirty fingers into the proximity of items, all of which could cause damage. If possible, open volumes should be supported using specialist foam supports or book cushions. You may need to use weights to keep large items such as plans flat but make sure they are clean and not corroded. Conservation quality polyester pockets or sheets can be used to cover particularly sensitive items so that they won't be touched.

You should avoid using original archives at outdoor events because of the additional risks posed by the weather (sun, rain and wind can all cause damage), as well the risk of loss or damage while transporting the material to and from the event.

Group Visits

It is common for archives to facilitate group visits. These could be an aviation society visiting your site in general, a local club filling a slot in their annual diary of events, a group of students attending as part of an induction process, curators and archivists from other institutions looking for ideas, or individuals attending tours as part of open days. On such occasions it is usual to show the visitors your research facilities, your finding aids, and a small display of documents, combined with a brief look at your storage area (if safe and desirable). You may need to tailor the number of visitors to the size of your accommodation, or break them into smaller groups for parts of the visit, in which case you will need assistance to help supervise and facilitate. Such visits can help to raise the profile of your archives and may attract new researchers or volunteers.

Handling Collections

Unless carrying out independent research, your visitors will rarely have the opportunity to actually touch archives and turn pages themselves, but archives can be used to great effect in learning activities and reminiscence sessions. Close proximity to, and handling of, historical items can engage the senses, help the user engage with the past, and make a lasting impression. However, the use, and over-use, of original items can lead to damage, particularly if they are being handed around a group, so think about alternative ways of making your collections accessible:

• In many cases a good facsimile can be used instead of an original, particularly where the image is the key element. This could be a commercially purchased reproduction, or an in-house copy from an item in your own collection. Think about the colour and texture of the paper you use for facsimiles, such as shiny paper for photographs or thick cream paper for documents, to make them more appealing than basic photocopies. A colour reproduction of a document can look better than a black and white reproduction, even if there is very little colour in the original.
• Consider creating a handling collection of unaccessioned items, specifically for use by groups. If your collection contains a large number of duplicates (e.g. magazines, technical manuals), you could consider de-accessioning some examples [see Section 2: Collecting and Accessioning above], or not accessioning newly acquired duplicates, to use specifically in such a handling collection. These items do not have to be stored or handled with the same care as accessioned collections, and can be disposed of and replaced when worn out.
• Small, sensitive or fragile items, such as photographs, can be encapsulated in conservation quality polyester pockets, which will help to protect them.

Handling collections have the added advantage that they can be taken off-site, or even loaned out to groups who cannot visit in person, without risk to your core collection.

If you are part of a museum, you may have colleagues who specialise in education and engagement activities and are already familiar with handling collections of objects. It would make sense to work with them to enhance their existing resources rather than starting from the beginning yourself.

Digitisation of Archives

Digitisation enables the use of archives on-site or remotely, without the need to remove the original from storage, thereby increasing access while aiding long term preservation. This topic is dealt with in Section 9: Digitisation below.

Social Media

Many archives and museums now use social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter for free publicity, and to reach, and interact with, audiences who might never visit their sites in person. Regular posts, with attractive images, can help build up a following, and help attract new visitors. Even if you don't set up an account specifically for your archives, you can help contribute material for your site's main account. Social media can also be useful for publicising events and quickly communicating temporary closures. Please ensure that you own the copyright to or have the necessary permission to use any images that you post online [see Section 8: Legal Issues below], and bear in mind that you will lose control over the images as they are so easily forwarded and copied. You may wish to use low resolutions, watermarks or partial copies of images to help reduce this risk. An alternative is to use images which are very clearly depictions of the original as an object rather than a faithful reproduction of the visual content, by means such as showing a frame, including an uncropped background, or by photographing at an angle so that the image is slightly distorted. The effect is to make the image less visually attractive, while still clearly showing the subject.

Loans

You may receive a request from another organisation to borrow items from your collection. This will usually be for an exhibition on their premises, but it may be to facilitate a research project or as part of a digitisation programme. In some cases the owners of items that have been deposited with you may request their temporary transfer elsewhere.

