I’d like to thank everyone who responded to my posting in October about
Friends Organisations. I received a large number of responses and the
information will be extremely useful to us in determining whether we want
to go ahead and establish our own group. I’ve included a summary of the
responses below.
Angela Skitt
Archivist
Birmingham City Archives
Birmingham Central Library
Chamberlain Square
Birmingham
B3 3HQ
Tel: 0121 3034217
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Summary of Responses
There appear to be two main approaches to the management of Friends
groups.
Either:
o the Friends group exists as an independent body that manages itself with
minimal input from archives staff
or:
o the Friends group is run by the archive service with some input from
members
The purpose of the organisation was similar in all responses:
o To provide funding support for the office through subscriptions,
donation, fundraising activities
o To provide a forum to represent users
o To provide a political action group who could lobby against cuts in
services e.t.c
o To provide committed volunteers for ongoing projects and one-off events
(those mentioned include indexing, transcribing registers, manning stalls
at family and local history fairs, acting as guides on open days)
o To act as a consultative group
o To produce publications for sale, and regular newsletters and reports
for members
o To organise outings and events for members
o To promote and support the archive service
Most independent Friends have a formal constitution and a committee
elected by the members, through which decisions are made. Staff
representatives from the archives service sit on the committee, but do not
vote.
Many offices that responded to my posting mentioned that their Friends was
a registered charity (further information is available on the Charity
Commission’s website: www.charitycommission.gov.uk.) I understand that
this is a requirement if the organisation is to raise funds of over £1,000
p.a. Advantages to being registered as a charity included claiming back
gift aid on donations.
Most archive services provided some support to independent Friends groups.
Examples included provision of equipment, covering printing and posting
costs, selling publications in the office, organising volunteer projects,
providing a venue for events and providing articles for the Friends
newsletter. One respondent mentioned that it was useful for the membership
secretary and treasurer to be based at the archive.
Benefits for members of the group included:
o Discounts on publications produced by the archive
o Regular newsletters and an annual journal
o Organised tours to other repositories
o Invitations to special events, including a Christmas Party
o The opportunity to participate in volunteer projects
In most cases a subscription was charged for membership of the Friends
group.
Finally, a number of people that responded to my posting mentioned that
there was a danger that Friends groups could become too independent and
form a power base over which the archives had little control. This seems
to have been the reason why some archives have decided to manage the
Friends themselves. Those that have independent Friends bodies noted the
need to put in sufficient staff time and input to ensure the Friends feel
valued and involved.
Overall the comments I received about Friends groups were positive. Most
felt the benefits of having a Friends outweighed the staff input needed to
maintain the group.
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