sheffield cathedral archive: archival management and...

Sheffield Cathedral Archive: A study

in Archival Management and

Practice.

A study submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts in Librarianship

at

THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD

By

JANINE WILLIAMSON

September 2010

Sheffield Cathedral Archive: Archival Management and Practice.

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ABSTRACT

Background: The archive at Sheffield cathedral is currently undergoing the first

stages of improvement, after a long period without an archivist. The cathedral

archive is currently in a significant state of disrepair and needs to develop a strategy

and plan in order to move forward.

Aims: This research study aimed to examine and determine a model of best

practice to enable Sheffield cathedral archive to effectively and efficiently manage

its archive collection within the cathedral’s remit for storing information.

Methods: A variety of methods were used throughout the course of this study, with

a survey of people working on the cathedral archive development project

conducted, with a 62.5% response rate from those surveyed. An interview was

conducted with the Reverend Canon of Sheffield cathedral, and reflective reports,

alongside document analysis were also utilised.

Findings: The strengths and weaknesses of Sheffield cathedral were identified, and

a gap analysis of Sheffield cathedral and Durham cathedral archive found that

Sheffield archive performs significantly under the standards of an ‘ideal’ archive.

Best practice was explored, and recommendations for improvements to the service

were given, with storage, staffing and policy identified as key areas needing

improvement, and the idea of exhibition and display was highlighted as a way to

effectively develop the service.

Conclusions: Sheffield cathedral archive has significant amount of work ahead

before the service is improved. Much of the proposed changes require funding,

which the cathedral does not currently have, so opportunities for fundraising must

be sought out if the service is to advance, and the cathedral should utilise resources

such as volunteers in order to progress with the improvements to the archive at

Sheffield cathedral.


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Reverend Canon Simon Cowling and all those at Sheffield

Cathedral for the data and the time they gave to this research project. Likewise, I

would like to thank Alastair Fraser at Durham Cathedral archive for his generosity

and help. I would also like to thank Barbara Sen, my supervisor for her time and

support throughout the course of this project.

I would also like to thank my friends and family for their continued help and words

of encouragement.


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Contents

1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.............................................................................08

1.1 Introduction............................................................................................08

1.2 Rationale for study................................................................................. 09

1.3 Aims....................................................................................................... 10

1.4 Objectives.............................................................................................. 11

2. LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................... 14

2.1 Introduction........................................................................................... 14

2.2 Archival Policy and Strategy................................................................... 15

2.3 The Archive as a Service......................................................................... 16

2.4 Funding...................................................................................................16

2.5 Volunteers and Staffing.......................................................................... 18

2.6 Inspection Criteria and Storage..............................................................19

2.7 Collections or Acquisitions Management...............................................20

2.8 Access to Archives.................................................................................. 21

2.9 Conclusions............................................................................................ 22

3. METHODOLOGY...................................................................................... 23

3.1 Introduction........................................................................................... 23

3.2 Qualitative Methods.............................................................................. 23

3.3 INTERVIEWS...................................................................................... 24

3.3.1 Process and Data Analysis............................................................ 25

3.3.2 Interview design and sample........................................................ 26

3.3.3 Reliability of Interviews................................................................ 26

3.3.4 Limitations of Interviews.............................................................. 27

3.4 QUESTIONNAIRES............................................................................ 28

3.4.1 Questionnaire Design................................................................... 28

3.4.2 Reliability of Questionnaires........................................................ 30

3.4.3 Limitations of Questionnaires...................................................... 30


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3.5 DOCUMENT ANALYSIS....................................................................... 31

3.5.1 Process and Data Analysis.............................................................31

3.5.2 Limitations of Document Analysis................................................ 32

3.6 RESEARCH VISITS FOR ANALYSIS PURPOSES..................................... 32

3.6.1 Process and Data Analysis............................................................32

3.6.2 Reflective Research Reports......................................................... 33

3.6.3 Limitations of Reflective Research Reports.................................. 34

3.7 ETHICS...............................................................................................35

3.8 OVERALL LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH.............................................. .35

4. RESEARCH ANALYSIS............................................................................... 37

4.1 Introduction........................................................................................... 37

4.2 OBJECTIVE I: TO EVALUATE THE CURRENT SITUATION AT SHEFFIELD

CATHEDRAL ARCHIVE........................................................................ 37

4.2.1 SWOT Analysis .............................................................................. 39

4.3 OBJECTIVE II: TO IDENTIFY ANY EXISTING BEST PRACTICE ESTABLISHED

WITHIN UK CATHEDRALS AND OTHER HERITAGE SITES...................... 47

4.3.1 Introduction.................................................................................. 47

4.3.2 Identifying Best Practice............................................................... 47

4.3.3 Storage......................................................................................... 48

4.3.4 Staffing......................................................................................... 49

4.3.5 Acquisitions and Collection Management...................................50

4.3.6 Access........................................................................................... 51

4.4 OBJECTIVE III: EVALUATING THE GAP BETWEEN CURRENT PRACTICE

AND THE DESIRED STATE.................................................................. 53

4.4.1 Introduction ................................................................................. 53

4.4.2 Gap Analysis................................................................................. 53

4.5 OBJECTIVE IV: TO RECOMMEND A BEST PRACTICE STANDARD FOR

SHEFFIELD CATHEDRAL ARCHIVE ...................................................... 58

4.5.1 Introduction.................................................................................. 58

4.5.2 Creating an Archive Policy Sheffield Cathedral Archive............... 58

4.5.3 Using volunteers and utilising the link with Sheffield University. 62


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4.5.4 Creating preliminary access through exhibitions......................... 65