Before loaning items there are a number of factors to consider, including:

• Do you have the right to loan the items? For objects that you own, the discretion whether to loan or not to loan lies with your organisation. However, you should only loan deposits if you have the permission of the owners, so you will need to contact them at an early stage of discussions.
• Who should make the decision whether to loan? Depending on the size and formality of your organisation, this may be left to the discretion of the curatorial team, or it may need to be authorised by your senior management/trustees.
• Are the items regularly required by your own staff or users? Digital copies may be sufficient for internal needs, but there may be costs and it will take time to prepare these.
• Are they in suitable condition to be loaned or do they require conservation work beforehand? If so, who will carry out the work, how long will it take, how much will it cost, and who will pay?
• How long will they be borrowed for? If the answer is permanently, then you should de-accession the items, not loan them.
• For what purpose are they being borrowed? Are you happy with this?
• Does the other organisation have suitable storage, environment, security, handling procedures and exhibition facilities for the stated purpose? You may wish to visit their premises in person before making a decision.
• Can the other organisation be trusted to return the items, complete, in good condition, and in a timely fashion? This should not be an issue if they are an Accredited Museum or Archive.
• Who will pay for the valuation, packaging, transport and insurance of the items?

A loan agreement should be drawn up, signed by both parties, and retained permanently. You may need to temporarily amend catalogues to indicate that the relevant items are unavailable for a period. If you receive loan requests regularly it would be worth developing a policy so that everyone knows their responsibilities and what needs to be done, together with standard paperwork.

If you wish to borrow items from another organisation, be prepared to face similar questions and conditions.

This guidance links to Sections 3.3 (Access Information, Procedures and Activities) of the Archive Service Accreditation Standard.

Copyright

Almost all the original items in your collection, whether documents, plans or photographs, will be subject to copyright, as will much printed matter including books, manuals, publicity material and magazines, and audio visual recordings. Always bear in mind that copyright of an item belongs by default to the creator and their heirs (or to their employer if it was created in the course of business), and NOT to the current owner of that item. In many cases it will not be at all clear to whom the copyright actually belongs, and such items are known as “orphan works”. Multiple copyrights can exist in the same item, for instance individual contributors to a magazine, or the soundtrack, still images and film on a DVD.

In practice, this means that you cannot supply copies of items in your care without carefully considering the rights of the copyright owners and taking reasonable steps to obtain their consent; even more so if the copies are going to be published. If you publish images online, it is worth having a clear “Take Down” policy and procedure in case there is a complaint from someone who claims the copyright of a specific image.

As a general rule you should avoid making further copies of existing copies (photocopies, duplicated photographs, videos), unless their copyright status is absolutely clear. There are legal provisions for making “preservation copies”, though there are limitations on how these can be used.

When a new collection or item is added to your collection, you should discuss and record the copyright status of its contents. Where the donor/depositor created items, or they are the legal heir of the creator, they are able to assign copyright to your organisation. Copyright of other items in the collection, which they did not create, cannot be assigned. They may not wish to assign copyright ownership, in which case you will need to seek their permission every time you receive a request for a copy of a relevant item, unless you can arrange a blanket approval.

Copyright law is extremely complex, and the duration depends on a number of factors including if the creator is known, when they died, and it the item has previously been published. The above is only a brief introduction to some of the key issues. Please see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/copyright-related-rights.pdf for some useful advice on Copyright issues.

For a much more detailed discussion of how the law applies to archives, please see Copyright for Archivists and Records Managers by Tim Padfield (6^th ed, 2019). This includes some useful flow charts to help you determine the duration of copyright in specific items.

Further guidance aimed at the cultural heritage sector, including a downloadable Copyright Agreement Template, has been produced by Naomi Korn Associates, see https://naomikorn.com/resources/.

Data Protection

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the Data Protection Act, 2018, strengthen previous Data Protection legislation in relation to personal information on living people contained in archives. There are exemptions relating to the retention and use of such material for archival and research purposes, particularly the “archiving in the public interest” exemption, which mean that paperwork and electronic files containing personal information do not have to be destroyed as a matter of course when no longer needed for their original purpose. However, there are responsibilities for those holding relevant records, and legal sanctions if you breach the Regulations. You can’t archive something in the public interest just because it might be of historical interest in the future – you will need to show that your organisation is capable of keeping the information appropriately in the long-term. If you are not a well-established archive you will need a commitment such as an appropriate mission statement, setting out your intentions and purpose moving forwards.

