Developing collections

We provide strategic advice on collections planning, widening the access of new and diverse communities to collections, and guidance for collection development to actively document, reflect and support these communities.

Archive Service Accreditation defines good practice and agreed standards for collections management and provides guidance on meeting the standard.

Contributing to our resources

Discovery is a portal to archival collections held within the UK and to many collections held internationally relating to the UK.

Collections development

Collections development policies describe what an archive service collects and why, when and how archives are transferred, and where there are gaps in collections. There are different approaches to collections development but all are designed to ensure that it is an active, open and ongoing process.

Cataloguing archive collections

Guidance on how to approach cataloguing archives, ideally suited to those with little to no previous cataloguing experience. Cataloguing is a vital step in opening up access to a collection.