This page contains research and evaluation reports of completed projects. These are important for informing future priorities and helping archives demonstrate their value.
Sustainable services
Funding and constitution/alternative service models
- Action for Archives: Strategic planning and fundraising programme final evaluation
- Securing developer contributions for museum, library and archive facilities in the South East Guidance Notes
- Heritage change programme
- ARA: Research into the benefits of capital investment in archives
Workforce and volunteering
- Libraries, Archives, Records and Information Management Workforce Survey 2012
- Profile of the Archives Workforce in England
- Barriers To Entering Careers In Museums, Libraries And Archives
- Volunteering in Archives
- Volunteering in the MLA sector: a discussion
- Assessing the Impact of Investment in Leadership Training
- Strategic Evaluation of the Leading Archives and Museums Development Programme
Collections management, development and care
Collections mapping
- Logjam: an audit of uncatalogued collections in the North West
- EMCat Survey of archive collections
- Documentation Backlogs: South East Cross-domain Study
- East Midlands Regional Archive Strategy. Emrac Strategy
- Eastern Promise, Archives In The East Of England
- On the record: ALM London Archives strategy 2005-2008
- Archives in the East Midlands - Final Report
- Archives in the East of England: Final report on East of England archive mapping project 2003-4
Collections and collecting: a survey of university archives (2009) (PDF, 0.31Mb)
Digital preservation mapping
- Mind the Gap: Assessing Digital Preservation Needs in the UK
- Report Of The East Of England Digital Preservation Regional Pilot Project (DARP)
- Reel Yorkshire Audiovisual Survey
- Your data at Risk NCA
Online access
- Minerva EC - Handbook on cultural web user interaction
- Quality Principles for Cultural Websites: a Handbook
- MLA Web Accessibility Report
- The Social Web: Opportunities, Barriers and Solutions for Cultural Heritage Institutions
- Digital audiences: engagement with arts and culture online
- Evaluation of the Pay & Power HLF-funded Archive Project
Finding Archives summary (PDF, 0.66Mb)
National Cataloguing Grants Scheme Five Year Review (PDF, 0.00Mb)
Developing your archives
- Audience Development Toolkit
- Users and Non-users of Museums, Libraries and Archives
- Attendance of Archive Centres
- Cultural Consumption Mapping project: Analysis of the Taking Part and Active People Surveys
Learning and young people
- Mapping the East of England Museums, Galleries, Archives and Libraries in Initial Teacher Training
- Mapping the Territory: A baseline study of the ability of museums, archives and libraries to contribute to the Government's targets for adult basic skills in England
- Maths and Numeracy in Museums Libraries and Archives - Supporting Mathematics and Numeracy in Museums, Libraries and Archives
- Creating Better Outcomes for Children and Young People by improving the Commissioning of Cultural Services
- Emsource evaluation reports - The Use of Archives in Secondary Schools
- Impact of museums libraries and archives on children and young people (Draft)
- Learning Revolution: Festival of Learning: key findings and impact of museum, library and archive led learning activities
- Adult Numeracy and Museums and Archives: Existing and potential adult numeracy activities, good practice case studies and capacity building
- Opening Up Spaces: Bringing new people into museums, libraries and archives by supporting self-organised learning showcases innovative, practical projects in museums, libraries and archives that engage with local communities and support informal learning
- Building a society for all ages: Identifies the benefits for older people from learning in archives and potential partnerships to achieve this
- An overview of the programme and resulting resources:
Strategic Commissioning Education Programme (PDF, 0.05Mb)
Increasing accessibility
Community archives
Demonstrating impact
Tourism and economic impact
- The Role of Archives within Tourism (Final)
- Assessment of the contribution of museums, libraries and archives to the visitor economy
- Ancestral and Literary Tourism in the East Midlands
- After Value: Marketing Needs Assessment Project
- The Value of Libraries for Research and Researchers (RLUK report 2011)
- Bolton's Museum Library and Archive Services, an Economic Valuation
- Economic Impact Methodologies for the museums, libraries and archives sector: What works and what doesn't
- Scoping the Economic and Social Impact of Archives
- Supporting the Development of MLA's Sustainability Vision: Economic Impact Methodologies and Capacity of the Sector - Summary of Main Findings
- ALMA-UK economic impacts toolkit
Social impact
- Proving Value and Improving Practice: A discussion about Social Return on Investment
- Social Impact Study for Museums, Libraries and Archives
- Taking Part: An Audit Of Social Inclusion Work In Archives
- The value of museums, libraries and archives to community agendas
- Community profiling to gather baseline economic and social conditions data to support future RA strategic planning
- An evaluation of the MLA Their Past Your Future 2 programme, 2008-2010
Sense of place
- Guidance on building a sense of belonging
- Research summary: Year 1 Living Places programme evaluation
- Evaluation of Living Places Programme Year 2
- Evaluation of Living Places Programme Year 3
Overview of the archives sector
Survey of Special Collections and Archives in the United Kingdom and IrelandSurvey of University Archives 2008
Religious Archives Survey 2010
Religious Archives Survey 2010 (PDF, 0.58Mb)
Appendices to the Religious Archives Survey 2010 (PDF, 2.61Mb)
Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future
These reports are mostly of historical interest, but still provide some useful statistics in the discussion papers.
- Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future: Report of the Archives Task Force
- Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future: the Report of the Archives Task Force: Annex D: Non- Archive Users Survey: Omnibus Study
- Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future: the Report of the Archives Task Force: Annex E: Towards a better understanding of non-users
- Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future: the Report of the Archives Task Force: Annex F: The Secondary Impact of Archives: Indicators and Trends
- Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future: the Report of the Archives Task Force: Annex G: Archives Workforce Study
- Listening to the Past, Speaking to the Future: the Report of the Archives Task Force: Annex H: On-line media coverage of archives 1999-2003
- Archives Task Force Discussion Paper 1: Archives Facts and Statistics
- Archives Task Force Discussion Paper 2 (revised): Archives in the Twenty-First Century: issues
- Archives Task Force Discussion Paper 3: The Electronic 'National Archives Network'
- Archives Task Force Discussion Paper 4: Structures: Issues and possible solutions
- Archives Task Force Discussion Paper 4a: Building on Success: Developing Centres of Expertise
- Archives Task Force Discussion Paper 4b: Specialist Archives: Hinterland and Seedbed
- Archives Task Force Discussion Paper 5: Funding: opportunities and expectations
- Archives Task Force Discussion Paper 6: Investing in the Future: A new Framework for Training and Development
- Archives Task Force Discussion Paper 6a: Education, Training and Development: A further discussion document
- Archives Task Force Discussion Paper 7: Archives, Active Citizenship and Social Capital
- Archives Task Force Stewardship
Older mapping and development studies
- Archives Development Strategy - Main Report (SE)
- Understanding Archival Institutions in the South East
- Missing Link: a map of development and funding needs for specialist repositories in England, 2001
- Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), Survey of needs, 1998
Our shared past: an archival Domesday for England (PDF, 0.38Mb)
Our shared past: developing 21st century archive services (PDF, 0.45Mb)
Further reports
See more recent reports on our key sector statistics page. For OPSI reports and reports on the re-use of public sector information, go to information management reports and publications.
This page contains PDF files. See plug-ins and file formats for help in accessing these file types.
