Education, Sport and Culture Department Ministerial Report |
Subject: | Annual Report of the Archivist Under the Public Records Law |
Exempt Clause: | | Date: | 20 April, 2011 |
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Author: | Rod McLoughlin : Cultural Development Officer |
- Background
Article 45 (1) of the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002 requires the Archivist to prepare an annual report on the performance of her duties and those of the Jersey Heritage Trust under the Law, and on relevant developments during the course of the year since the appearance of the previous annual report. The attached report for 2010 has been prepared by the Archivist for presentation to the States.
2. Recommendation
The Minister is recommended to accept the annual report of the Archivist and to instruct officers to make arrangements for its publication in the States in accordance with the requirements of the above Law.
2010 Annual Report on the work of Jersey Heritage and the Archivist under the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002.
Introduction
2010 has proved to be a very successful year for Jersey Archive. The service reached the highest 4* standard in The National Archive’s assessment programme for the first time with scores of over 80% in preservation, conservation and for the Jersey Archive building. When compared with similar services in the UK Jersey Archive scores 15% higher than the average.
The Archive has had considerable success in collecting new records in 2010 with over 100% more items transferred than in 2009. This success reflects the progress made under the Law with retention scheduling and increased contact with public institutions throughout the year. The increase in collecting underpins one of the most important principles of the Law – that archival items of unique cultural value to Jersey are safely stored and cared for in the correct conditions.
National Standards
In August 2010 the Jersey Archive submitted an annual return to The National Archive self-assessment performance programme which was established in 2007. The programme assesses each archive against The National Archive Standard for Records Repositories with the intention of providing a ‘measure of overall service quality.’ The results of the self-assessment allow archive services and their stakeholders to make year on year comparisons and also to compare their level of service with other archives in the UK. The results for Jersey Archive were as follows.
Section | Score for your service (star rating) | Average score in your region | Average score of comparable authorities | Average score in the UK |
Governance | 78.0% (3*) | 72.5% | 58.5% | 67.0% |
Documentation | 79.5% (3*) | 69.0% | 61.5% | 65.0% |
Access | 58.5% (2*) | 64.5% | 54.0% | 64.0% |
Preservation | 84.0% (3*) | 76.0% | 65.5% | 70.0% |
Buildings Security & Environment | 86.0% (3*) | 75.5% | 64.0% | 69.5% |
Overall | 74.5% (4*) | 70.5% | 59.5% | 66.5% |
In 2010 Jersey Archive was rated a 4 star service for the first time. This is the highest rating awarded to services under the scheme.
Archival Public Records
In 2010, 67 new collections from official bodies were transferred to the Jersey Archive under the Law. These collections contained over 15,000 individual items – over 100% more items than the 6,500 transferred in 2009. All new collections have been fully accessioned, assessed by the Archive Conservator and placed in the strongrooms at the Jersey Archive to await cataloguing.
Collections transferred in 2010 include several records from the Parish of St Helier including Surveillants accounts from the 16th Century, Acts of the Parish Assembly from 1773 and accounts of welfare in the Parish from the 18th Century.
Extract from Parish of St Helier records, 24 August 1594
In 2010 29 cubic meters of records were transferred to the archive. If transfers continue at this rate the Jersey Archive repository will be full by 2018. The amount of cubic meters transferred has risen in 2010 from the 25 cubic meters transferred in 2009. The Archivist expects that a slight fall in cubic meters transferred should take place over time as many institutions have now deposited their older records and many future transfers will be made in a digital format. Space in the Jersey Archive repositories will continue to be monitored on an annual basis.
Please see appendix A for a full list of public records accessioned in 2010.
Cataloguing
The Jersey Archive currently holds over 300,000 public records, 65% of which are fully catalogued and accessible for members of the public to research. The remaining 35% are waiting to be catalogued before they can be made available to the public. With current staffing levels this represents a 25.3 year cataloguing backlog, an increase of 3.4 years on the backlog of 2009.