5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................. 67

5.1 CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................ 67

5.2 FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................. 69

6. REFERENCES............................................................................................ 70

7. Appendix I - Reflective Research Report: Visiting Durham Cathedral

Archives.................................................................................................. 76

8. Appendix II - Reflective Research Report: Visiting Sheffield Cathedral

Archive.................................................................................................... 80

9. Appendix III - Survey Responses - Cathedral Archive Project....................83

10. Appendix IV - Interview Transcript: Sheffield Cathedral.......................... 91

11. Appendix V – Archive Policy Template.................................................... 99

12. Appendix VI: Cathedral Archive Policy................................................... 100


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List of Tables

Table 1 Williams’ Rationale for Analysing Archive Performance ...............37

Table 2 SWOT Analysis of Sheffield Cathedral Archive ..............................39

Table 3 Williams’ Definitions of Access in Archives....................................51

Table 4 Gap Analysis of Sheffield Cathedral Archive .................................57


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1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The need for a well functioning archive is perhaps, to some, a non essential

portion of a business or organisation, an irritant which diverts money away from

other seemingly more important aspects of the business. Archives and records

however, are an indispensible and central tool for the effective management of

organisations and are often underrated and misunderstood (Williams, 2006). To

most people, including some information professionals, the term ‘archives’

connotes the image of musty, dirty files of loose papers in varying states of decay

which are of little apparent use, but vaguely believed to be valuable because

historians keep placing value upon these items (Mitchell, 1975). The real function of

an archive and an archivist however, is that of a custodian, who organises and

manages legal records of an organisation or institution, where the destruction of

these records could potentially seriously inconvenience the organisation. These

records help influence how the business runs effectively, by providing examples of

how the institution was run in the past, and collecting examples of how the

business is currently run, which in turn contributes to the effective management of

the business in the future as well as keeping a record of how the organisation has

grown and progressed over time.

Archives not only preserve the culture and history of people, or an

organisation, but also create an infrastructure for both the public and personal

activity of an organisation (Williams, 2006). However, for archives and records

management systems to be fully operational and fulfilling their fullest potential,

they need to be effectively organised and managed. This is reinforced in the

Church of England’s Keep or Bin...? The Care of Your Parish Records, which states,

“Good record keeping, particularly in these areas, demonstrates the

Church’s wider accountability to Society in relation to its activities

and reflects the true complexity and diversity of the Church’s

activities.” (CofE, 2009, 3).


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Therefore it is in the best interests of these institutions to keep their archives up to

date and managed effectively, regardless of the size and scope of the archive in

question. Cathedral archives are not a popular area of study throughout archival

literature, and there is a distinct lack of research on cathedral and religious

archives, possibly as Anglican cathedral archives are governed, and have additional

policy dictated, by the Church of England, which ensures that they operate slightly

differently to other archival holdings. However, cathedral archives share most of

the same operational standards as other institutional archives, some are large, and

others are small, such as the archive at Sheffield cathedral, but regardless of size,

or type of archive, one thing remains the same, archives, should be a priority to

any organisation, and should be treated with care.

1.2 RATIONALE FOR STUDY

This research project is a continuation of a larger university run project based at the

Sheffield cathedral archive. Headed by Barbara Sen, MA Librarianship students,

including myself, have been sorting through and cataloguing the cathedral’s

collections, as it is currently in a state of disarray and the archive has not been

looked after correctly since before the year 2000, as the archive currently has no

formally trained librarian or archivist due to lack of finances. The cathedral did have

the benefit of an archivist from the period of 1975-1991 (Appendix II), based on

correspondence from the cathedral’s own archive from the archivist at the time,

but since that point has had no formal archivist in residence. Because of this, the

archive has suffered from neglect, leaving the archive in a state of disrepair, with

damaged items in the collection, with no clear and comprehensive inventory of

what is contained within the archive, and no policies or strategies with which to

progress. During this time it became apparent that there was a real need for a

tailored management strategy for the cathedral archives, as nothing was currently

in place, in order to create a fully useable and working archive.

The cathedral has a legal obligation to organise and manage its records, as certain

areas of parish activity is subject to regulation from external bodies, such as child


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protection, finance and the preservation and maintenance of ecclesiastical

buildings (CofE, 2009). Therefore it is imperative that the cathedral has an

organised records management system and archive, especially as the cathedral

archive has architect drawings and plans for modifications to the cathedral, as part

of its collection. If the archive is not managed and cared for effectively, the parish

may not have the information that it requires in order to deal with any issues that

may arise with the cathedral.

