This is a most interesting thread, highlighting some pertinent issues - too many
bodies operating in the sector? No strong single voice? Could or should there
be mergers between some of the key players such as RMS, SoA and CILIP?
You may not be aware that some bodies working in this area (The National
Council on Archives - NCA, The Society of Archivists - SoA and the
Association of Chief Officers in Local Government - ACALG) have been looking
at the same sorts of issues and funded a report on the topic. The conclusions
were, not surprisingly, similar to many of the views expressed in this discussion
and reported a groundswell of support for taking positive steps towards a
merger in many of the organisations consulted.
As a result, the SoA, NCA and ACALG are now actively undertaking formal
discussions about merging to create a single new body. It hopefully creates
not just a single new body but also demonstrates a strong desire for a
direction of travel towards working more effectively together across the sector.
Further information can be found on the SoA website at:
http://www.archives.org.uk/thesociety/archivesectorproposals/memorandumofu
nderstanding.html
In addition to updates on the websites and archive listservs we'll make sure
this list receives regular updates on progress. Your continued interest and
comments are welcome.
Declan Kelly
Vice-Chair National Council on Archives
For any technical queries re JISC please email [log in to unmask]
For any content based queries, please email [log in to unmask]
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