Digitising the Mixed economy of Welfare in Britain is a British Academy funded project based at the UCL Institute of Education with our partners NCVO and the University of Northumbria. The project aims to promote the preservation and use of voluntary sector archives. This draft guidance has been put together by the project team in consultation with experts from The National Archives, the British Library, charity archivists, researchers, academics and representatives from the voluntary sector. It is aimed at staff, volunteers and trustees of a range of voluntary and community organisations who want to find out why and how to preserve and use their records. Please offer feedback on this guidance so that it can be adapted and grow to best meet the needs of a very diverse group of organisations. If you need more information or want to email your feedback, please contact Charlotte Clements: c.clements@ucl.ac.uk

Revised Draft Guidance, March 2017

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Archiving for Voluntary Organisations

ContentsGlossary.............................................................................................................................................3

1. First steps......................................................................................................................................5

Why records are important...............................................................................................................5

What are archives and how can I look after them?...........................................................................5

Funding and resources......................................................................................................................6

2. Appraisal and Selection.................................................................................................................6

A three step appraisal process...........................................................................................................7

3. Cataloguing....................................................................................................................................9

Arranging the catalogue....................................................................................................................9

Cataloguing and listing....................................................................................................................10

4. Preservation and Storage............................................................................................................11

How do I store archives on site?......................................................................................................11

What equipment do I need and how should I use it?......................................................................12

Should the archives be deposited elsewhere?................................................................................12

5. Access..........................................................................................................................................14

Closure of sensitive archives............................................................................................................15

Handling and consulting archives:...................................................................................................15

Copyright.........................................................................................................................................16

6. Using archives: fundraising and promotion.................................................................................16

7. Using archives: working with policymakers and researchers.......................................................16

8. Using archives: heritage projects.................................................................................................17

9. Digitisation and digital records....................................................................................................17

Digitisation.......................................................................................................................................18

Digital Records.................................................................................................................................18

Organising digital records............................................................................................................21

10. Sustainability.................................................................................................................................23

Frequently Asked Questions................................................................................................................25

Links to Case Studies...........................................................................................................................25

Further sources of advice and reading list...........................................................................................26

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Glossary

Appraisal – The selection of records for permanent preservation in accordance with an agreed set of criteria to assess their value in accordance with a series of primary values, such as their administrative, legal, or financial usefulness, or secondary values, such as their historical, informational, evidential, and research values

Archive – (1) To permanently retain records that are of value for legal, constitutional or historical purposes.

(2) A place for keeping records permanently.

(3) The body of documents and records formed by an organisation in their course of their work

Back-ups – This is duplicating data so that there are additional copies which may be used to restore the original data if it is lost following a disaster, an accidental deletion or corruption of the data. It is a good idea to have three ‘back-ups’ in at least two physical locations.

Born Digital – This refers to records and material generated in a digital format which may not necessarily exist physical form such as emails or websites.

Business Classification Scheme – Is a representation of the all activities and functions of an organisation. It describes an organisation’s business functions and activities, and the relationships between them and provides the best foundation for record classification scheme and records retention schedules.

Catalogue - A document or software that describes the archive and shows how it is arranged. It is an inventory which shows what is kept in an organisations’ archives, how files relate to the rest of the archive, and includes details on the format and context of the material.

Collection – A group of records, documents and archives as a whole (see definition (3) of archive) which have been arranged by a theme

Data Protection – The law protecting the privacy of individuals by regulating access to confidential information held on them by both private and public organisations. The current Legislation is the Data Protection Act 1998. See Section 5.

Digitise – The process of making a digital image of a document, record, photograph or other material in the archive. The digital image is often created by digitally photographing or scanning the original and results in a version which can be stored and accessed via a computer.

Electronic Records – Any recorded information created, received and maintained in electronic/digital format by an organisation or individual in the course of its activities.

Electronic Records Management (ERM)- A digital environment for capturing electronic records and applying standard records management practices. Electronic Records Management supports the medium to long term information management needs of business. Software to provide an ERM system is available commercially.

Finding Aids –Indexes, schedules, subject thesauruses and referencing systems which structure and identify information to enable its easy retrieval.

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Freedom of Information (FOI) –The law regulating public access to official information held by public bodies as defined in the schedule of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Functions –The activities of the record creator and for which the records were created to support. It is important to establish the functions which records are created to support particularly as in most institutions organisational change is common and can lead to records and records creators being split.

Records – Recorded information (documents) regardless of form or medium created, received and maintained by an agency, institution, organisation or individual in pursuance of its legal obligations or the transaction of business.

Records Management - The procedures and practices employed to structure control and regulate records whatever their medium, electronic, paper or microform. The management of records ensures efficiency and economy in their use, storage and disposal and the selection of those of value for permanent preservation.

Retention Schedules/Instructions – A retention schedule is an analytical list of record series, arranged either under the functions carried out by the creating organisation or under structural headings of a departmental organisation. The main purpose of the schedule is to record and implement the appraisal decisions which have been made, so that these decisions can be routinely put into effect. A secondary purpose may be to set out a list of the records series in a way which will illustrate the organisation’s activity. This is also sometimes called a disposal policy or schedule because it tells you when you can securely dispose of certain material.

Third Party Deposit – This is the process by which an organisation arranges for its records to be stored in a specialist archive. This means that records are cared for by the specialist archive, but a formal agreement to outline who now owns and can access the archive is often required.