Please see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/legislation/archives-data-protection-law-uk/overview/ for Archive-specific advice, and the Information Commissioner’s Office https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/ for more generic advice.

Liability and responsibilities

Some aircraft manufacturers will not allow copies of plans to be supplied for the purpose of restoring or re-creating a plane with the intention of it being flown. This is because of the legal liability for any accident arising, which could lie with the company. If you hold detailed plans of an aircraft or component thereof, please respect the wishes of the creating company, if they can be determined.

Security Classifications

Depending on the nature and age of your collections, it is possible that some documents, particularly those relating to defence matters, could contain information that should not be in the public domain, and may fall under the provisions of the Official Secrets Act, 1989. Official documents could be marked as “Protect”, “Restricted”, “Confidential”, “Secret” or “Top Secret”, in increasing order of sensitivity. The categories of “Protect”, “Restricted” and “Confidential” have not been used since 2013.

Board Minutes, together with supporting documents such as correspondence files and contracts, can include information of a sensitive, political or security related nature, even if not explicitly marked, and were never intended for public perusal.

However old the documents are, think carefully before issuing such items to a researcher, and seek external advice if there is a possibility that they may contain information that is still sensitive. If they are still sensitive, you will need to consider whether they should actually be transferred to another, more suitable, repository.

This guidance links to Section 3.3 (Access Information, Procedures and Activities) of the Archive Service Accreditation Standard.

Digitisation, the act of making a digital image of a document, photograph or object, can have huge benefits in terms of access (particularly remote access), promotion and preservation of your collections. However, large-scale digitisation is sometimes seen as an end in itself or an easy option. In practice it can be difficult, time-consuming, resource-hungry, lacking clear aims, and a legal minefield. If you are embarking on a digitisation project, there is a lot of preparatory work needed beforehand, and you need to have very clear aims and objectives. Get the planning stage right, and the operation and outcomes of your project should match expectations.

Points to consider in the planning phase

• Why are you digitising?
  • Directive from senior management.
  • Part of a wider heritage/administrative project (external partners?).
  • Specific project.
  • Website/app development.
  • Preservation surrogates.
  • Widening access.
  • Digitisation doesn’t mean you can throw the originals away to save storage space – what if you miss a bit, what if you lose the digital copies, what if better technology comes along?
• What are you digitising?
  • Whole collection?
  • Specific Series?
  • Highlights of Collection?
  • “On demand” copying?
  • Items temporarily borrowed from external bodies or individuals [keep a record of ownership, permissions etc]?
  • Items in poor condition for preservation purposes?
• Are you choosing the right material to digitise?
  • Will the digital versions actually be used? Ask potential users.
  • Can you use the digital versions (copyright/IPR issues)?
  • Has something identical or similar already been digitised?
  • Are your priorities in the right order?
• In what format or formats will the digital images be produced?
  • Permanent storage version – TIFF?, JPEG 2000?
  • Working copy – JPEG?
• What image resolution to use?
  • 35mm slides need considerably higher ppi than photographs and documents.
  • May need to balance legibility against file size.
  • B/W photographs in greyscale or colour? [Not in B/W!]
• Filenames
  • Make them meaningful, consistent, and relating to catalogue references of originals.
  • Think about how they look on screen, e.g. insert zeros to make filenames align [001, 054, 238]
  • If catalogues use / , replace with _ in the filename.
  • Some equipment auto-generates running numbers. Decide whether to reset manually or incorporate.
• Storage and backups
  • Network (inform whoever is responsible for IT in your organisation in advance of a big project, as additional storage may have to be purchased and configured, which takes time and resources)?
  • Cloud Storage?
  • Hard Drives?
  • Removable media such as DVDs?
  • External provider?
  • Work out a suitable file structure [e.g. folder per document/series]. The more complex your collection, the more complex the structure will need to be. Too many files in one folder can be confusing, especially if poorly named].
  • Long-term issues – format migration, quality will need to be periodically checked, completeness will need to be checked [emerging CHECKSUMS techniques]. Who will do this/pay for the upkeep?
• How will the images be accessed?
  • Website/App? [have the development and ongoing costs been budgeted for?]
  • Internet?
  • Removable media?
  • Email/Cloud transfer?
• The Process of Digitisation
  • Equipment [flatbed scanner, negative scanner, overhead camera, overhead scanner]. Does purchase and maintenance need to be budgeted for?
  • Training – draw up a step-by-step manual to ensure consistency.
  • Handling of originals (e.g. nitrile gloves for handling photographs, don’t copy volumes and oversize items on flatbed scanners).
  • Who is doing it – staff, agency, intern, volunteers – is the paperwork appropriate?
  • Some formats, particularly moving images, may be best processed by experts.
  • Checking is vital:
    • Correct images copied?
    • File names correct?
    • File format correct?
    • Scanning resolution correct?
    • Images legible?
    • Images complete?
    • De-skewing and/or cropping needed?
    • Re-scanning needed?
    • Finished files placed in appropriate storage and file structure?
• Copyright and Intellectual Property Rights
  • Do you own the copyright for the items you want to copy?
    • Just because you own the item doesn’t mean you own the copyright. e.g. the copyright of a letter will usually lie with the writer or their heirs, not the recipient.
    • Is the copyright owner known (e.g. Stamp on the back of a photograph), and can they be contacted for permission? If you cannot obtain permission, do not make the digital images accessible [there may be some justifications for making a preservation copy, but that is different].
    • Orphan works. You must take “reasonable steps” to trace the copyright owner, and document those steps.
    • Managed risk – have a suitable “Take Down Notice” on your website and act on it quickly if anyone complains about the use of an image.

