I'm very pleased to be here. This year's any book Oxford Libraries Conference.
Speaking on on behalf of our chief executive Jeff James, who was hoping to talk to you.
But unfortunately that business was indeed very pressing and he was very disappointed not to be here.
But I tell you what, I'm very pleased to be here. And I've it's been fantastic to spend the morning with with Simon looking at your facilities.
Today. I'm going to talk to you for approximately half an hour.
And in doing so, introduce you to the archives sector and the National Archives.
Share with you some of the great work going on within archives, within the Archives sector,
demonstrating how the sector engages with people across the country and to promote the value of archives and their collections.
I'll talk about some of the challenges the archive sector faces and how the sector
is responding to those challenges through innovation and collaboration solutions.
And finally, I'll close by considering the challenges and opportunities presented to archives all over the world by the digital era.
And how new statute strategic priorities aim to deliver practical solutions for both the National Archives and indeed, the sector.
And of course, I'll be happy to take questions at the end.
For those of you who may not know about the National Archives, I thought it might be useful to begin with.
A brief introduction. Unlike many of our sister bodies in the heritage and cultural sector,
the National Archives is a government department and an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice.
We are small, but a complex organisation created from the ashes of many other public bodies, including the Office of Public Sector Information,
Her Majesty's Stationery Office and the Historical Manuscripts Commission, which carries out functions in support of records in private ownership.
As the Government's National Archives for the UK, we hold over a thousand years of records,
both physical and increasingly digital, for everyone to discover and choose.
We have over 600 members of staff and as many of you know, we're based in Kew, in Surrey.
In 2011, following the demise of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council,
we were also very fortunate to inherit leadership responsibility for the wider archive sector.
Over 2500 archive institutions across England, including over 200 places of deposit.
These institutions make up a diverse network of archives, which that National Archives sits at.
The heart of our role is very much to help this rich and diverse network to
sustain and develop itself by working together to promote the value of archives,
their services and their collections. The archives sector works continuously to develop best practice and standards in all aspects of archive,
information and records management archives safeguard countless irreplaceable histories about everyday people.
They hold materials that can inspire and informed decisions.
And have a positive impact on society. As Chief Operating Officer,
I work closely with my colleagues in our Archives Sector Development Team who actively
support the sector to secure the best possible long term future for their collections.
In my role, I have had the privilege to witness firsthand some of the fantastic work going on in the sector,
and I thought I'd share some of this with you. Sharing what the archive sector is doing, showing what the archive sector is doing,
and how it engages with people across the UK to promote the value of archives and their collections.
Archives of all types matter. They provide the collective memory of our society and future generations.
Over the years, there has been a fundamental change in the way many archives work.
In many respects, they have spearheaded a range of innovative and collaborative activities to attract new audiences and to benefit local communities.
Examples like Unlocked Reflections, a creative poetry program at HMV Lewis inspired by archival materials.
This is an outreach collaboration partnership between the Mass Observation Archive,
the University of Sussex, East Sussex County Council and the prison.
Prisoners were inspired to create works of poetry using archival collections that were subsequently brought together into a poetry publication.
This publication, which of course, will be deposited with the legal deposit library,
will be shared around the prison community for new inmates as part of their induction.
And I did get a chance to see this in action and meet the prisoners.
And it was a fantastically impressive and engaging experience and remarkable the impact that our records have.
As part of this program, I had the opportunity with Jeff to tour the Keep a new archival facility built in
collaboration between the University of Sussex and East Sussex County Council.
The entire project is a fantastic example of how archives can thrive by investing in
progressive joined up partnerships and how they can help people from all walks of life.
In July 2012, the Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service moved to a state of the art building called the Hive,
along with the city and university libraries and the Worcestershire hub.
The move was a chance for the service to take a good look at itself, in particular how it was reaching audiences and the local community.
The outcome of this move is a complete transformation of the archive and library services.
It also involved working with the local community, determined to determine what would work best for their new archival hub alongside these activities.
Since the archive sector's ability to find more ways to be empowered,
the Explore Your Archive campaign began in November 2013 and is run by the National Archives in partnership with the Archives and Records Association.
Every year, archives throughout the UK and Ireland throw open their doors and invite everyone
to immerse themselves in their materials with nationwide exhibitions and events.
The campaign is an opportunity for archives of all kinds to come together to showcase what they hold,
why they are significant, and why their collections matter for people and society.
Last year, a record number of archives participated in the campaign.
These are just a few of the examples of best practice and innovation going on within the sector.
I could go on to mention many more such collaborations in places like Hull and Manchester, but I hope they demonstrate how,
despite pressures, the Archives sector is facing up to meet the challenges that lie ahead.