Series – A basic unit of the administrative control of records. It is an organised group of records that represent a common function of the organisation e.g. governance, fundraising, managing staff and volunteers, or services delivered. Series can be any size and contain large or small numbers of files. Putting your archives into series, helps you break your records down into recognisable units for further arrangement.

Is something missing from this glossary? Email c.clements@ucl.ac.uk with your suggestions for improving or adding to this guide.

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1. First steps

Why records are importantRecords are an important asset for any organisation. They document activities and functions and provide evidence of decisions, processes and transactions. It is vital that current records are well managed, and other records are preserved and made accessible for the future. Your records, whether paper or digital, are important because of their value to your organisation and its beneficiaries, and they will also be of broader historical or social importance to future researchers and policymakers.

In the UK, a move towards better record keeping is underway as part of the good governance required by the Charities Act 2006. Many voluntary organisations will also be registered charities. This requires proper keeping of minutes and financial records, with audited accounts, so that in the future there will be a better official record of decision-making and financial management. Charities also have a range of other responsibilities, such as under the Data Protection Act 1998, which make good record keeping an important part of running a voluntary organisation. Legal and regulatory requirements aside, our blog for NCVO (20th August 2014) highlights eight reasons charities should preserve their archives.

What are archives and how can I look after them?

Archives are a collection of documents and records which have been generated by the work of the organisation, its trustees, staff, volunteers and beneficiaries. What you keepshould reflect the main work of the organisation and record its administration by including official papers such as minutes of meetings and committees. It may also take into account the experiences of staff, users and volunteers. Photographs, slides, event programmes, personal diaries, film or video, audio recordings, reminiscences and scrapbooks might capture the wider community perspective of an organisation’s activities and functions. An archive collection needs as far as possible to reflect all the activities or functions of your organisation, its members and beneficiaries. It will not include every document you have, but you will need to think carefully about what you want to keep, how it shows your work and what you want to do with it.

This guide will give you basic advice on how to choose what goes into the archive and how to organise the material. It has guidance on how to store archives, how to record what the archive contains, and some guidelines for allowing people to use archives.

Voluntary organisations come in all shapes and sizes, and so do their records. This guidance aims to offer advice appropriate to as many different types of organisation as possible. Some sections will highlight how best practice might be adapted to suit your resources and circumstances, or offer a compromise for those operating on the very tightest of budgets. Links are provided to other sources of information which are more detailed and specialised. At the end of this guide there is a glossary of key terms, frequently asked questions, case studies and a reading list.

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Funding and resourcesAn important initial consideration is how you will find the resources to do the work outlined in this guide. Those considering specific projects and uses for archives might think about applying to the Heritage Lottery Fund. Cataloguing grants may also be available in some circumstances. The National Archives website has a page of information on funding and fundraising for archive work, and it organises a series of events to help people complete the relevant applications. It is also important to consider using your own staff and volunteers as an important resource for this work.

Strong records management and archiving policy and practice is part of good information and corporate governance and therefore has a legitimate claim on the overall budget an organisation has for this work. The potential costs of not doing this work, such as the cost of trying to recover or find information, or of breaching data protection regulation may well outweigh the costs of implementing a good system as part of your day-today work.

2. Appraisal and Selection

One of the first and most important steps is to find out what records and other material you have. Once you know this, you can select the items that need to be preserved in your archive, identify duplication and begin the process of cataloguing and preserving your records (covered later in this guide). It is crucial to remember that context is very important in this process. Make sure you keep material together in its original order as far as possible and that it reflects the main strands of work that you do. It can be very hard to trace and identify documents once they have been rearranged.

Key questions for beginning your survey:

What documents and records have you got? (remember that you may also have material stored on computers, hard drives and online as well)

What other things do you have that are an important part of your work, or history? E.g. pictures or photographs, films or videos, objects or artefacts. These might also be considered part of your archive.

Where are they currently kept? Is it all together? What material might be elsewhere? Might former staff, trustees or volunteers have relevant records?

What kind of state is it in? Is any/much of it damaged or missing?

Some of the most common types of record that are often included in an archive are listed below. Which of these do you have? Do you have records specific to your work that are not included below?

Remember that not all material is suitable for inclusion in your archive, but there may be other ways in which to preserve it for the long term. By law, a copy of every UK print publication must be given to the British Library by its publishers, and to five other major

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libraries that request it. This is called ‘legal deposit’. This may include what is sometimes known as ‘grey literature’ such as reports, pamphlets or books that you have published yourselves, as well as any online versions. Contact the British Library for more information and also visit the Social Welfare Portal to look at the kinds of digital material they collect. You may want to weed out multiple copies of such material, while keeping one or two for your own reference.

A three step appraisal process

Step 1. Record some basic information

When appraising the existing records to decide which to select for the permanent archive you need to be aware of: the date of the establishment of the organisation, a description of its activities and functions (which may have changed over time), major events in its history such as moves to new premises, changes of name, prominent campaigns, events and members. Can you write this down, or is this already written somewhere? Asking long-serving staff and volunteers can be useful here.

Step 2. Collect information to describe the archive

Include information about the format (ledgers, loose papers, digital records) and languages of the material as well as how the documents are arranged and stored at present. Details of any existing list of material or finding aid such as card indexes, or descriptions written by people who have seen the archives should be included. You should also include any published histories of the organisation, or perhaps biographies of key individuals such as the founder.

