PRESERVATION POLICY STATEMENT
Introduction
Greater Manchester County Record Office (GMCRO) is responsible for the protection and preservation of unique historical records relating to the Greater Manchester area, and ensuring their accessibility to members of the public for research and education, both now and for the future. GMCRO is funded by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) and works closely with the district archive and local studies services across Greater Manchester. The lead authority within AGMA for GMCRO is Manchester City Council. GMCRO has responsibility for archives which have particular significance to the Greater Manchester area or to two or more GM districts. This statement sets out the main areas of GMCRO's preservation policy, covering:
- the aims of preservation
- standards
- storage
- conservation and repair
- handling and use
- exhibition and transport
- risk management
- disaster planning
- reprographics
A list of related national and GMCRO standards and policy documents can be found at the end of this policy.
What is preservation and why do we need it?
Preservation plays a crucial role in every aspect of GMCRO's work because it ensures that the archival heritage of Greater Manchester is maintained. It is the means by which everyone has the opportunity to see and enjoy unique and important historical records. Its aims are to undertake all those activities which contribute to, and prolong, the survival of original records and their continuing accessibility to the public. This includes safeguarding collections and ensuring good physical condition by a variety of measures.
Standards
- GMCRO seeks to abide by all current archive legislation and professional
standards and guidelines.
- GMCRO has been inspected and approved by the Lord Chancellor as a deposit
of designated public records under the Public Records Acts 1958 and 1967.
These records include Quarter sessions and magistrates records, coroners,
probate and health authority records.
- GMCRO previously conformed to the Standard for Record Repositories issued
by the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts in 1990. GMCRO now works
to the 2005 revised edition of this standard produced by the National
Archives.
- GMCRO aims, wherever possible, to comply with the British Standard Institution's recommended archival standard BS 5454:2000.
Storage
- On arrival, any new accessions are inspected by a professionally qualified
member of conservation staff, and treated or cleaned where necessary, then
stored as soon as possible in an appropriate location.
- All archival documents and materials are held in secure storage areas,
with measures controlling access and minimising risk.
- Environmental controls are in place to ensure that all storage areas have
controlled temperature and relative humidity, and are monitored daily using
thermohygrometers installed throughout the building.
- All archive shelving within GMCRO meets the required BS standard (BS 5454)
relating to the storage of archives.
- All storage areas are regularly inspected and maintained clean, tidy and
free from pest or infestation.
- All archival materials are held in approved archive storage boxes and other appropriate media, ensuring their good condition is maintained.
Conservation and Repair
- An independent Preservation Survey was undertaken in 2004, as part
of the North West Regional Archive Strategy, which assessed the condition of
the archives held at GMCRO and concluded that 92% of material was in stable
condition. The percentage of material judged to be significantly damaged was
assessed at under 7%. These statistics show that GMCRO's collections are
very stable and show a lower proportion of significant damage than for the
North West as a whole.
- An in-house conservation survey by qualified staff was undertaken in 1999
to assess the condition of the materials held within GMCRO.
- Archives are prioritised by the professional archive and conservation
staff, for conservation or repair based on condition and public demand,
within the constraints of budget and staff resources.
- A policy of preventative conservation is already in place and the majority
of collections (92%) held at GMCRO have been independently assessed and
judged to be in good condition. Only a small proportion of the material held
(less than 7%) is noted to be in relatively poor repair. A log is recorded
of those fragile items requested by users that are unsuitable for
production. These are then prioritised for conservation.
- GMCRO has a dedicated Conservation Department staffed by two
professionally qualified and experienced conservators. In addition, this
department, along with the GMCRO Reprographics department, undertakes work
for the Greater Manchester district archive and local studies services, as
well as commissioned conservation projects which play an important part in
raising revenue for GMCRO.
- All conservation and repair work undertaken is performed to the British
Standard relating to archive conservation, BS 4971:2002.
- Procedures are in place to ensure that staff qualifications and continuing
professional development are maintained and that any new technical updates
and developments are implemented.
- The long-term aims of conservation are to clean and re-box all archives
held within GMCRO. This would facilitate public access, help ensure their
safe transfer to new premises (present building to be decommissioned in
2010), and improve health and safety issues for staff and users.
Handling and use of archives
- All staff and volunteers handling collections are trained in appropriate
document handling techniques to minimise risk of damage.
- A written policy giving guidelines and information to the public on how to
handle and use archives, is available both within the Public Searchroom and
on the GMCRO web-site. This is also supported by practical staff supervision
in the searchroom.
- Educational work (lectures and outreach work) is regularly undertaken to
help inform the public and other professionals how best to handle and use
archives.
- Appropriate equipment is always available within GMCRO to enable staff and
users to handle items correctly - eg supporting devices, protective archive
quality gloves/masks/overalls.
- Professionally qualified staff are on-site to offer conservation and
repair advice in the Public Searchroom when necessary.