In 2010 6,436 items were catalogued by staff and 18,600 new items (both public and private records) were accessioned. These statistics show that with current staff levels the cataloguing backlog will continue to grow on an annual basis.
Public records currently held at the Jersey Archive are kept in an environmentally controlled secure strongroom which is monitored for temperature and humidity by the Conservator on a daily basis.
In 2010 the Conservator spent 353 hours ensuring that all public records arriving at the archive were cleaned and repackaged. The Conservator is also responsible for a programme of conservation of badly damaged items. In 2010 25 items were fully conserved using an external firm. The archive currently holds 489 items in an unusable condition that are in need of active conservation work and are currently unavailable to members of the public.
General Don letter book before and after treatment.
Each year the Jersey Archive completes a stock take to ensure that public records are located correctly in the strongrooms and that none have been misplaced during the year. In 2010 approximately 50,000 records were checked in stock taking week and were found to be in their correct locations.
Public Access to Records
In 2010 the Jersey Archive was open to the public on 162 days of the year and 3,290 readers made use of the facilities. The Archive also provides access to public records through its online catalogue and enquiries service. In 2010 staff answered 1,659 written enquiries by letter or e-mail – an increase of 30% on enquiries in 2009. The catalogue received a total of 143,370 visits with over 16,500 visitors searching the archives for over 20 minutes.
The Jersey Archive resources are used by States Departments, States Members, law firms, construction professionals and by members of the public worldwide. In 2010 enquiries and research visits to the Archive covered areas such as; probate, family history, the German Occupation, the Jersey militia, maritime history, sea defences, house history and property searches, transport, the history of the States, legal history, Harry Vardon, the First World War, Jersey royal potatoes, architecture, Polish history, the defence of the Island and Jersey independence.
The Archive’s sponsored Saturday morning opening programme of talks continued in 2010. The What’s Your Street’s Story project focused on different areas of the community and encouraged members of the public to learn more about their Island. The programme proved to be extremely popular with nearly three times more people visiting the Archive on open Saturdays than on an average weekday.
What’s Your Street’s Story Talk, 2010
The need for increased public access to the records at the Jersey Archive has been highlighted in previous annual reports to the States. The findings of the National Archive assessment of 2008 and the Public Services Quality Forum questionnaire to Archive readers in 2009 have both shown that the Archive needs to improve in this area to meet national standards and public expectation.
Access and outreach services are the area in which the Archive scores the lowest in The National Archive self-assessment process with a score of 58.5% in 2010.
Closed Records
Under the Public Records Law any information produced by a public body is closed to public access for 30 years unless it has been previously available, e.g. published reports. The Records Advisory Panel, appointed under the Law, has the ability to approve recommendations from the Archivist for longer closure periods on records of a sensitive nature, e.g. Children’s Services or Hospital records.
In 2010 the Archivist reviewed 63 record series that are currently closed to public access for over 30 years. Recommendations on closure periods were discussed with public institutions and approved by the Records Advisory Panel at their quarterly meetings.
In October 2010 the Archivist reviewed 123 files that, after closure periods of 30, 75 and 100 years, were due to be opened to public access in January 2011. After review and consultation with the public bodies that created the records the Archivist recommended that 116 files be opened to public access on 1 January 2011 and 7 files should be closed for longer periods of time. The additional closures were made under Part 5, Article (a) of the Public Records Law – Unwarranted invasion of the privacy of an individual. The Records Advisory Panel agreed these recommendations on 13 December 2010.
Records opened to the public included witness statements from 1910 of 20 cases that came before the Courts which give valuable evidence of the crimes committed during the year. Crimes include those accused of theft, assault, fraud and breaking and entering. One man is accused of abandoning his wife and five children and leaving them chargeable to the Parish of St Helier. The public can now read about John Tuck who was sentenced to 15 days hard labour for being found in possession of an illegal quantity of fruit and vegetables at 6am in Ingouville Place and Jacques Marie Ollivier who was fined £1 or sentenced to 8 days hard labour for driving a horse attached to a van whilst under the influence of alcohol.