Step 3. Identify the types of records that you have

It is a good idea to list records that you have by function or key area of work that you do. Whatever approach you decide on, be consistent and make good notes that you can use when you put together your catalogue. The table below has some suggested types of record to get you started. You might think of more yourselves. Add in as much detail as you can. Again, you could ask long-serving staff or volunteers to help you with this.

Do you have the following?

Type of record Do we have this (yes/no/incomplete)

Where is it? (physical location and storage, paper/digital format)

Any other information (e.g. damaged/dates included or years missing)

GovernanceMinutes of governing bodiesTrust deedsConstitutionCharity Commission schemes of management

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Annual ReportsMembership RecordsCorrespondenceGeneral administrative documents (day to day management and governance)Policy and subject filesCase filesVisitor BooksRecords of special projects or committeesFinance and ResourcesAnnual AccountsTrust AccountsFundraising appeals, accounts, and literatureProperty recordsDeedsTenders, specifications, architectural plans and drawings, photographs relating to major projects e.g. new buildings and extensionsInventoriesLogbooksCorrespondenceStaff and workPersonnel files for key members of staffPublicationsNewsletters/magazinesPress releasesRecords from events including: invitation cards, publicity material, photographs from eventsCalendarsDocuments/correspondence generated by users or beneficiariesScrapbooks and newspaper cuttingsAppropriate personal papers from founders, activists, donors, officials, users or volunteers (if they provide useful additional information on the organisation’s history and governance). This might include diaries, correspondence

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(including emails), study notes, photographs, press cuttings

3. Cataloguing

Once you have a good idea of the material that makes up your archive, you will need to make a catalogue. Appraisal and cataloguing can be handled by volunteers or staff as long as they have the right support. For any existing organisation, the most important step is to gather the historical records, which have passed out of current use, and to arrange them, following their original order, to reflect the activity or functions of the organisation. This would involve for example keeping all the minutes of the organisation’s governing body together.

Not all records contain evidence of historical value and some records may be considered for destruction. This material may not be of permanent value, containing little or no evidential worth according to established criteria. This judgment should not be the decision of an individual and might benefit from professional archival advice. Make sure you consider carefully what to throw away, and if in doubt, keep the material until you can get specialist advice. There is guidance in section 5 on access on how to handle data protection and copyright concerns. Please do not discard documents because of data protection, copyright or freedom of information concerns. Instead, you should seek further guidance about closure periods and other appropriate measures that you can take to comply with regulation.

There is no need to keep multiple copies of ephemeral publicity material that is printed, such as newsletters or annual reports. One archival copy of each publication for example should normally be kept as evidence of this type of activity and of the event itself.

The Charity Commission for England and Wales has published ‘Retention of Accounting Records’ that can help organisations to appraise their current administrative and financial records and develop their own records retention policy for these categories of records. This guidance should be used in conjunction with the archival guidance in this paper and the current Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) on charity accounts:

http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/Library/guidance/Buzzacott%20Insight%20Retention%20of%20Accounting%20Records.pdf

Arranging the catalogue

Records selected for the archive can then be arranged according to a general classification scheme. Most organisations can usually identify five or six key functions, which their records reflect. These may relate to governance, finance, administration, training, services delivered, campaigns, property holdings or staff. Personal papers of individuals may be added if they add value to other material. You can use the table on pages 7 and 8 above or your own logical

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scheme around which to organise your catalogue. More guidance on cataloguing for non-experts can be found in this guide from the Community Archives and Heritage Group. This guidance also has three examples of ways you can arrange your catalogue.

It should be made clear, ideally through the means of a written agreement, whether records not created by the organisation itself are held as a gift or a loan and on what basis they are being cared for in case there is a legal dispute at some later date.

Records are often created on a subject basis or by function or activity. Wherever possible material should be kept in the order it was created in case vital evidence provided by the relationship of documents to one another is lost. Records all relating to the same function (sometimes called a series should not be broken up. The diagram below gives you an idea of how files can be arranged. You may well have more levels in your hierarchy, reflecting the way material is collected, for example ‘Executive Committee Minutes’ might have subfolders each holding five year’s worth of documents, or ‘Fundraising Campaigns 2000-2010’ might have a folder for each named campaign at that time.

Cataloguing and listing

In the course of arranging and boxing material, it should be possible to draw up a brief inventory or list (a box and volume list), to which locations by room and shelf can be added in order to make the archive readily accessible. This can be done using basic word processing packages such as Microsoft Work, Excel or OpenOffice and does not require specialist archival software. Such a list will provide the basis of a more detailed catalogue down to file/volume level or where necessary down to item level, in the future. Damaged or fragile material can also be noted on this basic inventory for professional advice and subsequent treatment. This gives you an easy reference point when you need to retrieve material from the archive.

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File

Series

Collection Organisation Name

Function: e.g Governance

Executive Committee

Minutes

Constitution and Governing

Documents

Function: e.g. Fundraising

Fundraising Campaigns 2000-2010

4. Preservation and Storage

How do I store archives on site?

All archive material needs to be kept in securely in a cool, dry and stable environment. There should be protection against fire, flood, theft, pests and other hazards including damp and mould.

