Posted on behalf of Sarah Bridges, Archives and Heritage Services Manager, Northamptonshire County Council
John and ARA colleagues
I am extremely disappointed by the number of people who have made sweeping statements and judgements about the recent notice that Northamptonshire Archives Service is changing its opening hours. It is discourteous at best to make a judgement without making any attempt to understand the facts and the context in which a decision to reduce the number of public opening hours has been made. I have had very few direct enquiries from those I would hope might offer support, not ill-informed criticism on the basis of social media misinformation.
Before anyone else gives their views, may I ask that you at least remember that we are fellow professionals and that we care deeply for our service. It would be polite to give us some credit for seeking to do our very best for our service in what are extremely difficult circumstances. We have considered options and alternatives. In fact, perhaps we have come up with the best way of ensuring our service’s survival and ability to maintain its core statutory responsibilities, given that our staffing levels have reduced by half.
I shall simply say that I remain committed to free public access to archives. But as a professional I also believe that we have to rethink models of service delivery during this period of austerity. We all need to be bold and face up to the fact that in this current climate no archives service can continue to operate in the same way it has done in the past.
Thank you for your support.
Sarah Bridges
Archives and Heritage Services Manager,
Northamptonshire County Council
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