25 March 2004
British Archives Boom Prompts Call for New Approach to Services
A report from the influential government Archives Task Force (that included Liz Forgan, Professor David Cannadine, Dr Rita Gardner, CBE and Dame Stella Rimington) was published by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council on Wednesday 24 March 2004.
The report, Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future, comes at a time when unprecedented numbers of people at home and overseas are beginning to use the UK's archives for genealogy or to explore the history of their community. It highlights the importance and remarkable diversity of British archives and points to ways in which access to these resources can be developed.
There are over 1.5 million visits a year to archives and 75% of those visitors are undertaking private or personal research. 72% of users see archives as a way of strengthening family or community identity, and there were 85 million information requests handled by the National Archives websites in 2002/2003. In the last 10 years, demand for archives has grown by over 50%. But despite this increasing popularity, the report shows that archives have not yet reached people from black and minority ethnic communities or the young to the same extent.
Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future demonstrates clearly the significant social, economic and learning power of archives, to engage people in study, but also in building evidence of their own histories. To spread these obvious benefits to as many as possible, the report calls for new measures to broaden access to archives for people from all walks of life. Its key recommendation is for an easily-accessible online Archives Gateway which would revolutionise access to and participation in archives. The Archives Gateway would lead people of all ages and knowledge to archival content of interest and support them in creating their own documentary records.
Dame Stella Rimington, Member of the Archives Task Force and former Director General of the Security Service said: "Archives show us, and future generations, how we came to be what we are as a nation, as a community or as an individual. They offer up secrets about our past and are a wonderful learning tool. The Task Force wanted to explore ways of making archives more exciting and accessible to more people. We feel that broadening access via a dynamic online gateway is clearly an important way forward."
Copies of the report are available on the MLA website http://www.mla.gov.uk/action/archives/00archives.asp or from Central Books by emailing mo@centralbooks.com
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