Ideally you should consider the following:

Storage areas should be secure and kept locked when not in use; Access to the storage should be monitored; If a storage area has to be shared, archives should be clearly separated and only handled

by people responsible for their care; No item should be removed without permission of those people responsible for their

care; If an item is moved or removed, a record should be made with details of where it is and

who has it; A register of withdrawals, returns and people who have used the archives should be

kept; Cellars and attics should not be used, unless the environmental conditions can be

controlled and protection against water penetration and flooding is in place. Stores should be located away from water tanks and radiators, which may cause damage to collections;

For those with the resources to provide an ideal archive environment, the latest British Standards Institution (BSI) publication’ PD5454: 2012 ‘Guide for the storage and exhibition of archival materials’ recommends for mixed collections including papers, photographs, leather bound volumes and other materials storage temperatures between 13˚ and 20˚C. It also recommends that relative humidity (moisture in the air) should be kept between 35% and 60%. Sharp fluctuations during the course of each month should be avoided;

Environmental conditions can be monitored by a small digital thermo hygrometer, which can be purchased for under £20. Below are links to the websites of three suppliers of conservation materials and equipment. We cannot endorse the products of any particular firm: http://www.conservationresources.com/, http://www.conservation-by-design.co.uk/, http://www.preservationequipment.com/ .

What equipment do I need and how should I use it? You can take sensible measures to preserve your archive material using common sense and inexpensive equipment. Though you may have limited resources, purchasing the right equipment, packaging and storage can be one of the most effective steps you can take to preserve your documents. If you cannot afford these materials, make sensible decisions about

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ensuring the most stable environmental conditions and avoiding the worst risks, such as fire, water and mould.

Ideally, records need to be protected by archival quality (fibreboard) boxes and packaging (acid free) in the long term to ensure that they remain in good condition.

In the shorter term, the main aim should be to box files of loose papers in clean containers and to label them with brief descriptions of the contents.

Containers should not be airtight as the lack of air circulation can lead to damp and mould attacks, however these should be stout enough to give some protection against water and smoke damage.

Plastic bags and containers should not be used. Bound volumes need not be boxed unless they have detached boards or badly damaged

bindings. They can be shelved upright. Do not stick labels directly onto spines of bound materials.

Should the archives be deposited elsewhere?

In some cases it is best to arrange to deposit your archives in a local or specialist archive. This might be because you do not have adequate storage facilities to preserve the material safely, or because of other risks to the material, such as the closure of the organisation. This is called a third-party deposit.

If you believe that your archive (whether in digital form, paper, or mixed format) should make its way to an archive repository for permanent preservation, then it is a good idea to get in touch with your chosen repository at an early stage. You can identify archive services within your region or area of work on ARCHON, a directory for archive repositories and institutions in the United Kingdom. This is available online: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archon/

Contact the Archives Sector Development department at The National Archives who can also offer advice on suitable places of deposit, such as local archives, or specialist repositories: asd@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.

It is worth remembering that a number of universities have developed specialisms in collecting the archives of voluntary organisations, charities and campaigning organisations, and it may be worth approaching them to see if you fit in with their collections development policy. The box below has some suggestions of places you might contact.

Birmingham University Special Collections holds material related to Christian mission, youth and education.

The Bishopsgate Institute Library and Archives specialises in collections on London history, labour and socialist history, freethought and humanism, co-operation, and protest and campaigning.

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The British Library for Development Studies (BLDS) contains the largest collection of economic and social development materials in Europe.

Bradford University Special Collections holds notable collections on peace activism and religion.

The Hull History Centre (incorporating Hull University Archives) holds a collection of archives of national and regional pressure groups and voluntary organisations.

The Labour History Archive and Study Centre (LHASC) is a specialist repository for the political wing of the Labour movement. LHASC holds the archives of political parties and left wing pressure groups.

LSE Special Collections and Archives holds a very wide range of materials relating to social and political history including the records of a number of pressure groups and campaigning organisations, and incorporates The Hall-Carpenter Archives, a collection of archives, journals and ephemera relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activism in the UK and The Women’s Library @ LSE a collection which documents all aspects of women’s lives, with a particular emphasis on the lives of women in the UK.

The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) holds the records of a number of national and local pressure groups, voluntary organisations and charities.

Rhodes House Library, Bodleian Library . The Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House, University of Oxford holds the archive of the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

Southampton University Special Collections holds a large collection of records relating to Jewish History, including the papers of the Federation of Jewish Relief Organisations.

SOAS Archives and Special Collections reflect the British interaction with Africa and Asia over the last 250 years, and include archives of missionary societies, NGOs and campaign groups, and business organisations, as well as papers of individuals, including diplomats, campaigners, and academics.

University of East London (UEL) Archive collects material relating to refugee and refugee organisations in the UK.

Warwick University (Modern Records Centre) holds a significant collection of interest groups and pressure groups archives relating to modern Britain.

Working Class Movement Library (WCML) holds collections relating to the history of the UK labour movement.

The Wellcome Library collections relate to the history of medicine, public health and related subjects.

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The following checklist of questions can help an organisation to decide whether to retain historical records or deposit them elsewhere:

1. Do any of the surviving records have significant value as evidence of the organisation, the constituency it serves, and that community’s history?

2. Can these be brought together and maintained by the organisation itself?3. Will external funding be sought, with the implication of opening up public access, or will

the organisation fund the archive itself? 4. How will appropriate care and access be provided? Is there, at least, a secure storage

room and reading area, which can be constantly supervised? 5. Where is professional advice going to be obtained if there is no professional archivist? 6. Who is going to arrange and list the archives? 7. Is deposit with an appropriate local or specialist record office a more viable option?8. Are records from other organisations or individuals going to be collected? 9. If so, are the necessary procedures in place to support the gift or loan of archive

material, and future preservation? 10. How is sensitive material going to be handled in terms of access for research? Who is

going to determine whether they are closed or made available?