All these issues and more, help form the basis of this research project, which will

analyse and determine a model of best practice to manage the cathedral’s

collection and archives, while assessing the current issues and practice currently in

operation at the cathedral archives, and attempt to suggest a strategy in which the

cathedral archive can improve and eventually become a fully working archive which

will meet the standards of professional standards bodies such as The National

Archive. It is the aim of this dissertation to explore the current situation at Sheffield

cathedral archive, and suggest a model of best practice in order to ensure that the

archive can progress into a fully operational archive in the future.

1.3 AIMS

The main aim of this research study is to examine and determine a model of

best practice to enable Sheffield cathedral archive to effectively and efficiently

manage its archive collection within the cathedral’s remit for storing

information. This includes research into archival management in general,

followed by archival procedures used by other heritage and cathedral

institutions within the UK and standards implemented by the Church of England

and The National Archives. An analysis of current cathedral policies are then

required, and a comparison between Sheffield cathedral’s policies and policies

in use by other organisations will be integral.


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The research primarily focuses on one cathedral archive principally that of

Sheffield cathedral, as a case study. It will investigate the current state of the

cathedral archive, and compare this state with standards in implementation

both on a national level (Church of England and The National Archives) and best

practice at other cathedrals in the UK, and comparing the current state at

Sheffield cathedral and another cathedral archive which will help to form a

complete picture, before attempting to propose recommendations for

improvements to the service.

1.4 OBJECTIVES

1. To evaluate the current situation at Sheffield cathedral archives.

It is already known that the cathedral archive is in a state of disrepair and neglect;

therefore it is essential to evaluate the current state of the cathedral archive, from

the current organisation of the archive, such as storage, current policies and

inventory lists. It is also important to evaluate the attitudes of the staff in relation

to the archive; as the attitude of the staff is integral, with the lack of a qualified

archivist, to ensure that the archive will not fall into the same disrepair in the

future.

This objective has been fulfilled through a variety of methods. Firstly, an analysis of

physical archives is needed. This has been accomplished by conducting research

visits to two different cathedral archives to analyse and evaluate physical cathedral

archives in order to determine what state the archive is at present, which is

necessary in order to establish how to proceed with organising the archive and

what standards and policy need to be implemented. A questionnaire has been

distributed to members of the University of Sheffield cathedral archive project to

offer an added perspective on the organisation, storage facilities and access to the

archives. The objective will also be implemented through an interview with

Reverend Canon Simon Cowling in order to evaluate the cathedral from the

perspectives of those involved directly with the archive.


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2. To identify any existing best practice established within UK cathedrals and

relevant heritage sites.

As the archive at Sheffield cathedral is not an operational or successful working

archive, it is important that best practice models from successful archives are

considered in order to determine the scale of the problem at Sheffield cathedral

archive. This objective will be implemented mainly through document analysis of

standards and policy from national archival organisations such as the Church of

England and the National Archives, such as Keep or Bin...? The Care of Your Parish

Records, and universal standards from the National Archive. This, alongside a visit

to Durham cathedral, which is a well functioning and long established cathedral

archive, will serve as the tools for analysis of best practice in cathedral archives. It is

important, when considering archival best practice, to gain an initial overview of

the management of archives, which address the main issues and practice currently

in use. Therefore, it is essential that texts on archival management as a whole, and

general management texts are also considered and analysed for their wider insight

into the management of both an archive and an organisation in general. There is

much within these texts that can be transferrable and implemented on cathedral

archives, and serve as a useful starting point when determining best practice.

3. To evaluate the gap that exists between current practice and the desire

state.

After analysing and evaluating the data from the previous objectives, it is then a

priority to compare the current state of the cathedral archive with best practice

models and practice in operation at other cathedral sites. This comparison will then

provide the basis for a gap analysis, a tool used in more traditional organisational

management, which will highlight the cathedral’s actual performance in relation to

its potential performance, and therefore identify areas that can be improved.

Conducting a gap analysis will provide insight into areas of improvement, and will

help create and identify a workable archival strategy in order for the archive to

progress and develop in the future. By using a gap analysis it will become apparent

exactly where the main problems with the operation of the archive lie, which in


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turn will make it easier to provide recommendations for improvements to the

service.

4. To recommend a best practice standard for Sheffield cathedral archives.

The final step is to then recommend a standard for best practice will Sheffield

cathedral archives can then utilise in order to ensure that their archive does not fall

into the same neglect as previously. This objective will be implemented by

considering all the data previously compiled from document analysis of other

archive policy and strategy, analysis of the actual physical cathedral archive, the gap

analysis of where the cathedral is, and where it would like to be, as well as

qualitative data from the interviews and questionnaires conducted in order to offer

a potential solution, or steps for improvement for the cathedral archive. The

recommendations will need to take into consideration the cathedral’s budget

restraints, as well as practicalities of staffing, space and organisation.