Freedom of Information
The Archivist attended meetings concerning draft Freedom of Information legislation with officers and members of the Privileges and Procedures Committee (PPC) throughout 2010. The link between the proposed Freedom of Information Legislation and the Public Records Law is key. For Freedom of Information Legislation to succeed the principles of records management enshrined in the Public Records Law should already be place. Freedom of Information requests are easier to deal with if a public institution knows where to find the relevant information – organising information correctly is an underpinning principle of records management.
Previous annual reports to the States have highlighted the need for additional staff at Jersey Archive to support the full implementation of a records management programme for the States as required by Public Records legislation. A fully implemented records management programme is essential for public institutions to be able to meet the requirements of Freedom of Information. The Archivist has identified that one additional records management post at Jersey Archive would significantly increase the support that the service can offer public institutions in this area.
Jersey Heritage currently holds over 250,000 public records at Jersey Archive. Many of these records do not currently fall under the Freedom of Information Code as they date from pre-2000. Once legislation is enacted Jersey Heritage will have to ensure that public records in the care of Jersey Archive are catalogued, screened for exemptions and made accessible to members of the public. The Archivist has identified that one additional permanent cataloguing post and a short term cataloguing resource for the period of implementation would ensure that pre-2000 public records were catalogued.
The Freedom of Information law will place additional pressure on resources at the Archive as staff respond to enquiries. Whilst responding to enquiries that relate to catalogued material will be a relatively straight forward task, responding to enquiries that concern uncatalogued material may mean searching through a number of boxes. Without further resources the staff time spent on enquiries will mean that the backlog will rise leading to more time being spent searching uncatalogued records.
Records Management
In 2010 the Archivist has continued to work with States administrations to ensure that retention schedules are put in place and signed off under the Law. The retention schedules list all records produced by a department and give recommendations for retention of records and eventual disposal either by confidential shredding or to the Jersey Archive.
In 2010 the Archivist appraised over 2,000 files and 6 retention schedules were put in place. 24 schedules have now been put in place for public institutions over the past three years.
The Archivist is a member of the States of Jersey Records Management Working Group and contributed to an external report into States of Jersey Records Management completed by Socitm in 2010.
Records Advisory Panel
The Records Advisory Panel met on four occasions in 2009. The Archivist wishes to thank the members of the Records Advisory Panel and the staff at Jersey Heritage for their support in 2010.
Children’s Care Home Inquiry
In May 2008 the Archivist was asked by the Chief Minister’s Department to prepare a paper outlining additional resources required to secure historic information for a potential Committee of Inquiry into Children’s Care Homes. In September 2008 the request for additional resources went before the States of Jersey and a Service Level Agreement was signed in December. Under the agreement Jersey Heritage undertook to appraise, catalogue and index records from key departments over a two year period. A member of staff was appointed to assist with this work on a two year fixed term contract.
In December 2010 the project was completed and a full report has been submitted to the States Greffier under the Service Level Agreement. As a result of this project over 8,000 files were appraised and transferred to the Jersey Archive for secure storage. Staff at the Jersey Archive continue to assist the States of Jersey Police and Children’s Services with enquiries.
2011
In 2011 the Archivist plans to continue to work with States Administrations to produce signed off retention schedules. At current staffing levels the Archivist aims to produce 3 signed off schedules by the end of the year. The Archivist will continue to support the work of the States of Jersey Records Management working group and to be a member of the steering group for the implementation of Freedom of Information legislation.
The Archivist will continue to work with Education, Sport and Culture to address the need for greater staffing resources to enable Jersey Heritage to carry out its functions under the Public Records Law and to meet The National Archives Standard for Records Repositories.
Conclusion
It is important to recognise that the challenges the Archive faces in the cataloguing backlog, records management implementation, public access and impending Freedom of Information legislation can be solved with a relatively small number of additional resources.
The Children’s Care Home Inquiry project has shown that with an additional full time member of staff the Archive service can provide significant records management support, appraisal and advice to the States of Jersey. This project was extremely successful and resulted in the appraisal and transfer of over 8,000 files. This level of records management support for public institutions could be continued with a permanent full time records manager.