These questions may be daunting for some, but they will perhaps help organisations to make realistic decisions as to the future of their records. If you do decide to deposit your archives the place that you deposit them will want to see your draft catalogue and for you to sign a deposit agreement. You may have the option to retain some control over the material, such as deciding who can access it. It is worth getting specialist guidance and talking to the archivist in depth about your needs before signing any agreement.

5. Access

Once you have a catalogue of your archives and have arranged the best possible storage and equipment for looking after them, you will need to consider how you want to use your archives and who else can see them. Possible users include academic researchers, students or school pupils, local historians or those researching their family tree.

Closure of sensitive archives

Archives that are of long term social or historical importance are not necessarily suitable for immediate access. If they contain information that is confidential, you may need to restrict access to them. You have a responsibility under Data Protection legislation to protect the confidentiality of records containing personal information about living people. You are also bound by the guidance issued by the Fundraising Regulator to look after donor data in certain ways. Any collection of records may include such material. This may be personal to the creator; it may refer to a third party or it may be semi-official material generated by an outside body. The Data Protection Act 1998 provides for personal data to be processed under certain

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conditions. For further information, see the Code of Practice published by The National Archives:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/legislation/data-protection.htm

One way to protect records containing sensitive information is to close them to research access for a stated period after the death of the person or the date of the creation of the material, except by special permission. Appropriate closure periods can range from 20 years for many categories of records or 100 years applied to personal information such as census and medical records. Further information is available from either your local Record Office or the Private Archives Team at The National Archives: asd@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk

The Community Archives and Heritage Group website includes links to various pieces of guidance relating to the handling personal information that would potentially be covered by the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts: http://www.communityarchives.org.uk/page_id__507_path__0p4p.aspx

If you decide to grant access to archives by members of the public or external researchers, files or volumes should be produced in a separate reading area under constant supervision, and you should record what is checked in and out, and by whom. It is not a good idea to let researchers into the archive storage area to help themselves as this may lead to disarrangement of material or theft. You might also want to have a document for visitors to sign that sets out the rules for using the archive, such as handling material properly, whether photography is permitted and asking visitors to observe copyright regulations.

Handling and consulting archives:

When anyone is using archive materials the following guidelines should be followed in order to best protect the records:

Always use pencils when near archive materials. Do not use pens as these can permanently damage the documents

Handle documents carefully – do not press books open along the spine, do not fold papers or do anything to damage the papers

Do not allow flash photography or photocopying of documents (you could consider providing digitisation as a chargeable service, and many places charge a day rate for non-flash photography)

Do not eat or drink when handling archives More comprehensive guidance can be found here:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/visit/document-handling.htm

Copyright

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Anyone who wants to use material from your archives in the ways set out in sections 6, 7 and 8 below, will need the correct copyright permissions for the type of use they have in mind. For private study and research, this is not particularly problematic. However copyright regulations will apply for publication of any material from the archive or digitised material being made available online. With archives often made up of material contributed by different individuals and organisations it can be hard to trace copyright holders before you make material available and you should seek specialist advice if you are unsure of your responsibilities.

Copyright can be complicated by the fact that different regulations apply in different countries. A brief introduction to UK copyright legislation is provided by JISC but essentially how your organisation’s handles copyright is a matter of your own sense of risk. You can take a conservative approach to allowing the use of material, or be willing to comply with Take Down Notices if and when you receive them for material you publish online. We will provide updated guidance on copyright issues in the subsequent versions of this guide.

6. Using archives

a. Fundraising and promotion

Once you have appraised, catalogued and stored your archive you will need to think about how you can make the most of this fantastic resource. You can use your archives to run fundraising projects and help with marketing as well as to enhance your brand. For example your archives can demonstrate:

Commitment to your cause Longevity - which can build trust and your reputation with donors How useful money donated has been in helping you achieve your aims

b. Working with policymakers and researchers

Your archives are a great source of evidence of your commitment to your mission and of what you have achieved so far. They can show how the organisation has generated expertise and provide data which can be analysed to help form policy. For example, it was the records of calls to ChildLine when it opened in 1986 that helped it recognise the scale of bullying in UK schools. This saw ChildLine launch a campaign as well as training in schools to tackle the issue. It was the unique resource of call data over many years which enabled it to see a pattern, and formulate a policy response.

Academics may also be interested in your archives as they can hold valuable information which helps them form a picture of a wider issue. Some organisations may have concerns about what research might uncover, but academic researchers are skilled at putting archives into their proper context. Your archives will show how you have developed and you can use this to demonstrate the level of expertise you now have. It is good practice to be open and transparent as this makes you

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accountable to donors and beneficiaries, but you might find it helpful to discuss any concerns with the academic who wants to see your archives.

Academic partnerships are a great opportunity for voluntary organisations who can benefit immensely from the expert research skills of academics. If you are interested in working with academics, you might find it useful to approach your nearest university or someone publishing histories of organisations similar to yours. You can contact the Digitising the Mixed Economy of Welfare in Britain project via our website and we will do our best to put you in contact with someone who can help.