And there is no avoiding that. Despite these successes, there are very real and genuine challenges for the Archives sector and the National Archives,
as the sector leadership body needs to play an essential role in supporting them.
It is very challenging times for all of us, despite what I saw this morning.
Archives are having to adapt to the enormous changes digital technology brings, whilst also coping with reduction in resources.
Nobody is in a position to guarantee or promise any future investment into the sustainability of the archives and library sectors.
However, this doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to have our ambition.
The Government policy for archives. Archives for the 21st century expired in March this year.
He outlined a number of broad objectives, including seeking to develop bigger and better services,
adopting a coordinated response to the management of digital information,
providing comprehensive online access to archival materials, and developing better cultural and learning partnerships.
The policy allowed archives to create their own frameworks in order to put their case to stakeholders, government and in some cases, users.
It also spurred them and us into thinking about our combined futures.
The action plan was created to serve as a tool that the sector used to put.
The government policy aims into practice for users and communities.
However, it's never easy to provide a one size fits all plan to such a diverse sector.
With the pressures facing us, there is a pressing need to define a new plan for the sector,
one which helps frame the sector's work over the next few years.
A plan born from co-creation right across the sector in collaboration with key stakeholders and strategic partners.
Its development could spark a period of critical debate and ask some fundamental questions about the challenging,
yet exciting future of the archives sector, such as Who are the sector's audience and what do they want?
How does digital and paper, online and on site fit together?
What can be collectively delivered for society in terms of culture and accountability?
For example, what investment and innovations are needed to not only sustain the sector but also help it grow, develop and meet its aspirations.
What role should the National Archives play? How can the Archives sector drive and deliver its own future?
How can the sector secure support and importantly resource from strategic partners?
As I said earlier, there is no definitive or particular solution to these considerations because the auto sector is varied and unique.
One size cannot fit all. Which is why planning the next steps will require large scale trucks.
Cross sector conversations following an independent evaluation of AACo's The 21st Century.
We now have a very good idea of the Archives sector's thoughts, and we know that the sector perceives its main challenges as funding cuts,
digital preservation and and skills, particularly digital skills.
The sector is maturing and looking to shift from awareness raising to a desire for more practical solutions over the coming years,
particularly for digital preservation. It's looking for the means to make significant,
realistic changes and needs the National Archives to also mature its leadership by providing more practical support and tools.
Alongside this, there is a call for a more inclusive approach overall and to spread the focus across
the board so that it is not just fixed on the public sector as a government body.
The National Archives is uniquely placed to help build the case with government for all archives.
We believe that our position is a confident spokesman on behalf of the Archives sector.
But as I said earlier, it's not just about advocating policy,
but also about practical solutions which are developed jointly through co-creation, partnership and innovation.
Local Authority Archives hold the power to do more targeted advocacy.
The case studies created and published recently by the Local Government Association in collaboration with the National Archives,
helped to illustrate how archives contribute to the key priorities for local government.
In 2013, with a view to greater transparency,
the government began transferring records to the National Archives for Permanent Preservation when they are 20 years old instead of 30.
On the 1st of January 2015, the second phase of the 20 year rule came into effect,
covering the transfer of records of local interest to places of deposit.
Together with the sector, we have worked to smooth the transition to the 20 year rule.
And the National Archives will administer £7.1 million funding of new burdens,
funding to the sector over the next ten years to offset the costs that will place on local authorities.
We don't pretend to have all the answers.
However, we recognise that skills and expertise within the sector can contribute to joint goals and plans in order to use them to maximum effect,
such as the work done over the last couple of years to foster collaborative service networks
inspired by the formation of the Greater Manchester Archives and Local Studies Partnership,
where 11 Archives Services formed a union to create a strategic, shared strategic vision.
From this. The Archives sector is developing approaches that bring archivists and senior managers together,
identifying how collective resources can help realise new opportunities.
Other successful networks have been established and with our support,
they focus on core priorities such as income generation, audience development, volunteering and tourism.
Essentially, all archives and libraries need to think hard about a shift to a broader funding base.
And we are here to help make this happen by providing practical ways to source the best place, tools and skills.
For example, the three year giving value program supports archives and developing a full suite of skills through training programs and guidance.
A major investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund was secured to develop the program.
A Breakthrough Traineeship program opening up archive was aimed at giving people from
non-traditional backgrounds opportunities to become the next generation of archivists.
Its successor, Transforming Archives, developed in collaboration with archive organisations across the country, started last summer.
Our support for the archive sector is also based on the main principles set out in the Archives Sector Accreditation Scheme.
The scheme defines good practice and identifies agreed standards, encouraging and supporting development.
It was developed in collaboration with museums, libraries and Archives Wales,
the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, the Scottish Council on Archives, the National Records of Scotland.