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2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

Compiling literature on archive management is a long and drawn out process,

simply because there is a mass of information on many different sections of archival

management. Acquisitions and appraisal management strategies are a vastly

popular topic of academic interest, with academics such as Schellenberg (1956),

Cook (1999), Craig (2001) and Duranti (2000), each with their own unique

perspective on archive appraisal and acquisition management. Access to archives

and how managers facilitate this is also a key topic of discussion in archival

literature, and organisations such as The National Council of Archives (2001) and

The Archives Task Force (2004) have placed major emphasis on social inclusion and

access to archives, especially due to the technological growth and digitisation of

archive documents which allow for significantly more digital archives and digital

content to become available for the general public to view and to access, thus

creating a more inclusive and more ‘open’ archive. Although it is important to

consider these points of view when assessing an archive, it is more important to

first assess more practical methods of archive analysis, especially when relating

material directly to an existing, ill-functioning archive.

Due to the sheer amount of literature on archival management, and a large amount

of literature in the aforementioned areas, it is important, when considering archival

best practice, to gain an initial overview of the management of archives, which

address the main issues and practice currently in use. Ramos and Ortega (2006) and

Williams (2006) are key clear and practical initial texts which clearly outline

important matter-of-fact concerns in archival management, such as working with a

limited budget, arrangement, processing and writing archival policies, which give

the reader important background knowledge on the subject. Literature on working

with limited funds is essential for the focus of this research project, as Sheffield

cathedral archive has very limited funds available for the development of their

archive service. Williams (2006) highlights the dangers of working without a


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sustainable source of income, and states that an archive “cannot deliver a good

service if you cannot rely on year-on-year funding” (Williams, 2006, 216) and Ramos

and Ortega (2006) outlines the ideal archival setting, and contrasts this with a

scenario using just the basic essentials, for those will a small budget, or those with

no budget at all. Also both these texts include comprehensive analysis of policy,

and these sections highlight the importance of gaining a basic understanding of

how archival policy and strategy is developed, before attempting to manage and

create policies, strategies and implement best practice in an archive. Archival

strategies and policies can be difficult to comprehend without basic working

knowledge, which is a point that both Stout (2008) and Carlisle (2008) affirm.

2.2 Archival Policy and Strategy

However, there are a considerable number of archival standards, policy and

strategy available on the management of archives. Although not specifically related

to the management of cathedral archives, where there is a severe lack of specific

literature, the ideas and points raised in these general archival strategies and

policies can be to some extent implemented in the management of cathedral

archives. There are clear guidelines on what cathedral and religious archives need

to keep, and what they can destroy or move elsewhere, with guides such as the

CofE’s Keep or Bin...? The Care of your Parish Records (2009) and Save or Delete...?

The Care of Diocesan Records (2008), which alongside generic archival standards,

policy and strategy, such as The National Archive’s Standard for Record Repositories

(2004b), can be a huge help in determining how to move forward in the

management of specific cathedral archives. Not only do these CofE policies specify

what to keep, but they also specify how they should be kept and also how they

should be repaired, which can be used alongside the National Archives Standard for

Record Repositories (2004b) to create a comprehensive strategy for the collection

and storage of archival material and can contribute to an inclusive acquisitions

policy.


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2.3 The Archive as a Service

Another important point to consider is the idea of the archive as a service. Although

archives are considerably more separate from the general public than a library,

especially in the case of cathedral archives, they are still considered a point of

service to the community and should be treated as such (Shackley, 2005), In fact,

displays from the cathedral archives could help increase visitor rates to the

cathedral, and provide an additional provision to the services they already provide.

HISTOQUAL (Frochot and Hughes, 2000), provides a set of guidelines and quality

measures in which historical houses and heritage sites can measure their service

quality. Although again, not strictly related to Cathedral archives, this scale can be

adapted to measure how the cathedral, and in turn, the archive, through the use of

any displays or exhibitions, perform in terms of service quality, and also develop

other non service related performance indicators based on the HISTOQUAL

measures. The EFQM excellence model (Wongrassamee et al., 2003) is another

model of performance that can be utilised for effective performance management

analysis, which analyses leadership and people management as well as analysing

the actual policies and strategies in place in the organisation, and the processes it

uses to organise the business. The EFQM excellence model and the HISTOQUAL

measure will be an excellent preliminary analysis tool to determine current practice

of the cathedral archive. Archives are increasingly under threat, underfunded and

underappreciated (Ramos and Ortega, 2006), and measuring the quality of the

archival service, as well as the performance of the individuals that maintain that

archive could help justify further funding opportunities and could help prevent

future budget cuts, so it is vital that this form of analysis is carried out.

