In 2038 we will celebrate the bicentenary of the founding of the Public Record Office. As an institution we have a long history, and that history is one of regular change and renewal, but our response to the challenges and opportunities ahead of us will transform The National Archives more profoundly than at any point in the last two centuries.
By 2038, if the transformation we have embarked on is complete, we will be:
- A living digital national archive preserving the contemporary record of government and radically widening access to the historic archive
- A national archive not just of government but of the state – preserving and making accessible the record of the executive, legislature and judiciary
- A genuinely inclusive, collaborative and available national archive – an active, catalysing presence wherever we’re encountered
- A demonstrably sustainable national archive, leading the archives sector both through our expertise and by example
The National Archives is, by virtue of our mission, a living, growing repository of evidence, stories and memory. We care for and make available to the public records that aid legal certainty, shed light on personal and shared histories and inform our collective national identity.
Our fulfilment of that mission maintains and adds value for present and future generations – value from our collection, from the connections to it we foster and from our role as custodian both of the collection and of the institution that supports it.