Other national institutions have their own standards e.g.

• Wellcome Trust Technical Guidelines for Digitisation Projects: https://wellcome.ac.uk/sites/default/files/technical-guidelines-digitisation-projects.pdf.

See what best suits your budget and aims, or if specific standards are demanded by an external funder for your project.

Pilot things

• Try out equipment, resolutions, filenames etc to see what works BEFORE embarking on the full project.
• Draw up a manual and training materials based on the experiences of this phase.

Be realistic about timescales.

• It takes time to train new staff/volunteers, particularly if there is turnover.
• What if the Project Officer leaves part way through the project?
• What if equipment breaks?
• It takes a long time to check scans and move files, particularly if you have old computers or a slow network.

Do talk to people who are, or have been, involved in other digitisation projects to find out what worked for them, and what lessons they have learned from things that have not gone so well. Your Sector Development Manager or Museums Development Officer may be able to suggest someone with a similar project or collections.

This guidance links to Sections 3.3 (Access Information, Procedures and Activities) of the Archive Service Accreditation Standard.

Disaster planning has been covered in Section 5. Storage above, but a number of other factors can affect the long-term viability of an organisation and place at risk the collections in its care. Advance planning can help to mitigate at least some of these risks.

Premises

Many collections are housed in premises that do not belong to the organisation that cares for them, and there is little or no security of tenure. For instance a museum site could be rented or parts of the collection could be housed in individuals’ homes or garages. Think about what would happen if you have to move your collection unexpectedly at some point in the future, because the building will no longer available. This could also apply if your building has issues which cannot easily be remedied, such as structural problems or asbestos.

Particularly think about future planning if a collection is stored at someone’s home. It may be a private collection of papers relating to an individual and their work, or it could be a collection accumulated by an enthusiast. What will happen if they pass away suddenly or become incapacitated? Have arrangements been made for the safe transfer of the collection elsewhere? Has a will been made, bequeathing the collection? Do other members of the family know who to contact? Has the collection been clearly labelled to make clear its significance and what should ultimately happen to it? Don’t risk the collection being sold or thrown away because no-one knew what to do with it at a stressful time.

At a fundamental level, does your organisation actually know what records it owns and where they are stored? Even a basic audit or survey of uncatalogued material would help to address this issue.

Personnel and Knowledge Transfer

If your organisation is small and volunteer-led, what will happen if key trustees, staff, or volunteers leave, and replacements cannot be found? What arrangements are there for the transfer of information and knowledge between individuals? Significant amounts of important information about collections, their location and potential use can be stored in people’s heads if they have worked with the collections for many years. While they are with you it might never get written down because it is not a priority, but at some point they will inevitably leave you, and what will happen then?

Ideally, key information should be recorded in the form of catalogues, accession registers, procedures manuals, location lists, and policies. Organisations with, or working towards Museum or Archive Service Accreditation should have such documents, but what about your organisation?