2.4 Funding

An overview of the funding situation in publicly funded archives is also important

when forming a basis for any management strategy. The National Archives Archives

for the 21st Century (2009) addresses some of the concerns, and addresses the


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inequalities of funding in the archive sector and comments on the future potential

of public funded archives. Cathedral archives are subject to limited funding and it is

often the case that they simply do not have the funds, unless they are a large

institution such as Durham cathedral, which is allied with Durham university

(Durham Cathedral, 2010), to employ people full time to effectively manage and

take care of their archive. This gap in funding is definitely a point that needs to be

explored, and possible solutions need to be identified, as lack of funding is one the

major factors when considering the management of cathedral archives (Ramos and

Ortega, 2006). Williams (2006) identifies the role of volunteers as an effective way

of managing archives on a limited budget, and Ramos and Ortega (2006)

recommend hiring staff through subsidised government grants, both of which are

practical advice to consider for managing archives, and is especially useful with

regard to the cathedral, which has an extremely limited budget.

Funding is an essential part of an archive service and can be a daunting process, as

funding opportunities are highly competitive. There are two main options to gain

more funding, the first is applying for funding or grants from external sources, and

the second is to fundraise as an organisation. Each method is as time consuming as

the other. Parker et al.’s (2001) study on bidding culture and its effects on the

development of institutions such as archives, museums and libraries offers an

interesting perspective on the funding process and highlights the necessity of

funding for these institutions, stating that 73% of these institutions bid for funding

over the three year study period (Parker et al. 2001), and with only 32% of archives

during this same period, not applying for grants for projects needing £10,000 and

up. Parker et al. likens archives as the ‘Cinderella’s ‘of funding, stating that they are

slow to acquaint themselves with the funding process and offers insight into the

ways in which archives can utilise the funding opportunities available to them more

successfully. Therefore, this study is considerably useful when attempting to

understand how external funding operates, and how archives can benefit from this,

especially with regards to high profile funding organisations such as the Heritage

Lottery Fund, which the cathedral is attempting to gain funding from (Appendix IV).


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Fundraising is another option available to archives, but there is little archive-specific

literature available on the subject that offers practical advice. Ramos and Ortega

(2006) offer personal accounts of their own experiences fundraising, offering tips

and ideas on how to fundraise for archives. Cassarchis (1999), in The National

Council for Archives paper entitled An Introduction to Fundraising for Archives,

states that many of those working in archives have little understanding of the

broader context of fundraising, and attempts to outline the many different

methods in which one can fundraise and general principles with which people can

apply those methods. Cassarchis maintains that in order to fundraise effectively, an

archive must first identify which fundraising opportunities best suit the

organisations needs, and take a strategic view on the best options for success

(Cassarchis, 1999). This approach is echoed in management literature such as

Simon (1997) who identifies meticulous planning as a key aspect of successful

fundraising, and Bray (2008) who states, “what people really want to hear is who

and what your organization is, what you’re all about and where you’re heading”

(Bray, 2008, 32). Therefore, for effective fundraising, a clear knowledge of the

organisation, its mission, and a precise vision of what the organisation wishes to

achieve with its funding is essential.

2.5 Volunteers and Staffing

It is also useful to understand the role of the volunteer in the archive, and especially

useful to see how many archival institutions employ volunteers within their archive

service, and if this is a feasible method of staffing an archive, especially in times of

limited budget and funding. Howlett et al. (2005) in Volunteering in Museums,

Libraries and Archives, offers important statistical information on the take up of

volunteers in the heritage sector, and offers case studies on volunteers in two

separate archives. Howlett et al. (2005) states that volunteers are aware that they

are doing work that “would not get done by the staff” (Howlett et al., 2005, 78),

therefore highlighting that volunteers are an important tool to an archive, in order

to keep an archive running smoothly. Sheffield Archives also uses volunteers to

extend its service, highlighting that volunteers add value to the service, and assist


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on non-core projects. The archives acknowledge that there is a two-way benefit for

both the volunteer and the archive stating:

“The service benefits through the development of non-core (mainly

access enhancing) projects whilst the volunteer benefits through

gaining experience of the work undertaken by the archives, local

studies, conservation and records management services, as well as

improving skills and confidence, experiencing social interaction and

developing interests. “(Sheffield Archives and Local Studies Group,

2004, 2)

However, Sheffield Archives are keen to express that volunteers are not used

instead of paid members of staff, but instead to complement and support paid

staff. The issue of whether services exploit volunteers is a large one, and something

that must be taken into account when considering using volunteers within an

archive facility. This idea of using volunteers to extend a service is also explored in

Howlett (2002), where the virtues of employing volunteers in archives is extolled,

although Howlett states also that volunteers in archives are not as common as in

other heritage sectors, such as museums and libraries, and that more should be

done to both support, and recruit volunteers in the archive sector. This then, is an

interesting tool for understanding how volunteers can have impact on a cathedral

archive, and is something that could potentially be utilised by Sheffield cathedral

archive.

