Databases Toolkit

Public archives should be online, says gov't report

Kable

Published: 26 Nov 2009 10:12 GMT

The public should have comprehensive online access to digitised state-sector archives, according to a cross-departmental policy document.

The document, Archives for the 21st Century, says online catalogues should be created to enable citizens to discover archives at a time and place that suits them.

Published by the Ministry of Justice, in association with the departments for culture and local government, on 24 November, it also recommends that publicly-funded archives in England and Wales should:

Develop services in partnership, working towards increased sustainability within the sector
Strengthen leadership and a responsive, skilled workforce
Co-ordinate responses to the growing challenge of managing digital information so that it is accessible now and remains discoverable in the future
Participate in cultural and learning partnerships promoting a sense of identity and place within communities

According to the report, the archive sector faces complex challenges, both in documenting the evolving present and in delivering the core task of helping people to access and understand the past.

Justice minister Michael Wills said the policy outlines a framework for the sustainable development and improvement of the publicly funded archive sector.

"The National Archives and The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council now wish to encourage professional bodies, individual institutions and other key stakeholders to help them shape a detailed action plan," said Wills. "This will take forward the policy's five recommendations, with the aim of strengthening this key part of the nation's historical, cultural and information infrastructure."

The two organisations will be consulting until the end of January 2010 before developing a draft plan.