If a long-standing member of staff or volunteer is about to leave, or if you are in contact with former staff and volunteers, think about creating an audio recording of their memories, knowledge and thoughts – walk them around the building and collections and let them talk freely, but also ask specific questions. A huge amount of information can be captured in this way that might never be written down, such as the background reasons why something has always been done in a certain way, peculiarities and highlights of specific collections they have worked with closely, or what files on the computer are most significant and where they can be found.

Think about the composition of your governing body if you are a formally constituted business, charity or trust. Do you need to look for younger members to ensure continuity? They may bring along specific skills and contacts, such as IT and fundraising. Some advice on managing and governing archives can be found at https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/running-your-organisation/governance/.

Finance

Income generation is crucial to the survival of small organisations, whether to pay for ongoing utilities, rent and supplies, to fund maintenance work on buildings or enable new-builds.

Assessing the environmental impact of your building and operations can not only help you meet organisational commitments to sustainability, but can also reduce running costs and increase efficiency. For some useful links on this topic, please see https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/running-your-organisation/environmental-sustainability/.

Worst Case Scenarios

Has thought been given to the future of the collections if your organisation needs to be wound up, either through lack of premises, money problems, or lack of people to carry on day-to-day operations? If you are attached to a company, what if it is going out of business, or has been taken over by another company which has no commitment to heritage? Will the collections be regarded as a financial asset to be sold to the highest bidder, or a liability to be disposed of as quickly as possible to free up the premises? Ideally, a suitable alternative home for the collection should be identified as soon as possible. Your Sector Development Manager or Museums Development Officer should be able to help with identifying a suitable new home.

For pressing issues relating to the records of businesses under threat of liquidation, the Crisis Management Team should be alerted, see https://managingbusinessarchives.co.uk/getting-started/business-archives-risk/crisis-management-team/ for their remit and key contacts.

This guidance links to Sections 1.2 (Governance and Management Structures), 1.3 (Forward Planning), 1.4 (Resources: Spaces and storage), 1.5 (Resources: Finance), and 1.6 (Resources: Workforce) of the Archive Service Accreditation Standard.

Contents

Organisation and Governance

Collections

• General
• Selecting Records for your Archives
• Cataloguing
• Collections Care, Storage, Preservation and Disaster Planning
• Collections Development and Collecting Policies
• Access and Activities
• Digital Records and Digitisation
• Oral History
• Photography, Film and Video

Legal Aspects and Ethics

Fundraising

Video Resouces

This is just a small selection of the resources that are available, but should act as a starting point for many topics.

Organisation and Governance

The National Archives: Running Your Organisation https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/running-your-organisation/

Community Archives and Heritage Group: Running a community archive https://www.communityarchives.org.uk/content/resource/running-a-community-archive-2023

Setting up a charity (Charity Commission) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-up-a-charity-model-governing-documents and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-set-up-a-charity-cc21a

National Council for Voluntary Organisations: advice and support for voluntary organisations. A wide range of Tools and Resources (subscription required, but free for small community organisations) https://knowhow.ncvo.org.uk/tools-resources

Association of Independent Museums (AIM) Success Guide on Successful Governance in Independent Museums, contains useful transferable information https://aim-museums.co.uk/resources/successful-governance-for-museums/

National Lottery Heritage Fund, Organisational sustainability and resilience good practice guidance https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding/good-practice-guidance/organisational-sustainability-resilience

Resilience Indicator tool for assessing the resilience of an archive organisation https://www.archives.org.uk/s/Archives_only_indicator_V2.xlsx and associated guidance https://www.archives.org.uk/s/Archive_Indicator_guidance_notes-yjfk.pdf

Collections

General

The National Archives, Archive Basics, aimed at non-professionals https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/managing-your-collection/archive-basics

The National Archives, general advice on managing your collection https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/managing-your-collection/

The National Archives: Archive Service Accreditation Guidance https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/archives/archive-service-accreditation-standard-june-2018.pdf

Business Archives Council: Managing your archives https://www.managingbusinessarchives.co.uk/getting_started/setting_up_an_inhouse_archive/

Archives and Records Association Best Practice Guidelines https://www.archives.org.uk/resources

Community Archives and Heritage Group: Managing a collection https://www.communityarchives.org.uk/content/resource/managing-a-collection