2.6 Inspection Criteria and Storage

All of the above points are areas which require much consideration in order to

comprehensively understand the current issues in archives, and to identify the

areas which need improvement at the cathedral, and in order to generate policies

and strategy based on the cathedrals specific needs. The National Archive (2005)


20

details their inspection criteria for a fully working and comprehensive archive, and

it is the eventual aim of this research project to create a strategy which will in time,

help ensure that Sheffield cathedral archive will in time, meet this criteria, or at

least give them a focus to work towards. It is also important to understand the

correct storage and environment of a fully operational and successful archive. The

British Standard BS 5454:2000, the standard for Recommendations for the Storage

and Exhibition of Archival Documents, is the benchmark standard for assessing the

environment of an archive storage, and suggests a set of ideal conditions within

which the perfect archive would operate. This standard offers a comparison

between the ideal and what is in practice at the archive in question.

2.7 Collections or Acquisitions Management

Collection management and policy is also a vital tool for an archive, an archive must

be aware of what it should collect and what it should not, and have policy to ensure

that the archival collections support the aims and objectives of the organisation.

Collection policy brings continuity and helps focus resources in particular areas, and

also defines the scope and content of the collection, ensuring that the archive does

not collect too little or too much. Essentially, collections or acquisitions policy lays

out the rationale, and gives guidelines and particulars of why an archive focuses on

a specific area of expertise. Ramos and Ortega (2006) state that funding agencies

are more receptive to potential applicants who can show, through a successful

collections policy, that they are in control of their archives and can demonstrate

that they have a particular mission, to which the funding agency can give their

support. The Sheffield Archives and Local Studies Library collection policy (2006) is

useful when considering collections policy as it outlines clearly its collection

strategy, their role as an archive, their principles and also includes a deaccessioning

guide. This policy guide is particularly useful when considering the cathedral, which

currently has no collections policy in operation. This policy, coupled with The

National Archives standard for record repositories (2004b), give important insight

into how one should create a collections policy, and how important they are to the


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creation of a well functioning archive. These guides, and especially in the case of

The National Archives records repository standard, outlines good archival practice.

2.8 Access to Archival Material

Access to archives is another fundamental segment of archival literature, of which a

large portion of academic work is devoted. Williams (2006) devotes an entire

chapter to the study of archival access, where a solid grounding in access

legislation, policy, outreach and the impact of access to archives is explored,

forming a comprehensive guide to the issue of access in archives, which is useful for

understanding the basics and the general issues surrounding the concept. The issue

of access to archives is a complicated issue; the ICA Code of Ethics (1996) states that

archives should promote their archival collections and offer the widest possible

access to their archival material (ICA, 1996), but for certain archives such as that of

Sheffield cathedral it is difficult to offer access to their collections due to both

budget and space constraints. While the cathedral does not currently offer access

to their archives, due to the archive lack of functionality, this something that the

archive should be striving for in the future. Ramos and Ortega (2006) states that

access to archival collections is one of the fundamental goals of all archives, but

acknowledge that there are limitations to access of archives, as access must be

determined by certain restrictions, either those places on the donors of the archival

items, or those based on solid archival principles such as the condition of the

archival material, or limitations due to staffing. The ICA Code of Ethics (1996) again

confirms these limitations by stating that although access is important and

something that each archive should offer, it is important to remember that “ the

primary duty of archivists is to maintain the integrity of the records in their care and

custody” (ICA, 1996, 1). Therefore, access should not be offered if the archive is not

fully functioning, as in the case of the cathedral, as ensuring that the records are

well stored, preserved and maintained is more important than creating space for

access.


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2.9 Conclusions

While this literature review is a fairly comprehensive account of the important

aspects of maintaining and running an archive service, it is not an exhaustive study,

and instead focuses on the aspects of archival literature that are themselves most

appropriate to the case of Sheffield cathedral archive. Because of this, there are

certain aspects of archival management that are noticeably absent from this

literature review, namely that of archival arrangement and description, which while

extremely important, has no immediate bearing on Sheffield cathedral archive, as

the archive has many other more pressing considerations before the concept of

arrangement and proper description are considered. Similarly, disaster and

emergency planning literature is also noticeably absent from this literature review,

for the same reasons. Ideally, all aspects of archival management should be given

equal consideration, but due to the time constraints of this research project, it has

become essential to narrow down the key areas of focus, such as funding and

budget constraints, staffing and volunteers, issues of storage and limitations of

access, as well as the study of collection and acquisitions policy and the idea of an

archive as a service, all of which are deemed essential to the main focus of this

project, which is to determine a model of best practice for Sheffield cathedral

archives. Therefore, because of these restraints, regrettably certain aspects of

archival management will not be part of the focus of this research project.


23

3. METHODOLOGY

3.1 INTRODUCTION

This research project will be a sequential multi-method explorative qualitative

study to determine a model of best practice and develop a set of workable

standards for Sheffield Cathedral archive. This research will involve three main

types of analysis, including document analysis, content analysis and interviews with

staff at various archival institutions. For this research it is felt that qualitative

methods would be more appropriate than quantitative methods. With a qualitative

approach to data analysis, the researcher has greater flexibility in both collecting

and analysing data, whereas a quantitative approach involves a much stricter

schedule and analysis field. While a qualitative approach can be more subjective in

nature (Silverman, 2007) than a quantitative method it is beneficial as a research

method, as it seeks to make sense of personal accounts and stories in order to

understand social and human activities and behaviour.