The current 25.3 year projected backlog would be significantly reduced with one additional permanent full time cataloguing post. With this additional post in place the projected backlog would be reduced to 10.8 years. Whilst the backlog currently grows each year (3.4 years in 2010), with one additional post it would start to reduce by 0.4 years each year.
The additional 3.5 FTE posts recommended by Dr Norman James of The National Archive’s report of 2008 would mean that the Archive could build on the current success of the service and fully meet its obligations under the Law.
Dr James’ conclusion to the 2008 report that ‘The Trust is conducting archival operations efficiently, but there is a growing gap between the responsibilities imposed on the service and its ability to meet them within the current financial settlement.’ is still true at the end of 2010. Freedom of Information legislation will only increase the legal obligations placed on Jersey Archive.
However, despite a recognised lack of resources the Jersey Archive has achieved the highest star rating in The National Archive assessment of 2010. The Jersey Archive scores over 15% higher than comparable services in the UK and continues to provide a high quality service for the preservation of and access to Jersey’s unique written cultural heritage.
Linda Romeril
Head of Archives and Collections
Jersey Heritage
14 March 2011
Appendix A
List of Public Records transferred to Jersey Archive in 2010
Public Institution | Accession Number | Accession Description |
Air Traffic Control Office | JA/1684 | Records of the Air Traffic Control Office, includes; dairies, watch log books and movement details, c 1937-2009 |
Children's Service | JA/1665 | Brig-y-Don Collection additional deposit, includes; pre-school registration documents, correspondence, history, brochures, plans and photographs, c 1940-2009 |
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association | JA/1678 | Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Jersey Branch newsletter, 2010 |
Economic Development Department | JA/1829 | Jersey Tourism additional deposit, includes holiday accommodation files, c 1950s-2000s |
Education Sport and Culture Department | JA/1753 | Education Department additional deposit, includes; various Directorate files and publications of ESC strategic initiatives. business plans, reports, ICT strategy and exam results, c 1993-2004 |
Education Sport and Culture Department | JA/1688 | Education Department additional deposit, includes; policy files, reports, minutes, correspondence, strategy documents, visits for school parties, Summer Play Scheme Documentation and Report, c 1979-2001 |
Education Sport and Culture Department | JA/1720 | Files relating to grants and the Howard Leopold Davis Scholarship Trust, including; minutes, correspondence, recommendations and assessments, c 1962-1998 |
Education Sport and Culture Department | JA/1696 | Education Department additional deposit, includes; policy files, reports, minutes, correspondence, strategy documents, statistics, bequests, A Level results, scholarships, curriculum development and Highlands College drawings, c 1947-1993 |
Education Sport and Culture Department | JA/1734 | Education Department additional deposit, includes; various Directorate files of minutes, reports, correspondence and photographs, c 1979-2003 |
Education Sport and Culture Department | JA/1779 | Education Department additional deposit, includes; policies, reports, reviews, publications, minutes, Jersey subject files and ESC teaching materials, c 1993-2009 |
Education Sport and Culture Department | JA/1780 | Education Department additional deposit, includes; files from the Directorate relating to programmes, policies, organisations, business plans and scholarships, c 1981-2009 |
Education Sport and Culture Department | JA/1791 | Education Department additional deposit, includes; files from the Finance Department regarding procedures, statements, staffing, statistics and the Kathy Bull Report, c 1975-2004 |
Education Sport and Culture Department | JA/1758 | Education Department additional deposit, includes; Youth Service records of minutes, reports, plans, news cuttings and leaflets, c 1970s-2009 |
