Presentation describing the work of the Documentation Subcommittee to produce online guidance for the sector

1. Documentation
Mike Rogers, Sector Development Manager, Midlands,
Transport & Schools, The National Archives
The Aviation and Aerospace Archives Initiative Conference
Aerospace Bristol
12 February 2020

2. BS 4971:2017
Conservation and care of archive
and library collections
BS EN 16893:2017
Conservation of Cultural
Heritage. Specifications for
location, construction and
modification of buildings or
rooms intended for the storage
or use of heritage collections
Archive Service Accreditation
In an ideal world …

3. In the real world …
• Unsuitable premises
• Poor packaging
• Lack of documentation
• Partial or no cataloguing
• Limited of resources
• Knowledge gaps (e.g. legal issues)
• Archives often a lower priority than objects
• Differences between Archives and Museums practices
So how can we help? …

4. Our Audience
• Business archivists
• Museum curators
• Volunteers at Heritage sites
• Groups and individuals with relevant collections
• Most will have no specialist archival training or knowledge of
technical terms
• Need to be relevant to all the above despite differing priorities and
needs

5. The Guidance
• Pragmatic
• Not aiming for perfection – “little steps” help
• Premises can’t be changed overnight
• Reliant on goodwill
• Resources are limited (money, equipment, time, and bodies)
• Broken down into self-contained topics
• Suggestive rather than proscriptive!
• Aimed at non-specialists
• Avoids jargon where possible. Comprehensive glossary for when unavoidable.
• Refers to Standards and Archives Accreditation, but not insistent
• Links to useful online resources and good practice

6. Arrangement
0. Introduction
1. Definitions
2. Collecting and Accessioning
3. Arrangement
4. Cataloguing
5. Storage
6. Collections Care
7. Access
8. Legal Issues
9. Digitisation
10 Sustainability
STILL IN PREPARATION
11. Case Studies
12. Templates for key documents
13. Further reading and online resources

7. A Plea
Can you contribute a case study relating to
some aspect of your activities, showcasing
good practice or lessons learned?
Do you have any policies, document templates
etc that you would be willing to share for
section 12?

8. For more information see:
www.aviationarchives.uk
Have we missed anything?
It is intended to be a living document, so
do send us any suggestions/corrections.
email:
mike.rogers@nationalarchives.gov.uk