You can also use your archives to conduct your own research, and use this to help you formulate policy. Taking a longer perspective of issues can help you find out if a new approach you are considering has been tried before, or provide valuable data on your beneficiaries and their needs.

c. Heritage projects

The archives of voluntary organisations have a vital role in helping the public to explain and celebrate the past. They also have an important role within the organisation to help you celebrate the contribution of your staff and volunteers, as well as mark important anniversaries and events. Blind Veterans UK’s work is a great example of this. Blind Veterans UK has completed a set of events and projects to mark its centenary, but has also made a wider contribution to the commemorations of the First World War.

Similarly, Royal Voluntary Service has raised money via a crowdfunding campaign to digitise thousands of pages of records which document the contributions of women during the Second World War. These sources will add an important perspective to our understanding of the Home Front during the war, and one which will be publicly available. What has your organisation’s unique contribution been over time? How could a heritage project help you to tell your story and secure your place in history?

7. Digital Records

Electronic analogue and digital records are an ever-increasing part of modern documentation and record keeping. It is vital that records in this form are preserved and made accessible for both current operational requirements as well as for their long term research value.

When you are assessing your organisation’s records you must not overlook records created and stored on your computer or detachable physical media (floppy disks, CDs, memory sticks, hard drives etc), whether they are word-processed documents such as drafts of letters and e-mails or web pages, photographs, films or databases. There may also be other formats to consider such as VHS, film, reel-to-reel and other audio/visual formats. The equipment required to use these materials can move out of use. These kinds of materials may be prime candidates for digitisation (covered below) and you may need specialist advice on their preservation.

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Unlike paper records, those created in digital form will not survive long without active intervention. They require systematic and periodic attention. Even the short-term future of digital material is uncertain. Firstly, digital records are dependent on software and hardware. This means they are vulnerable to changes in technology and the market. Secondly, the media on which electronic records are stored is unstable. Disks, diskettes, and hard drives as well as optical media like CDs and DVD’s all have a limited life-span.

Although comprehensive strategies for achieving the long-term preservation and accessibility of electronic records are still being devised, and the same solutions are not necessarily applicable to all types of digital records, simple measures will improve the likelihood that your digital archive remains intact and accessible.

The key steps are to:

Identify the digital records you have Decide which are most important Organise the content Save copies in different places Make a plan for ongoing management of your digital records

Identify the digital records you have

Gather information about the digital records you have. Where are the files located? On your computer? On your camera? Online? Are they scattered around on unmarked floppy disks and CDs? Are they on networked storage or individual PCs.

Do a survey to locate computer hardware in any physical form. This may prove a useful exercise to locate records more generally. They may be held by current or previous staff and officers and not necessarily physically on the property. It might then be helpful to assemble them physically in one location, but in so doing be careful not to any lose information that might be provided by the order in which they were stored, or any paper records that might provide context.

The first task is to identify what it is the media actually contain.

Use a dedicated computer that has up-to-date antivirus software and that is not being used for online activities that may introduce viruses.

Create a new directory (folder)on the computer for the material you have identified. Give it an identifiable name.

Then create folders within this for each of the media you wish to transfer. If you can set a write blocker on the computer and write-protect tabs on the media you will be able to prevent unauthorised changes to the content. If the electronic data is on removable media (e.g. CDs), copy the data from the physical medium to the relevant folder.

If digital records are on removable media (e,g CD’s), copy the data from the physical medium to the relevant folder. If the medium is a disk, consider copying the data as a disk image, which is a single file that contains an exact copy of the disk’s content and ensures that essential metadata will be retained.

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You should conduct an initial survey of the material to form an overall impression. This does not necessarily entail opening and reading every record; an initial assessment might involve opening a few files in each folder to assess whether the folder title accurately reflects its contents, and an assessment of the likely significance of the material. File names, dates, author and correspondent names can be useful clues. This survey should help you to identify low value material, which can be identified for deletion, material that may have short- or medium-term use, and material with potential long-term value.

If you can, generate a copy of the directory information (folder and file names, sizes, extensions, and dates). Store a digital copy in the survey directory and print out a hard copy for reference. It is also advisable to make a back-up copy of the directory. An external hard drive might be used for this purpose.

Of course, you might be faced with old digital material - perhaps those of a family member, colleague, a predecessor at work, or even your own materials, abandoned after a software upgrade. These can be in forms that you simply cannot access (for example, floppy disks for which you have not got a drive on your computer), or it may be that the software required to read the file is now lost.

There are techniques and equipment for retrieving information held in such cases but it is not easy to know whether it is worth spending money, time and energy on retrieving information that may well prove to be of no value. Look for any identifying information on labels or associated packaging such as the creator, title, description of contents, and dates. Record anything that is known about the hardware and software used to create the files. Remember that many of the media will have been created relatively recently, easily within living memory, so their creators may well be alive and able to remember something about the media. For example, photographs of a social gathering from 3 years ago, or copies of an organisation’s newsletters 2000-2004.

Decide which are most important

It may not be practical and almost certainly isn’t desirable to preserve and transfer everything into a digital repository. The next step is to select exactly what you want to save.

Prioritize material based on factors such as the following:

The value of the records to you, your organisation, or their historical importance; The level of use or anticipated future use of the record; Whether there is an immediate danger of loss of content because of media degradation; Whether there appears to be significant digital content that is not replicated in paper

records, and if so, whether the digital version has features that add value to the content.

