From:   Steven Jones
        Head of Archive Inspection Services, Public Record Office

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ARCHIVAL MAPPING PROJECT FOR WALES
ARCHIVAL MAPPING PROJECT FOR ENGLAND (PHASE TWO)

In 1997/98 the first phase of the Archival Mapping Project for England
succeeded in placing the development needs of the English local authority
archive sector high on the agenda of the grant-awarding bodies.  The
unprecedented 100% questionnaire response rate from all 130 local archives
throughout England lent the Project's results considerable authority.  The
main findings were summarised in the report "Our Shared Past: An Archival
Domesday for England" which was published in March 1998 and which provided
much of the factual underpinning for the National Council on Archives'
strategy document "British Archives: the Way Forward".  Details of the
Project Board's composition can be found along with the full project report
on the Public Record Office web site.  The Mapping Project methodology was
later applied in Scotland by the National Archives of Scotland in
association with the Society of Archivists, resulting in the report entitled
"An Archival Account of Scotland" in February 2000.

The Mapping Project methodology was subsequently applied in Wales under the
auspices of Archives Council Wales in the form of a survey of 22 record
offices run by local authorities, universities, and national bodies. At the
same time, a second survey of local authority record offices in England
sought to update the findings of the original Archival Mapping Project for
England. The two resulting project reports are now available on the Public
Record Office web site at http://www.pro.gov.uk/archives/map/

The use of near-identical questionnaires and surveying methodologies in the
four projects for England, Wales and Scotland have helped to ensure that
results and conclusions can be compared across and between the projects. The
two new reports now available on the Public Record Office web site
independently describe many areas of under-investment which are common to
both English and Welsh record offices, and reach several separate but
parallel conclusions regarding the ways forward for archives in England and
Wales:

>   The reports both find that approximately two thirds of archive
repositories in England and Wales occupy accommodation which falls
significantly short of today's expected standards. The lack of space for the
future accrual of archival material is also a major concern highlighted by
both reports.

>   Record offices' public services are praised in both reports. However the
reports also express significant concern over the growing pressure on search
room space and the still low provision of related facilities such as group
visit rooms and exhibition spaces. The need for further development of
outreach and education activities is another commonly described theme.

>   Both reports highlight the existing and growing backlogs of cataloguing
work in archives as a priority area for investment. The need for the
creation of summary record office guides is also recognised. Retrospective
conversion of paper catalogues to electronic formats is described as a
further priority for ongoing investment, with initiatives such as the Access
To Archives project held up as examples of the way forward.

>   Recognition is given to the fact that most record offices in England and
Wales are poorly equipped to reap the benefits of the growing use of
information & communication technology (ICT) in public life. Computer
hardware, software and network infrastructure are recommended as investment
priorities if archives are to meet public demand in this area and play a
full part in government and professional agendas for electronic service
delivery.

>   Similarly both reports highlight the need for investment to support
sustainable public access to electronic records: less than 5% of offices
surveyed are ready to store such records and make them accessible.

>   Conservation and preservation facilities and activities vary widely
between the record offices surveyed, and the need for a coherent approach to
these areas is identified as essential to progress. Collection condition
surveys are identified as a priority in order that conservation and
preservation needs can be understood and addressed strategically.

>   Staff training and a commitment to professional development are
recognised by both reports as strengths of the archive sector. While the
capacity of record offices for self-help is considerable, however,
recommendations are made for more concerted investment in this area, not
least to ensure that archival staff are trained in skills relating to 'new'
electronic media and ICT.

Both reports also seek to draw out the many positive achievements of the
record offices surveyed. While recognising, for example, that public service
provision is a particular strength the reports argue that continuing
investment in this area is essential in order that current high standards do
not slip. Similarly there are acknowledgements that some offices' successes
in fields such as retrospective catalogue conversion, on-line service
provision, and repository accommodation should be celebrated and held up as
benchmarks to which the sector as a whole should aspire. Both reports also
praise the willingness and ability of archives to develop and contribute to
constructive partnerships with other organisations such as museums,
libraries and educational bodies.

A fifth Archival Mapping Project report is due for release early in 2002.
The "Missing Link" project, run by the Society of Archivists with the
support of the British Library Co-operation and Partnership Programme,
surveyed 152 specialist repositories in England. Specialist repositories
were broadly defined for the purposes of this project as those which are not
based in local government: this area of archives in England had not
previously been the subject of a detailed Mapping Project survey. Many of
the findings and conclusions of this project will mirror those in the
English and Welsh project reports now being released, and also those of the
existing English and Scottish project reports.

Details of the Missing Link report's availability will be advertised on the
Society of Archivists' and Public Record Office's web sites, and also posted
to this mailing list. Information on the Archival Mapping Projects,
including the full text of the two latest reports, can be found at
http://www.pro.gov.uk/archives/map/  If you have any questions about the
Archival Mapping Project for Wales, Phase Two of the Archival Mapping
Project for England, or the Missing Link project, please do not hesitate to
contact me in the first instance.


Steven Jones
Head of Archive Inspection Services

Records Management Department
Public Record Office
Kew
Surrey  TW 9 4DU

tel.    020 8392 5318
fax.    020 8392 5283
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