Education Sport and Culture Department | JA/1682 | Education Department additional deposit, includes; minutes, reports, press cuttings and correspondence, c 1912-2006 |
Employment and Social Security Department | JA/1795 | Social Security Collection, includes; details of payment of retired armed forces personnel medical expenses, Festival of Remembrance programmes, soldier's release book and Red Cross messages, c 1943-1985 |
Employment and Social Security Department | JA/1842 | Employment and Social Security additional deposit, includes; client files from the first Jersey insurance scheme of 1935, c 1935-2005 |
First Tower School | JA/1735 | First Tower School Collection, includes; admission registers and development plans, c 1903-2007 |
Haute Vallée School | JA/1836 | School records from St Helier Boys' School and d'Hautree School, includes; visitor books, punishment books and school log book, c 1952-1995 |
Health and Social Services Department | JA/1723 | Jersey General Hospital additional deposit, includes; ward registers, nursing registers, Drugs and Therapeutics Committee, Maternity Hospital Management Committee, treatment books, visitor books and matron's reports to the Public Health Committee, c 1867-2007 |
HM Prison, La Moye | JA/1757 | HM Prison, Jersey additional deposit, includes; prisoner registers, c 1973-1987 |
Housing Department | JA/1717 | Housing Department additional deposit, includes; business plan and tenants handbook, c 2010 |
Information Services | JA/1683 | Information Services additional deposit, includes; project files, reports and general filing, c 1983-2004 |
Jersey Heritage | JA/1749 | Two small ships registers for the Fiona, c 2003-2010 |
Jersey Heritage | JA/1817 | Jersey Heritage additional deposit, includes; cds of the gilding of the George II statue, c 2010 |
Jersey Heritage | JA/1679 | Jersey Heritage additional deposit, includes; minutes of Jersey Heritage Trust Board, 1991-1998 and Jersey Museum Trading Company Limited, 1991-1998 |
Jersey Heritage | JA/1807 | Jersey Heritage additional deposit, includes; quarterly reports, Board papers and correspondence, c 1992-2002 |
Jersey Heritage | JA/1710 | Jersey Heritage additional deposit, includes; plans of Augrès Chapel, c 1976-1985 |
Jersey Heritage | JA/1766 | Jersey Heritage additional deposit, includes; papers and posters from the Design Department, c 1990s-2000s |
Jersey Meteorological Office | JA/1812 | Jersey Meteorological Office additional deposit, includes details of meteorological observations, annual reports and papers relating to the Jesuits, c 1920s-2003 |
Jersey Post | JA/1815 | Jersey Post Collection, includes; accounts, photographs, occupation material, handbooks, exhibition material, films, Richard Mayne Collection and stamp artwork, c 1820s-2009 |
Jersey Post | JA/1846 | Jersey Post additional deposit of stamps of Jersey pack, 2010 |
Jersey Tourism | JA/1754 | Jersey Tourism additional deposit, includes; publicity material, c 2009 |
Judicial Greffe | JA/1721 | Judicial Greffe Probate Division additional deposit, includes; wills and testaments and copy will volumes, c 1986-1989 |
Judicial Greffe | JA/1687 | Judicial Greffe additional deposit, includes; matrimonial case files and visite royale papers, c 1973-2009 |
Judicial Greffe | JA/1794 | Judicial Greffe additional deposit, includes; matrimonial case files, Gambling Licensing authorities files and jury rolls, c 1975-2010 |
Law Officers' Department | JA/1803 | Law Officers' Department additional deposit, includes; papers relating to homicide cases and reports, plans and surveys from various States Departments, c 1980s-2010 |
Law Officers' Department | JA/1765 | Law Officers' Department additional deposit, includes; papers relating to murder cases, c 1990s-2000s |
Law Officers' Department | JA/1697 | Law Officers' Department additional deposit, includes; reports, plans and surveys from various States Departments, c 1990-2008 |
Law Officers' Department | JA/1689 | Law Officers' Department additional deposit, includes; birth and death details at the Internment Camps in Germany during the Second World War, c 1942-1944 |
Law Officers' Department | JA/1813 | Papers relating to a homicide case, c 2000-2002 |