Organising digital records

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1. Once you've decided what to keep, create a new directory and title it something like Archives.

2. Then create folders inside the directory and name them with descriptive titles according to the subject, project or activity on which they are based. This should mirror the functions and categories you have identified for your paper archives as much as possible to create a link between your paper and digital records.

In naming files and folders, be as consistent and concise as you can while choosing meaningful names based on standard naming conventions. If you include the date in the file name, use the format yyyymmdd (e.g. 10 June 2005 = 20050610) for recording dates: that way your files will be presented chronologically in file using management tools. It is advisable to avoid capital letters or spaces: this can cause problems when moving files between different computing environments. The University of Edinburgh has published some useful guidance on naming conventions:

http://www.recordsmanagement.ed.ac.uk/InfoStaff/RMstaff/RMprojects/PP/FileNameRules/FileNameRules.htm

3. Transfer your files from wherever they were held originally into the archive folders you’ve just created.

If you have several copies or versions of a file, always save the highest-quality, larger-size master version. You can give each file a descriptive name to help you find the files again in the future. So if your camera or related software allows you to add metadata to your images (i.e. information about when and where a photograph was taken, and what or who it depicts) at point of capture or export, then use this function.

When saving documents from the Web for reference purposes, make a note of their source: web addresses can change and it can be important to have a record of where you obtained it from.

E-mail management

E-mails should be regularly managed and organised into subject folders with concise and relevant titles. Separate personal and professional email if you can. It is sensible though potentially time-consuming to save historically important e-mails in an alternative format such as rtf. It can be considered part of good governance to preserve email conversations that record how the organisation came to make important decisions, and so this work can form part of the overall data management policy of an organisation, if appropriate. Don’t forget to include the metadata (sender, recipients/s, date etc), or any attachments. File e-mail attachments you wish to keep separately rather than leaving them in your email directory. However, identify their source in their file name, and save a copy of the e-mail alongside the attachment to provide contextual information if you can.

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Then delete e-mail that has no long-term value.

Save copies in different places

Always make a backup copy of your digital archives.

An external hard drive is your best and most convenient choice. Using CD-Rs or DVD-Rs is more time-consuming, could result in splitting data over several disks, and they are also more easily misplaced. A hard drive can hold a lot of content – maybe all of the digital files that you have – so it makes a good central repository while being portable. Store that copy in a different geographic location away from the main copies. You should have three copies in at least two physical locations.

However, even hard disks will fail at some point. They will either physically decay or become outdated in time. At least once every ten years transfer the content from the old drive to a newer storage technology. This helps ensure ongoing access to your archives.

In addition, you can also backup your personal digital collections with online services. But always read the terms and conditions carefully as some providers might claim rights to use this content as part of the terms of service. Don’t use an online service as your only backup. Keep a copy on a drive at another location.

Paper is still another backup option for the records intended for permanent preservation. Print out copies of absolutely crucial documents and records, so that you can have the document in an alternative and durable format.

Ongoing management of electronic records

Without active and ongoing management, digital records are extremely unlikely to survive intact in the long-term. Use the system of record-keeping you have just adopted to inform future filing policies and ensure that you create and keep new records in a compatible way. It is vital to get senior management to support and ongoing information policy. It is part of meeting obligations for good governance and is much more likely to result in good practice across the whole organisation.

Before undertaking major upgrades and updates of hardware and software, think and plan ahead. It is common for older files to get lost as a result of updates so files should be backed up prior to such changes. Also think about what you will do when projects end, or staff/volunteers leave.

Anti-virus software and a firewall should be installed and regularly updated.

If you have encrypted valuable digital records, it is best to select open-source encryption software. However, it is important that if you have encrypted digital data to make provision for access in the event of your organisation ceasing to exist. The same is true for password-protected material, which may include your computer, of course. Relevant details should be stored offsite in a secure location, perhaps lodged with another organisation or kept in a site

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known only to key colleagues. You might buddy with another local organisation to look after each other’s digital records.

Keep up to date. Technological changes are rapid and new technologies are constantly appearing. Interoperability with others and the threat of hardware and software becoming outdated mean that you must constantly evolve your digital environment. Think critically about the impact of these new developments on your ability to use your digital data now and in the future. Make sure people in the organisation know what their responsibilities are and have a plan for revisiting this topic on a regular basis.

8. Digitisation

Digitisation refers to the process of using cameras, scanners or other equipment to capture a digital image of documents or to convert other materials, such as VHS tapes, to a digital format. This brief guidance will be added to in later versions, but for now it addresses some important things to think about when considering digitising your archives. If you do decide to digitise, remember that you should still preserve the original archives, and that this includes ‘born-digital’ documents such as emails. Digitisation is an extra to having well-preserved archives, not a replacement for them. Below are some key questions to consider:

What are the potential benefits of digitisation?

It makes it easy for you to use and share your archives It allows other people to use your archives without having to visit It can enable you to harvest large amounts of data for analysis It can enhance accountability and transparency It can help you preserve and use material on formats which are

obsolete or at risk of becoming obsolete e.g. VHS, cassette tapesWhat are the potential risks of digitisation?

It can be expensive It is unlikely to offer long term preservation of your archives With technological change, your digitised files can become obsolete

relatively quickly It can require training and specialised equipment to do digitisation to

a high standardWhat kind of skills and resources are needed to do digitisation work? Where can I get help with these?

