However, I did want to provide an update on a letter I sent to the Archives Service Accreditation team at the National Archives in England, which overseas the accreditation of archives in the UK, which have to meet a certain standard to be accredited, and which have to undergo regular reviews to maintain that standard. My query was about the NRS level of service provision, and whether its failure over the last 30 months or so to provide any meaningful form of service was a breach of this standard (see https://scottishgenes.blogspot.com/2022/07/has-nrs-breached-archive-service.html).
I received a response this morning:
Dear Mr Paton,
Thank you again for your expression of concern regarding public service provision and some other aspects of service delivery at National Records of Scotland. Your comments were sent to the Archive Service Accreditation (ASA) Committee chair, Geoff Pick, who shared them with the next available Accreditation Panel meeting. This allowed for a full discussion of programme governance around the issues raised, and in the context of considering awards of Accredited status.
The Committee primarily assesses Accreditation awards through written submissions and discussion with applicants. In 2019 it was established that external evidence could be applied to assessment decisions and ongoing oversight of award holders, “where such information identified and evidenced significant omissions or inaccuracies within a live application, or suggested possible grounds for extraordinary removal of Accreditation from an award holder.” However, the decision reiterated that Accreditation does not function as a complaints resolution body for service-specific issues. These need to be taken up with the archive service concerned and if necessary its parent body.
The meeting fully recognised that it has been a difficult and frustrating time for researchers where service reductions have been needed during the public health emergency and parent organisations (as well as government in the four home nations) have taken different routes to re-establishing access arrangements. The ASA Committee has agreed a statement on the impact of the pandemic for existing award holders: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/archive-service-accreditation/archive-service-accreditation-and-covid-19/. This recognises that archive services may have to offer a reduced service based on public health guidance and risk assessments, and that this will not affect Accreditation status. Archives should keep public services under review to understand the impact of revised offers, and it is good to see some progressive opening up of access and direct responses to user concerns within this context.
This statement remains live, recognising that pandemic guidance and restrictions remain in place in some home nations, meaning that practice differs across the UK. The National Archives also publishes guidance on post-covid recovery work which notes that different organisational risk assessment and site arrangements may impact public offers. We all hope that the currency of this requirement is receding, but it does remain relevant for now.
Your enquiry mentioned a further concern about the recent temporary restriction on production from West Register House, which we understand was due to issues with mobile racking which are being resolved. NRS has been open in its communication with the Accreditation programme about site issues such as this, and it has been incorporated into consideration of their Accredited status.
With best wishes.
Melinda Haunton
(Programme Manager, Archive Service Accreditation)
Comment: I am grateful for this response from London, disappointing as it is. I guess my disappointment here is that it would appear that this statement suggests that there may really not be much of an attempt to evaluate how any currently accredited archive has risen to a challenge such as the pandemic, with regards to its public service obligations - the mere existence of the pandemic is enough for the ASA to step back and not enforce its own promoted standard. What standards should an archive be marked against in terms of operational resilience in the midst of a challenge such as Covid, and are archives such as the NRS adequately prepared for future challenges such as Covid? Hopefully some attempt will be made to answer these at some stage, whether by the NRS or the UK archive sector as a whole. Covid will certainly not be the last pandemic to be faced by Scotland or the UK.
(With thanks to Melinda Haunton)
Chris
My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.
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