AIM [Association of Independent Museums] Success Guides: Successfully Managing Archives in Museums https://aim-museums.co.uk/resources/successfully-managing-archives-in-museums/

Norfolk Record Office Community Archives Toolkit advice on Collections Management https://www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk/community-archives/collections-management

Gloucestershire Heritage Hub, advice on how to on how to manage and organise your archive https://www.heritagehub.org.uk/heritage-hub-online-training/online-collections-management-training/

Campaign for Voluntary Sector Archives, Archiving for Voluntary Organisations: Draft Guidance March 2017 https://www.voluntarysectorarchives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Draft-Guidance-02-March-2017-version.docx

Managing Mixed Collections guidance produced for The National Archives https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/archives/managing-mixed-collections-guidance.pdf

Selecting Records for your Archives

The National Archives, What to keep and why https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/archives/what-to-keep-and-why.pdf

The National Archives, Deaccessioning and Disposal https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/Deaccessioning-and-disposal-guide.pdf

The National Archives: Management Framework for Retention and Transfer Charity Records and Archives – relevant to all voluntary organisations

Records Management in Charities: A Toolkit for Improvement (revised 2019) http://www.voluntarysectorarchives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/records-management-in-charities-9.pdf

Cataloguing

The National Archives advice https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/managing-your-collection/cataloguing/cataloguing-archive-collections/

The National Archives advice on using volunteers for cataloguing projects https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/volunteer-cataloguing-in-archives.pdf

Community Archives and Heritage Group: Cataloguing guidelines for community archives https://www.communityarchives.org.uk/content/resource/cataloguing-guidelines

Norfolk Record Office Community Archives Toolkit guidance on cataloguing https://www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk/community-archives/cataloguing

The National Archives Manage Your Collections offers a means of making completed catalogues available on the Discovery database https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/finding-records-in-discovery-and-other-databases/manage-your-collections-in-discovery/

Advice on contributing catalogue information to The Archives Hub https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/contributing/

Collections Care, Storage, Preservation and Disaster Planning

The National Archives, guidance on planning a new repository https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/running-your-organisation/large-scale-projects/

The National Archives guidance https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/managing-your-collection/caring-for-archives/

Archives and Records Association, Collections Care Toolkit https://www.archives.org.uk/collections-care-toolkit

Benchmarks 3.0 Conservation Planning for Archives, Libraries and Museums http://www.ncs.org.uk/benchmarks3.php

Norfolk Record Office Community Archives Toolkit guidance on preservation https://www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk/community-archives/preservation

Gloucestershire Heritage Hub, advice on how to on how to protect and look after your physical archive https://www.heritagehub.org.uk/heritage-hub-online-training/online-collections-care-training/

University of Bristol Theatre Collection introductory videos on Caring for your own Records http://www.bristol.ac.uk/theatre-collection/caring-for-your-theatre–live-art-records/caring-for-your-own-records/

The National Archives, guidance on Mould in archive collections https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/managing-your-collection/mould-in-archive-collections/

South West Museum Development Pest Partners Programme ‘how-to’ videos on getting started with pest monitoring, management and treatment of objects https://southwestmuseums.org.uk/what-we-do/projects/pest-partners/

Wellcome Library example of a Conservation and Collections Care Policy https://wellcomecollection.org/conservation-and-collections-care-policy

The National Archives, Records at risk guidance https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/managing-your-collection/records-at-risk/

The National Archives: Protecting archives and manuscripts against disastershttps://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/memo6.pdf

London Fire Brigade: Emergency Response and Salvage Plans for heritage buildings, including template documents for a salvage plan https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/property-management/fire-safety-in-heritage-and-historical-buildings/

Historic England: Writing an Emergency Response Plan, with templates https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/technical-advice/emergency-and-fire/response-plans/

United States National Archives and Records Administration links to advice on salvage procedures https://www.archives.gov/preservation/disaster-response/salvage-procedures.html

Collection Development and Collecting Policies

Collection Development guidance https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/managing-your-collection/developing-collections/collection-development/

Access and Activities

Community Archives and Heritage Group: Sharing a collection https://www.communityarchives.org.uk/content/resource/sharing-a-collection

Archives and Records Association Archives for Education and Learning Section resources https://www.archives.org.uk/s/ALES-Useful-Resources-2022-WIP.pdf