And they are a. The scheme's success is largely due to the commitment from archives services in finding ways to sustain their services.
So far, 32 Archive Services have obtained Archive Services accreditation by 2017.
We aim to see this number rise to 200.
What underpins all of this is better collaboration and partnerships helping to solve problems and create opportunities.
The hugely successful Discovering Collections Discovery Communities Conference run jointly by the National Archives and Research Libraries,
UK brings together delegates from across the heritage,
cultural and academic sectors to explore the contributions that archivists can make to research held last year at the University of Birmingham.
This year's conference has had to move to a larger venue in Manchester to cope with
the demands and will look at the varied and innovative ways in which the heritage,
cultural and academic sectors can engage with audiences in the digital age.
42 universities are being represented at this year's conference.
And this year we will welcome key sponsors, those such as the British Library, the Wellcome Trust and Jyske.
A new program for higher education archives has also just started.
The Higher Education Archives program developed in consultation with university archivists.
It aims to establish a mutual support network for these archives.
The program, key pieces of work have already been identified to tackle as already identified key pieces of work to tackle over the next few years,
including research into citation capture, collaborative research and tailored archives service accreditation workshops.
The archive sector is exploring plans to look at strategic collecting across higher education archives and the wider sector.
Who collects what? Where are the risks and gaps?
What are the opportunities?
You can learn more about these initiatives from our website or at the next Discovering Collections Discovering Communities Conference.
I mentioned earlier that the most significant challenge and opportunity facing archives across the world are those presented by the digital era.
Digital technology has changed forever.
What it means to be an archive and digital preservation is a massive challenge, but one that we are hugely excited about.
Earlier this year, Vint Cerf, currently Google vice president, expressed his concerns that digital records may not be readable in years to come.
He reflected on the software and hardware used to store digital information growing obsolete over time,
observing that backwards compatibility is not always guaranteed.
He argued that the same applies to official information political, legal, historical and scientific data,
suggesting that we may be entering a digital dark age and risk losing this information forever.
There is no doubt that managing digital information can be difficult.
It is a challenge that we at the National Archives have been working on for
the last two decades and will probably be working on for the next two years.
However, as our chief executive said in response to Vint Cerf, ultimately the role of archives everywhere is to collect,
preserve and provide access to information in whatever format it comes.
The National Archives continues to respond to those changes in ways that benefit our key audiences,
those working in archives across the UK, the public, academic, researchers and government.
On the 1st of April 2015, we started a new four year journey with an audience focussed strategic priorities.
The archives sector and the academic academic sector are two of our key priorities.
The challenges and opportunities of digital are the very core of the new strategy.
Digital underpins everything we do from creation to presentation,
and the principles of partnership and collaboration run right through our plans because we know that we can achieve much more,
have more influence, and do better work together that way.
Our focus over the last few years has been on Discovery, our online catalogue, which has been China,
which has been transformed into the single point of access to over 10 million descriptions of records in other archives across the country.
In Total Discovery now holds over 32 million records at the National Archives and across the sector.
These enhancements have been achieved in collaboration with the sector who told us that
they wanted to make their records more accessible in one comprehensive and cohesive way.
Prior to this and prior to this information about archive collections was available in a number of disconnected systems such as the National Record,
National Register of Archives, Directory of Archives, Access to Archives and the Memorial Documents Register.
By adding this information into discovery. We have co-created an initiative and user friendly online point of access to a host of archival resources.
For the first time, users can search across collections around the country,
enhancing collaboration and surfacing links that weren't visible in the past.
We are looking to share our experience and knowledge of shared network development about
discovery with libraries via the Leadership for Libraries Task Force alongside Discovery.
We are also working hard on digital preservation.
And last month an exciting milestone was reached as as part of our digital transfer project.
The first born digital records was successfully transferred to us from a government department and are now available in discovery.
Our digital records infrastructure already handles and securely stores digitised material.
Now we have demonstrated that we can hold. Records have been natively created in a digital formats emails, images and videos.
For example, using a process developed to cope with digital records transfer at scale.
This work marks the start of what is possible in finding improved and fluid
ways to make archival collections accessible to the world for the long term.
Archives of all kinds hold the potential to contribute even further to democracy, accountability, social policy, education, history and culture.
The sector is increasingly diverse and frequently crosses the border, fusing archives,
libraries and higher education institutions together in exciting, new and innovative ways.
The people who work within these sectors are specialists, but they recognise that the sector needs to develop new skills,
especially digital skills, to cope with the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Only by working together will we be able to succeed.
Partnership and collaboration is key. And by joining forces, we will not only sustain this incredibly rich, important national collection,
but also meet our aspirations and ambitions to grow and develop our collections and services for the benefit of our audiences now and in the future.
Thank you.