You can do basic digitisation with simple equipment such as smartphones and digital cameras, however, archive quality digital images require access to more specialised equipment and knowledge

You can pay a company to do your digitisation for you, however, a lot of work is still required to prepare files for scanning and to add the correct data to scanned images. This can also be an expensive option, depending on the amount of material you plan to digitise

You can add digitisation costs to grants that you bid for You can seek further advice from the Collections Trust and from

further guidance to be published via the website

9. Sustainability

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Your archives are an asset and it is important to think about them as a sustainable part of the work of the organisation, rather than as a short term project. You will need to make long-term plans to make sure they are preserved, including a plan to deposit them should the organisation unfortunately close.

Digitisation can help your archives be sustainable, by keeping them in use and proving their value, but you should not rely on digital copies of documents while destroying originals.

You will also need to think about the documents in use by the organisation now – the papers that will be added to your archive in future. You should have policies in place which explain what records should be kept and where. This is important for organisations that are receiving grants, carrying out contracts and for regulatory purposes. Looking after documents you are currently using is called Records Management. These documents may well in time become archives for permanent preservation, but looking after them now is also important. Further reading on this topic is available in the reading list and guidance will be available from this project in due course, but to start with you should think about the following questions:

Where are working documents currently stored? E.g. shared drives, workstations, filing systems

Who can access them? Who can delete/destroy them? Are they arranged logically? Do you have a naming system for documents? Are documents backed-up? This can be as simple as having a printed copy, or having

dedicated back up storage on a server. Who decides what is kept and how long for? Does everybody in the organisation know the policies for storing, naming and looking after

documents? How regularly will records that have passed out of use be sent to the archives? Who will be responsible for making sure that archive catalogues are kept up to date when

new material is added? What happens when someone leaves or a project finishes?

If you embed good records management policies in your organisation, this can provide a great way to make sure your archive collection is sustainable and kept up to date. It ensures everybody plays their small part in making sure you have a well-preserved archive. This means it can be an easy-to-manage and vital asset for your organisation, which can add value to your work.

1.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What do I have to do to deposit archives?

Your first step should be to find places that might be interested in the deposit. A list of places to start is found in section 4 or you can contact us for advice. Once you have found somewhere, the archivist there will work through the paperwork and next steps.

Can I maintain some control over deposited archives?

Yes, you can. When you work with a repository you can discuss whether your deposit is a gift or a loan and if you should be contacted by anyone who wishes to use the archive.

How do I navigate the Data Protection Act 1998?

It can be daunting to think of retaining archives without breaching data protection regulations, but it can be done with some simple measures. Remember that you can close parts of the archive for as long as you need to. This can be for 20 years, or much longer in the case of documents containing personal information. We will be covering this in more detail in the future, so do send us any questions you have in the meantime.

How do I make sure I comply with copyright regulations?

It is quite likely that the organisation holds the copyright for a significant amount of the information in the archive as the material has been generated in the course of its work. However, it is also likely that some material was written by external or partner organisations who retain the copyright. Copyright is an issue if you want to publish the material in the archive. Researchers using the archive for private study are exempt, except if they then want to reproduce material for publication (including online). If the organisation is the copyright holder, this requires you to give permission. Copyright becomes more complicated if you are not sure who wrote the document or when, and here it might be appropriate to seek more specialist advice. We will provide some wider guidance on this later in the project.

My organisation is closing, what should I do with its records?

If an organisation will be taking on your work, they could take the archive too or you could look at making a third party deposit. See section 4 of this guidance, or the Community Matters case study on the voluntarysectorarchives.org.uk website.

Do you have another question we should include here? Email c.clements@ucl.ac.uk to see your question included in our next version.

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Further sources of advice and reading list

Where to start

‘Archival Principles and Practice: an introduction to archivists for non-archivists’ is the draft advice published by The National Archives for institutions and people who own or look after archive material: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/archive-principles-and-practice-an-introduction-to-archives-for-non-archivists.pdf

How documents should be produced if members of the public are given access

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/visit/document-handling.htm

Best practice followed by professionally-run repositories: The National Archives Standard for Record Repositories (2004)

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/standard2005.pdf

What to do if you have a disaster

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/disaster-planning-risk-management.pdf

Sources of advice on digital archives

There are many online sources of advice on all aspects of digital records management and archiving. Among those most suitable for those with little or no technical knowledge are:

‘A useful introduction to the importance of digital preservation is a short video guide, published by the Library of Congress: http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/multimedia/videos/personalarchiving.html

The Online Computer Library Center has produced useful starting information at:

You’ve Got to Walk Before You Can Run: First Steps for Managing Born-Digital Content Received on Physical Media, by Ricky Erway (OCLC, 2012)

(http://www.oclc.org/content/dam/research/publications/library/2012/2012-06.pdf)

The National Archives offers a number of resources:

Advice for creators and managers of electronic records when selecting physical storage media for long-term preservation

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/selecting-storage-media.pdf

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Guidance on care, handling and storage of removable media

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/removable-media-care.pdf

Assistance in identification of files in unknown formats:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/PRONOM/Default.aspx

The Digital Preservation Coalition has produced a Handbook on Digital Preservation

http://www.dpconline.org/advice/preservationhandbook

Although principally aimed at specialist staff in organisations, it includes much useful general advice.

Do you have a useful link you would like to see included in this guide? Email c.clements@ucl.ac.uk to add it to this guide and the resources page on voluntarysectorarchives.org.uk

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