Round Table Discussion Forum
IMPORTANT UPDATE JULY 2009
National Strategy for Business Archives (England and Wales)
July 2009 sees the launch of the National Strategy for Business Archives (England and Wales) by The National Archives and its partners including the Business Archives Council. This is the result of round table meetings of interested parties and a consultation period for the draft strategy.
IMPORTANT UPDATE JANUARY 2009
National Strategy for Business Archives (England and Wales)
The National Archives and its partners, the Business Archives Council, Archives and Records Association (UK and Ireland), Museums Libraries and Archives Council, the Welsh Assembly Government (through CyMAL), Economic History Society and Association of Business Historians, have developed a strategy for business archives arising out of a series of round table meetings of interested parties. It is intended to raise the profile of such archives and to promote their value to business and researchers alike, ensuring that future collections of such material are more representative of economic activity and more valued by businesses themselves for commercial purposes, and are better cared for and utilised in the future.
The partners are now issuing a draft strategy for consultation. Although the draft has been compiled after extensive discussions with institutions and individuals working in this field, we want to consult as widely as possible on the content and shape of the strategy. We welcome any comments you or your organisation may have on this strategy, after which the strategy will be issued in its final form.
Responses to this draft should be submitted electronically by 6 February 2009 to Katey Logan at Logan McCabe (katey@loganmccabe.com) the consultants who have compiled the strategy so that they can be taken into account in the final published version. Alternatively they can be sent in paper form to National Advisory Services at The National Archives, Ruskin Avenue, Kew, Richmond TW9 4DU (who are providing administrative support) for scanning and forwarding.
IMPORTANT UPDATE 2008
Katey Logan was appointed in April 2008 to deliver a business development stratey for England and Wales, building on the work that was started by the Business Records Development Officer. Katey is employed by a consortium of fund holders which includes the Council. To find out more about take a look at the article by Katey in the Summer 2008 edition of the newsletter.
IMPORTANT UPDATE Q1 2006
The Council was pleased to announce that in late 2005 all funding requirements for the post of Business Records Development Officer were met and in early 2006 an Officer was appointed. More information will be available in the soon to be published 2006 Spring Newsletter (May 2006).
IMPORTANT UPDATE - May 2005
At the last meeting of the Round Table there was a concensus that solutions to many of the problems could only be found through the creation of a dedicated post. Consequently, in December 2004 the Round Table wrote to The National Archives (TNA) requesting a meeting to discuss the possibility of creating a two year, full-time post for a Business Records Development Officer, based at Kew. TNA welcomed the approach and a meeting was then held in April 2005 to discuss the objectives, governance and funding for such a post. The mood of the meeting was very supportive and encouraging and the creation of such a post has moved from a possible to a probable position. The final pieces of the funding jigsaw are now being put in place and we hope to be able to bring you more definite news in the near future.
Background to the Round Table:
It was decided at the BAC 2003 AGM that a Round Table [RT] should be established involving representatives of the business archives community and The National Archive [TNA]. The RT met for the first time in March 2004.
UPDATE: Archives Awareness Campaign – Can you help?
The BAC is working with the Business Records Group of the Archives and Records Association (UK and Ireland) in devising a campaign to promote the keeping and exploitation of archives by businesses. The campaign hopes to tap into current business concerns such as Corporate Social Responsibility, accountability and the importance of reputation in order to get the message across. The campaign working party is hoping to set up links with business organisations such as the CBI and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries so the campaign can be targeted directly at key decision makers in a company. The campaign needs case studies and examples to build its case. If you have been involved in using archives to support marketing, product development, litigation, compliance, or CSR work of any kind we would be grateful if you could contact Sara Kinsey on +44 (0)1291 620266, or email to sara@kkinsey.fsnet.co.uk.