Parish of St Brelade | JA/1714 | Parish of St Brelade additional deposit, includes; accounts, rates, licences, correspondence, welfare, land and St Brelade's Agricultural and Horticultural Society, c 1841-2009 |
Parish of St Clement Registrar | JA/1840 | Parish of St Clement Registrar records, includes; birth, marriage and death registers, c 1842-2002 |
Parish of St Helier | JA/1855 | Parish of St Helier additional deposit, includes; Parish Assembly minutes, accounts, roads, licences, contracts, news cuttings and general papers, c 1580-1990s |
Parish of St Helier | JA/1724 | Parish of St Helier additional deposit, includes; police occurrence books, c 1905-1970 |
Parish of St Mary Registrar | JA/1839 | Parish of St Mary Registrar records, includes; birth and death registers, c 1842-1926 |
Parish of St Ouen | JA/1676 | Parish of St Ouen additional deposit, includes; records of the St Ouen's Ex-Servicemen Association and St Ouen's Agricultural Society, c 1871-2003 |
Parish of St Peter | JA/1672 | Parish of St Peter additional deposit, includes; minutes, accounts, rates, roads, licences, honorary police, contracts and correspondence, c 1764-2008 |
Parish of St Peter Registrar | JA/1844 | St Peter's Registrar Collection additional deposit, includes; correspondence and still-born registers, c 1842-1957 |
Parish of St Peter Registrar | JA/1725 | St Peter Registrar's Collection, includes; birth, marriage and death registers, c 1866-2001 |
Parish of St Saviour Registrar | JA/1841 | Parish of St Saviour Registrar records, includes; birth, marriage and death registers, c 1842-2002 |
Planning and Environment | JA/1744 | Planning and Environment Collection additional deposit, includes; general filing, reports, photographs, plans and display boards, c 1950s-2000s |
Plat Douet School | JA/1736 | Plat Douet School Collection, includes; admission registers, c 1968-1989 |
Rouge Bouillon School | JA/1737 | Rouge Bouillon School Collection, includes; admission registers for Brighton Road Infant School, Val Plaisant Infant School, Vauxhall School, Halkett Place School, Jersey National Infant School, St Paul's National School and New Street School, c 1865-1982 |
Rural Economy | JA/1677 | Rural Economy additional deposit, includes; Weighbridge summary book, news cuttings, statistics and accounts, c 1926-2003 |
St Martin's School | JA/1703 | St Martin's School additional deposit, includes; photographs, PTA material and reports, c 1938-2000s |
States Greffe | JA/1831 | States Greffe additional deposit of a tax agreement with China, 2010 |
States Greffe | JA/1693 | States Greffe additional deposit of a tax agreement with Malta, 2010 |
States Greffe | JA/1669 | Minutes of the States of Jersey, 2008 |
States Greffe | JA/1768 | States Greffe additional deposit, includes; projets de loi, c 1960-2008 |
States Greffe | JA/1787 | States Greffe additional deposit of a tax agreement with Portugal, 2010 |
States Greffe | JA/1847 | States Greffe additional deposit of tax agreements with Turkey and the United Mexican States, c 2010 |
States of Jersey Police | JA/1849 | States of Jersey Police additional deposit, includes; copies of scenes of crimes photographs from the Haut de la Garenne enquiry, c 2008 |
States of Jersey Police | JA/1788 | States of Jersey Police Collection, includes; copies of photographs from the Haut de la Garenne enquiry, c 2008 |
States Treasury | JA/1752 | Treasury and Resources Department financial report and accounts, c 2009 |
States Treasury | JA/1707 | States Treasury additional deposit, includes; budget papers, c 1980-2006 |
Transport and Technical Services | JA/1850 | Transport and Technical Services additional deposit of photograph albums of the refurbishment of Haut de la Garenne, c 2003 |
Transport and Technical Services | JA/1675 | Transport and Technical Services Collection additional deposit, includes; records relating to Howard David Park including photographs, plans, wages and decoration book, c 1900s-1988 |
Victoria College Prepatory School | JA/1770 | Victoria College Preparatory School Collection, includes; student lists, teacher lists, photographs and publications, c 1920s-2000s |
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