The National Archives recognises that all development options should be considered for improving the accommodation of archive services. BS EN16893:2018 ‘Conservation of Cultural Heritage: Specifications for location, construction and modification of buildings or rooms intended for the storage or use of heritage collections’, requires buildings to be designed with future storage requirements in mind (section 5.2.1).
The Archive Service Accreditation standard requires arrangements sufficient to keep the collections physically secure and accessible. Assessment asks how the service is planning to manage space where there is less than five years expansion capacity, and how future storage space will be guaranteed (sections 1.4 and 2.4).
We do not see a split-site solution as ideal. We believe a single site offers greater benefits and we recommend that all options are fully tested before a split-site option is adopted. However, we recognise that the costs of accommodation and sites for extensions or new-builds, particularly in city centre locations, or constraints arising from listed-building status, may mean some services have no practical alternative. Some services may also need to adopt this approach temporarily when there is a need to relocate collections during a capital project or because their existing stores are sub-standard. A split-site model may allow a service to use a smaller but central or high-profile location as its public face.
This guidance examines a range of options for split-site arrangements:
- remote stores wholly under the control of the archives
- use of commercial partners for storage of records
- arrangements with other archive services for the storage of records
When you are considering options for archival storage, consider risks to archive collections resulting from:
- the move to a split-site service
- increased transit of collections
- the increased pressure on resources due to the management of these risks
There are implications for organisations holding controlled classes of records – deposited Public Records and Manorial Documents. Please contact us if you hold these records and are considering a split-site solution.
Purpose
This guidance is designed to assist archive services to assess and manage the risks of a split-site archive service, but it will be useful to services considering other solutions. It will assist services which are:
- considering moving to a split-site archive service assessing a variety of options for new archive storage
- considering moving away from a split-site arrangement and wishing to assess the benefits and implications
This guidance outlines some of the implications and challenges of a split-site service. It uses a risk management approach to assessing and managing split-site services and describes systematic methods of assessing options and minimising the archive service’s exposure to risk. By providing a framework in which to assess the options for split-site archive services, this guidance looks in detail at assessing the risks to collections and how to manage these risks.
Definitions
A split-site archive service is one in which a large proportion of the holdings are stored on a site separate to the main staff office and access point. Traditionally archive services have used out-stores to hold collection overspills or for a temporary period. A split-site archive service is different from an out-store, as it is the result of a conscious decision to manage a long-term service across separate sites for providing access and for storing the majority of collections, generally with less of a staff presence than on-site arrangements.
Important considerations
A split-site archive service brings greater risk to the collections, additional building management tasks for staff and more restrictions on access than a single site service.
By considering the impact of a split-site service through an in-depth options appraisal, archive services will:
- be aware of the risks
- be able to mitigate the risks
- be able to see clearly the relative merits and problems of each site
- understand the ongoing costs associated with different site options
If a split-site service is assessed as the best option, rigorous plans and procedures are essential to reduce the risk and impact of the split-site provision.
Creating your own store will give you the most control over the building and the collections it holds, but will require significant capital investment at the outset, as well as ongoing revenue costs. The building will need to be approved by The National Archives if you wish to use it for storing public records or other controlled record types, such as manorial and tithe records.
The use of commercial storage on the other hand may have longer-term cost implications but it can be an alternative to capital expenditure. If you are considering the option of commercial storage then this guidance on Identifying and specifying requirements for offsite storage of physical records (PDF, 529 KB) is a useful source of information. It considers security management, access, retrieval and transportation of records, exit strategy and purchasing.
Paying for storage at another archive service may be more convenient than commercial storage in terms of costs, distance, accessibility by staff, and potential to arrange on-site access to documents. In cases where you hold public records or other controlled record types but your existing storage is poor quality, the use of storage at an accredited archive service that is already a place of deposit could help you to meet your legal responsibilities, but please liaise with The National Archives. The host service will benefit from an income stream, and filling empty storage may help them to stabilise environmental conditions in their repository.
Conclusion
While a split-site archive service may bring greater impacts and risks to the collections, as well as additional buildings management tasks, alongside more or different restrictions on access than a single site service, it is undoubtedly an increasing reality that many archive services have put in place or are considering putting in place.
An in-depth options appraisal will not only enable services to thoroughly consider the real and potential impacts of a split-site service, including possible risks and how to mitigate them, but also consider the merits of successfully operating a split-site and the benefits that it could bring to the archive service as well as to the experience of its users.
If a split-site service is assessed and considered as the best option for an archive service, then robust plans and procedures are essential to reduce the risk and impact of a split-site provision and to ensure that the service can continue to offer a consistent, relevant and accessible high-quality service to its users.