- Adequate space is made available for inspection and display of archives,
helping to prevent further damage.
- The handling of archives within the Public Searchroom is supervised by the
duty archivist.
- Wherever possible, surrogates are made available to minimise any risk of damage to an original archive. Where necessary, an appropriate reprographic method is employed to give a user access or make an archive available for display. This would include making digital copies, photocopies, microfilming, or transcripts.
Exhibitions and transport
- Efforts are made to ensure no unique archives are used in exhibitions,
where an appropriate duplicate or surrogate may be made and used instead.
- Where original archives are on display, professionally qualified staff (an
archivist or conservator) will be present and responsible for their
safekeeping.
- An appropriate display method will be used to maintain the condition and
safety of the archives such as a lockable security cabinet or controllable
display area.
- Public handling of original archives is guided and supervised by
professionally qualified staff.
- Appropriate handling aids are provided.
- Any archive items requiring transport will be stored in archival quality
media and escorted under the personal supervision of an archivist or
conservator.
- Loan requests from external organisations or other archive offices must
comply with GMCRO's guidelines, ie that security, storage and display
arrangements must be mutually agreed and guaranteed by professionally
qualified staff.
- Any condition of loan agreements, long- or short-term, must be signed by a
qualified archivist.
Risk Management
- Preventative measures form an important part of GMCRO's risk management
strategy. A general programme of preventive measures is already in place -
this promotes the physical security of GMCRO premises and staff, and
minimises risk from fire, flood, intruders or theft.
- Fire and smoke detection systems are in place throughout the building.
These are regularly tested by GMCRO staff and the appropriate contractor
responsible for maintenance.
- An alarmed security system is in place and regularly tested by GMCRO
staff.
- There is no fire suppression system in current operation and this is
unlikely to change in the present financial environment.
- Consequently GMCRO actively pursues close co-operation with local fire and
police services. This counters and helps minimise the risk posed by the lack
of a fire suppression system, and promotes damage limitation by a swift and
informed response from the emergency services.
- Fire and electrical inspections are undertaken on a regular basis and any
recommendations implemented wherever possible.
- Storage areas and conservation areas are kept locked at all times by
default, unless staff require access.
- Public and visitor access around the building is controlled by various
means (CCTV; buzzer entry system; directional signage; staff supervision;
signing in).
Disaster Planning
- A disaster plan for GMCRO is set out and regularly reviewed and updated.
Procedures are in place to allow GMCRO to assess and react to sudden,
unexpected events such as fire, flooding or intruders. This encompasses all
archives and is intended to minimise risk and limit damage in the event of
an emergency. It involves such areas as maintaining current staff contact
details, and listing specialist contractors and suppliers to handle cold
store/evacuation/transport and other specialist issues.
- In addition, as part of the risk management strategy outlined above, close
operational contacts and relations are actively promoted with local
emergency services, to enable swift reaction to an unexpected threat. It
includes ensuring that qualified staff are available to provide access, and
essential information such as floor plans are readily available to promote
damage limitation to the archives held within GMCRO.
- Close working relations and professional contacts are maintained with
other archive repositories in Greater Manchester and the North West. This
facilitates reciprocal assistance and help if and where necessary.
Reprographics
- A written reprographic policy is in place and both staff and users are
made aware of conditions for requests. Guidelines to reprographics are
available in the searchroom and on GMCRO's web-site.
- Surrogates are used where current and anticipated demand by users is high,
and where the condition of the original is poor or unsuitable for
production.
- Digital copying and other technological developments are currently
employed and will increasingly form part of the reprographics methods
utilised.
- Every effort is made to ensure that archives are not damaged or weakened
during reprographic procedures. The appropriate method will be used to
minimise damage through handling and copying or filming, depending on
budgetary and staff constraints.
- Staff training covers preferred policy on reproduction and advice is
available in the Public Searchroom from qualified conservators concerning a
particular archive.
- Reproduction may be refused (either entirely or by a particular method)
where appropriate on the advice of the duty archivist or conservator, and
alternatives offered where available.
This preservation policy is subject to regular review.
References
National standards and policy documents
Standard for record repositories, 2005.
National Archives.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives/framework/repositories.htm
BS 5454:2000 Recommendations for the storage and exhibition of archival documents.
British Standards Institution.
BS 4971:2002. Repair and allied processes for the conservation of documents. Recommendations.
British Standards Institution.
GMCRO policies and related documents
Preservation Audit Visit and Preservation Assessment Survey Report: GMCRO
(MLA North West Archives Regional Preservation Needs Assessment)
J Rhys-Lewis and the National Preservation Office.
August 2004.
Report on Conservation Survey at GMCRO 1999 G.Bird (GMCRO)
GMCRO Guidelines for Users 2005
GMCRO Emergency Response Manual
(Updated 2006)
GMCRO Reprographics Policy and User Guidelines 2005
GMCRO Collections Policy 2004