Norfolk Record Office Community Archives Toolkit, advice on interpretive planning https://www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk/community-archives/interpretive-planning

Digital Records and Digitisation

The National Archives, Digitisation guidance https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/digitisation-at-the-national-archives.pdf [later sections are very technical but the early sections contain useful general advice]

Hampshire Archives, guidance on Digitising archives https://www.hants.gov.uk/librariesandarchives/archives/services/community-archives/digitising-archives

Norfolk Record Office, Community Archives Toolkit guidance on digitisation https://www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk/community-archives/digitisation

Norfolk Record Office, Community Archives Toolkit: video on Digitisation Procedures and Practical Tips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enf5xmbmgMg

National Lottery Heritage Fund, Digital good practice guidance https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding/good-practice-guidance/digital

Gloucestershire Heritage Hub, advice on how to on how to look after digital material https://www.heritagehub.org.uk/heritage-hub-online-training/online-digital-preservation-training/

Orphan Works: Guidance for archive services on reasonable searches to identify rights holders, produced by The National Archives and the Intellectual Property Office for services considering digitising copyright collections https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/archives/orphan-works-guidance.pdf

Copyright Assessment Framework: a pragmatic risk assessment tool to assist digitisation of collections https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f-89Nuw1uWZxkdNlWXmqZO3YAM2C7HQWmgel_oYZPJY/edit#gid=1238125246

The National Archives: Basic digital preservation guidance https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/archives/digital-preservation-guidance-how-to-look-after-arts-records.pdf

Collections Trust guidance on Digitising collections https://collectionstrust.org.uk/digitisation-resources/

The National Archives: Preserving digital collections https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/managing-your-collection/preserving-digital-collections/

The National Archives, Our Digital Century https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/our-archives-sector-role/our-digital-century/

Novice to Know-How, free online training resources relating to digital preservation https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/advice-and-guidance/managing-your-collection/preserving-digital-collections/novice-to-know-how/

Tim Gollins, “Parsimonious (cheap) digital preservation at The National Archives”

The National Archives: Web Archiving guidance https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/web-archiving-guidance.pdf

OCLC Research: You’ve Got to Walk Before You Can Run: First Steps for Managing Born-Digital Content Received on Physical Media https://www.oclc.org/content/dam/research/publications/library/2012/2012-06.pdf

Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC), Digital preservation handbook https://dpconline.org/handbook and interactive decision tree https://www.dpconline.org/pages/handbook/dec-tree-select.html

Community Archives and Heritage Group: Digital preservation for community archives https://www.communityarchives.org.uk/content/resource/digital-preservation-community-archive

The Tate’s archives and access toolkit https://www.tate.org.uk/art/archive/archives-access-toolkit

The Paradigm Project (Personal Archives Accessible in Digital Media) http://www.paradigm.ac.uk

Council on Library and Information Resources’ report Born Digital: Guidance for Donors, Dealers, and Archival Repositories https://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub159/

Gloucestershire Archives example of a Digital Preservation Policy https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/archives/policies/digital-preservation-policy/

National Digital Stewardship Alliance [NDSA] Levels of Digital Preservation https://ndsa.org/activities/levels-of-digital-preservation/

Religious Archives Group: Care of Modern Media https://religiousarchivesgroup.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/section-3-modern-media.pdf

Oral History and Sound Recordings

Oral History Society Advice on getting started https://www.ohs.org.uk/advice/getting-started/

Open University Building on History project advice https://www.open.ac.uk/arts/research/religion-in-london/oral-history-guide

Norfolk Record Office Community Archives Toolkit, guidance on oral history https://www.archives.norfolk.gov.uk/community-archives/oral-history

East Midlands Oral History Archive videos on Audio Archiving https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3Rnsga7PXctZVjP6GLeE1PFsjcMrsjcV

National Lottery Heritage Fund, Oral history good practice guidance https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/funding/good-practice-guidance/oral-history

Photography, Film and Video

Scottish Council on Archives guidance on the preservation of photographic material, prepared by The British Library https://www.scottisharchives.org.uk/resources/preservation/british-library-preservation-of-photographic-material/

Scottish Council on Archives/National Records of Scotland: video presentation on Handling and Storage of Photographic Material (starts at 02:40) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fntIucqdLI

