PSQG Standard for Access to Archives 2008
PUBLIC SERVICES QUALITY GROUP
PSQG RELEASES THE NEW STANDARD FOR ACCESS TO ARCHIVES
One of the founding pieces of work undertaken by the Public Services Quality Group was A Standard for Access to Archives. First published by PSQG in 1999 as a working draft, the Standard has gone on to become an essential tool for many archives services in Britain. By the end of 2007 seventy nine record offices had produced access policies – a tribute to the influence of the original Standard.
The concept of access remains at the heart of government policy and the Standard was devised to help repositories collect evidence of their performance for public service initiatives and to support funding initiatives. In the nine years since it first appeared it has ben widely cited and used, and is one of the key standards cited in the National Archives Advisory Service’s self assessment process.
PSQG have now turned the working draft into a completed document. Updating has included some changed to the layout, which should make the Standard easier to use, and there is also an implementation table to help archive services carry out regular reviews of their practices and procedures against the benchmark of the Standard.
Chair of PSQG Charlotte Hodgson said: The Access Standard encapsulates the core values of archive offices in terms of public service delivery. David Mander, who undertook this revision, has provided the archive profession with an up to date document and a practical tool for providing the highest level of quality in service delivery.
A Standard for Access to Archives: 2008 and the accompanying implementation table can be found below:
The Standard for Access to Archives 2008
Implementation Table for the Standard for Access to Archives 2008
