From: Sarah Tyacke, Keeper of Public Records

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Dear Colleague

ARCHIVES ARE HIGH ON THE GOVERNMENT'S AGENDA

I have great pleasure attaching a link to the Government's Policy on
Archives, which was laid before Parliament on 2 December 1999.  I thought
that it would be helpful if I were to explain briefly the thinking behind
this document for the benefit of my fellow professionals in the world of
archives.

As you will know, there is a distribution of responsibilities for archives
among several Government Departments.  This is the first time that they have
come together and produced an agreed statement of archives policy.  The aim
of this Policy document is to highlight the contribution which archives can
make to the achievement of some of the Government's major policy objectives.
The document does not preach to the already converted, but is intended to
demonstrate the importance of archives in our national life to opinion
formers outside the archival world.  With the establishment of the new
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLAC) next April, and the increased
opportunities for cross-sectoral collaboration which MLAC will create, the
publication of this Policy document is very timely.

Thus this document is not a comprehensive compendium of professional
practice and advice; others have already provided this.  It is intended to
help you to raise the profile of archives in your own organisation and in
the public mind.  It is in these terms that I commend the Policy document,
and the accompanying publicity notice, to you.


SARAH TYACKE
Keeper of Public Records

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The Purpose

The policy was published with the aim of helping archival institutions
throughout the UK to take advantage of the unprecedented opportunities
offered by Information and Communications Technology and to achieve a much
higher public profile in the Information Age.  The Internet is set to take
archives to the people.

Every institution, from the largest Government Department to the smallest
voluntary society, produces archives in the course of its daily activities.
Individual citizens also need to keep an archive of vital documents (birth
certificate, passport, etc.) so that they can play a full role in modern
society.  Archives can take many forms, including conventional paper files,
audio-visual records, and computer disks and tapes.  Collectively, archives
form an indispensable part of the nation's documentary heritage and wider
cultural life.  Some archival institutions, both national and local, keep
this unique and irreplaceable material in state of the art conditions, but
it is often the case that information-rich archive collections languish in
obscurity, almost completely unknown to the general public.  The nation can
no longer afford to neglect such a tremendous asset.

The general purpose of the Government's Policy on Archives is to promote
awareness of the importance of archives throughout the public and private
sectors and in the public mind more generally.  Based on a recognition that
the archives sector plays both an administrative and a cultural role, the
Command Paper demonstrates the contribution which it can make to the
realisation of some of the Government's central policy objectives:-

*	It can promote social inclusion by offering ready access to
information for rich and poor alike
*	It can assist the Government's drive to modernise public services by
setting up efficient information systems
*	It can help to establish the right conditions for open government
and democratic accountability
*	It can provide stimulating content for all parts of the education
sector, including school pupils, lifelong learners and scholarly researchers
*	It can promote economic regeneration by providing information to
businesses and by attracting tourists
*	It can contribute to the development of cultural consciousness at
regional level by participating in the new structures

The document sets out in detail the challenges for the sector in each of
these areas and the ways in which it can meet them, with the active support
of the Government.  ICT, especially the Internet, offers archives the
exciting prospect not only of making much more accurate information about
their collections readily available but also of supplying digitised images
of the most popular records to new users, both in this country and
throughout the world.  In addition, the establishment of the new Museums
Libraries and Archives Council (MLAC), by the Department of Culture, Media
and Sport (DCMS), will enable archives to work much more closely with
libraries and museums in making their treasures more accessible to a much
wider public.
 
As Lord Irvine, the Lord Chancellor, says, 'archives are poised to take full
advantage of technological developments to preserve and give access to our
unique collections and to provide the country with a sure foundation for the
future.' 

Explanatory Notes

1. 	It is conservatively estimated that there are over 1,100
institutions in the UK holding significant archives which attract at least 1
million visits every year.
2. 	As the Minister for the Public Record Office (PRO), the Lord
Chancellor is the senior Cabinet Minister in the United Kingdom with
responsibilities in the field of archives.  Other Government Departments
with a major interest in archives comprise DCMS, DETR, DfEE, the devolved
administrations of Scotland and Wales, and the Northern Ireland Office.

Co-ordination of archive policy at an official level is provided by the
Inter-Departmental Archives Committee (IDAC), which is chaired by the Keeper
of Public Records. All of the above Departments are represented on the
Committee, together with expert advisers from the new Museums. Libraries and
Archives Council (MLAC), the National Council on Archives (NCA), the
Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC), and the British Library.

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The text of the Command Paper is published on-line on the Public Record
Office web site: http://www.pro.gov.uk/archives/archivepolicy/


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