Community Archives and Heritage Group: Film and videotape and the community archive https://www.communityarchives.org.uk/content/resource/film-and-videotape-and-the-community-archive-2

Film Archives UK links to guidance http://www.filmarchives.org.uk/information/guidance/

British Film Institute Moving Image Collections: Guidance Notes, 2004 http://www.filmarchives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/guidancenotes.pdf

D. M. Lee, Film & Sound Archives in Non-specialist Repositories, Society of Archivists, UK, revised version, 2009 http://www.filmarchives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/non-specialist-repositories.pdf

The Film Preservation Guide, The Basics for Archives, Libraries, and Museums, National Film Preservation Foundation, USA, 2004 https://www.filmpreservation.org/preservation-basics/the-film-preservation-guide

Religious Archives Group: Care of Modern Media https://religiousarchivesgroup.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/section-3-modern-media.pdf

International Federation of Film Archives: FIAF Moving Image Cataloguing Manual https://www.fiafnet.org/images/tinyUpload/E-Resources/Commission-And-PIP-Resources/CDC-resources/20160920_Fiaf_Manual-WEB.pdf

Legal Aspects and Ethics

Legislation relating to the Archives sector https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/legislation/

Community Archives and Heritage Group, guidance on copyright, data protection and licensing the use of material in your collection https://www.communityarchives.org.uk/content/resource/legal-issues

Archives and Records Association Code of Ethics https://www.archives.org.uk/s/Code-Of-Ethics-March-2024-yc8e.pdf

Padfield on Copyright for Archivists and Records Managers by Tim Padfield & Victoria Stobo, 7^th edition 2026, ISBN: 9781783307364

The National Archives Copyright information https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/copyright-related-rights.pdf

Copyright guidance from the government’s Intellectual Property Office https://www.gov.uk/topic/intellectual-property/copyright

Naomi Korn Associates copyright guidance and resources https://naomikorn.com/resources/

Copyrightuser.org, an independent online resource aimed at making UK Copyright Law accessible to creators, media professionals, entrepreneurs, students, and members of the public https://www.copyrightuser.org/

Oral History Society Advice on legal and ethical issues https://www.ohs.org.uk/advice/ethical-and-legal/

Wellcome Library policy on Access to Personal and Sensitive Information in our Collections https://wellcomecollection.cdn.prismic.io/wellcomecollection/aPJRIJ5xUNkB2GUB_AccesstoProceduralmanualOctober2024.pdf

The National Archives GDPR Advice and Frequently Asked Questions https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/legislation/archives-data-protection-law-uk/

Data Protection Toolkit for Archive Services: a resource developed to assist with access requests for personal information in collections https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/data-protection-toolkit-for-archive-services-tickets-163188921457

Information Commissioner’s Office, UK GDPR guidance and resources https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/

Information Commissioner’s Office, Data Protection and GDPR resources for small and medium organisations https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/advice-for-small-organisations/getting-started-with-gdpr/

Fundraising

The National Archives grants and funding https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/grants-and-funding/

National Lottery Heritage Fund [NLHF] https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/

National Manuscripts Conservation Trust [NMCT] for conservation grants https://www.nmct.co.uk

Community Archives and Heritage Group, list of Funding sources https://www.communityarchives.org.uk/content/resource/funding

The Heritage Alliance and the Architectural Heritage Fund, the Heritage Funding Directory is a free guide to financial and other support for anyone undertaking UK related heritage projectshttps://www.heritagefundingdirectoryuk.org/#

Video Resources

Scottish Council on Archives/National Records of Scotland: video presentation on Handling and Storage of Photographic Material (starts at 02:40) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fntIucqdLI

Norfolk Record Office, Community Archives Toolkit: video on Digitisation Procedures and Practical Tips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enf5xmbmgMg

University of Bristol Theatre Collection introductory videos on Caring for your own Records http://www.bristol.ac.uk/theatre-collection/caring-for-your-theatre–live-art-records/caring-for-your-own-records/

South West Museum Development Pest Partners Programme ‘how-to’ videos on getting started with pest monitoring, management and treatment of objects https://southwestmuseums.org.uk/what-we-do/projects/pest-partners/

East Midlands Oral History Archive videos on Audio Archiving https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3Rnsga7PXctZVjP6GLeE1PFsjcMrsjcV