3.2 QUALITATIVE METHODS

Qualitative research takes an interpretive and more natural approach to its subject

matter; qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, and attempt to

interpret, or make sense of data and phenomena in terms of the meanings that

people bring to them. For example:

“Qualitative research begins by accepting that there is a range of

different ways of making sense of the world and is concerned with

discovering the meanings seen by those who are being researched and

with understanding their view of the world rather than that of the

researchers.” (Jones, 1995, 2).


24

The qualitative method used within this research project is that of the interview and

the survey. This is mostly because a large portion of expansive and contextual data

and information can be obtained quickly and simply, and uses naturally occurring

data to locate the interactional sequences in which meaning is deployed (Silverman,

2007). This is of vital importance to this research project, as this qualitative data

provides important background context and facilitates follow up data collection

using content and document analysis, for the rationalisation and clarification of the

opinions and attitude used within both the interview and the surveys in order to

fully explore the research question and topic.

This research project will also be approached using a case study methodology, as

this is the model that best suits both the question and the forms of analysis and

data that will be collected. The distinguishing characteristic of the case-study as a

research strategy is that it attempts to examine a particular phenomenon using a

real life context (Yin, 1986), such as in the case of this research project, where the

phenomenon of a poorly performing archive is examined through the use of

Sheffield cathedral archive as a case in point. Sheffield cathedral archive is them

compared with Durham cathedral archive, a well run cathedral archive. The two

separate archives are compared and contrasted, using a variety of research

techniques, such as document analysis, reflective research reports, content analysis

and interviews and questionnaires in order to collect the required data required for

analysis. Recommendations will then be sought out, based on the data analysis, and

best practice on how the archive can proceed will be identified.

3.3 INTERVIEWS

3.3.1 Process and Data Analysis

An interview has been conducted with Reverend Canon Simon Cowling of Sheffield

cathedral, who is indirectly responsible for the archive. As the archive as no formal

or qualified archivist, Simon Cowling has been identified as the key figure with

regard to looking after the archive. The interview has been conducted in person,


25

performed one on one with the interviewee. The interview was semi structured

with the interview asking questions that allowed the respondent unrestricted

freedom to answer as they wished and to give their honest opinion. Rather than a

formal questionnaire schema, the ‘instrument’ (Kvale and Brinkmann, 2009) there

was a checklist of topics relevant to the archive in which the interviewee was asked

questions from. An empathetic and positive demeanour was maintained

throughout by the researcher so not to influence the interviewee’s answers in any

way. For example, when the researcher asked the interviewee if they thought the

archive had value (Appendix IV) the interviewee was free to interpret and explain

the concept of value as they understood the term to mean, without correction or

interference from the researcher. To prevent the interview from using up a large

amount of time, and inconveniencing the interviewee, the discussion was limited to

forty minutes and questions were focused on specific areas of the archive, such as

electronic media, storage, organisation and future plans for the archive service. This

ensured that the appropriate topics were covered in the allotted time.

The interview was recorded with a digital tape recorder so that the researcher

could concentrate on the flow of the interview and ensure that the interview stayed

on task, ensuring that the interview process was conducted as planned, and to

ensure that crucial interview data would not be omitted or forgotten about.

Recording interviews is a positive as appropriate attention could be focused on the

interviewee, such as maintaining eye contact which is crucial for ensuring that the

interviewee feels comfortable and that the researcher is interested and engaged

with the interview (Kvale and Brinkmann, 2009).

The data was fully transcribed, despite this being a very time consuming process,

with the transcribing process taking an estimated four hours to complete to ensure

that the information was copied correctly and as accurately as possible and the

interview transcript is included in the appendices of this paper (Appendix IV) Later

in the analysis process, the data collected from the interview was divided and

analysed according to each specific objective, selecting the data appropriate for

each objective from the bulk of the text. Kvale and Brinkmann (2009) states that

the method of interview analysis should be collated in a coherent and cohesive


26

way, and dividing the interview data into data that fulfilled the objectives of this

research paper seemed the most logical approach to analysing the information.

3.3.2 Interview Sample and Design

For the purpose of this research project, one interview was conducted, Ideally,

more interviews would have been conducted, but due to certain constraints such as

time, and other practicalities such as a limited interview field; it was in fact difficult

to find people within the cathedral archive service who were willing to be

interviewed and who would be suitable for the purposes of this research project. It

would of course have been beneficial to have more interviewees, but sadly this was

not an option.

The interview was designed to be semi structured, with questions split into several

different related areas, such as barriers, the future of the archive, using digital

media, access, storage and organisation of the archive. The interview followed a

clear, consistent format and progressed logically, for example, the interview

questioning began with exploring the potential barriers to having a successful

archive in general, before moving on to more specific questions pertaining to the

archive such as access to collections (Appendix IV).

3.3.3 Reliability of Interviews

The impartiality of interviews is another important point to consider, especially

when these interviews are recorded. Kvale and Brinkmann (2009) states that

interviews, and the meaning and interpretation of these interviews, depends

entirely on the context of the interview. Therefore, the recorded element of the

interview can directly influence the outcome of the interview, as the subject of the

interview may feel pressured by the presence of the recording equipment and

therefore not give as honest an answer as they would if the equipment was not

present. The interviewee might also feel uncomfortable about giving negative


27

answers about their service or organisation, and instead give a more favourable

answer than what they actually feel.

It has also be claimed that the qualitative interview, which is the type of interview

that is being conducted throughout the course of this research project, is flawed,

due to the human interaction present with the interview situation (Kvale and

Brinkmann, 2009). Objectivity is a large portion of this potential flaw, as both the

interview questions themselves, and the interpretation of data are difficult to keep

free from bias, as the interviewer and researcher has their own expectations from

the interview. Quantitative research could be perceived as being a more objective

form of analysis, as the data is mathematical and more ‘scientific’, whereas the

interpretation of qualitative interview data and compiling of interview questions

can never be fully objective and impartial due to the fact that the researcher is not

analysing scientific data, but is instead analysing opinions and thoughts that either

correspond with the researcher’s own views, or go against them.

Another issue of reliability is ensuring that in a semi-structured interview, the

interviewee both understands the questions and is aware why these questions are

necessary to the interview. To ensure that this was the case, the interviewer tried

to express themselves clearly in order to make sure the interviewee understand

what was being asked of them, and made sure to state that clarification would be

provided if necessary. For example, the interviewer was willing to explain what they

meant by value of an archive service (Appendix IV) if the interviewee required,

although this was not necessary.

3.3.4 Limitations of Interviews

As stated in the reliability portion of the interview methodology, the interviewee

may have certain expectations of what the interviewer is attempting to find out

through the interview and may try to give information which they deem to be

‘correct’, rather than their actual opinion. This is not only a question of reliability

but also a limitation of the interview process. Certain precautions can be taken in


28

order to limit potential bias such as asking a question in a very open way, and

asking the interviewee to explain their answers. For the purpose of this research

project, the interviewee was very open to the archive’s weaknesses and very

honest about the problems the archives faced, making it easier to elicit an unbiased

and honest response.

Another point of contention is the amount of interviews conducted, which for the

purpose of this research project is only one interview. It would be more beneficial

to have a wide range of interviews with people, but time constraints, coupled with

the specificity of this research project, meant that the opportunity for more

interviews were not readily available. Unfortunately it was not possible to conduct

interviews with more cathedral archivists, due to staff holidays or lack of response

from other cathedral archives in the UK. Conducting such a small amount of

interviews is not ideal, and initially three interviews were planned, but

unfortunately the arrangements fell through and in the time constraints of this

research project, one interview was the only option available. Because of the lack

of interview candidates and interview data, it was necessary to supplement this

data with other forms of data analysis. To supplement this interview data, it was

then decided that a small survey would be conducted, alongside reflective research

reports of visits to both Durham and Sheffield cathedral, in order to contrast

Sheffield cathedral archive with a better functioning cathedral archive, therefore

providing a wider and greater range of material and data for analysis than what

would have been produced by extra interviews.

3.4 QUESTIONNAIRES

3.4.1 Questionnaire Design

The research questionnaire offers an objective means of collecting information on

people’s knowledge, beliefs, opinions, attitudes and behaviour. Surveys can be

wide ranging and ambitious, or they can be small and specific, so good survey

design is of the utmost importance in order to get the specific data that is required


29

for the research project in question. Oppenheim (1992) states that the term

‘research design’ refers to the basic plan or strategy of proposed research, and the

logic behind these proposals, and that research design is concerned with making

the research problem researchable by creating the study, or in this case the survey,

in such a way that it will produce specific answers to specific questions. Therefore,

the research design of a survey deals with manipulating the survey in order to fully

gain the information and the answers that will be the most beneficial to the

research study.

The survey was designed to be a brief survey, to take into account the time

constraints of the individuals responding to the survey, with open questions in

order to provoke a freedom of response from the survey participants. The survey

was designed to record the observations of individuals working on the Sheffield

university cathedral archives project in which students catalogued items from the

cathedral archive in order to form a comprehensive and up to date inventory of the

archive’s collections. This survey was designed to gauge the observations, attitudes

and opinions of those surveyed in relation to certain aspects of the archive; such as

how the archive is organised, the storage of items within the archive and access to

the cathedral’s collections. Those individuals who worked on the project are ideal

candidates for the survey as their opinions are formed from having worked

extensively in the cathedral archives over a number of months. Each individual on

the project has a sophisticated understanding of how the archive is organised, as

well as their own personal opinions on how the archive operates, and therefore are

ideal for the purpose of this research project, which is to analyse the state of

Sheffield cathedral archives, and determine a model of best practice for the

cathedral to improve its archival service. Free response or open questions however,

can be difficult to analyse (Silverman, 2007), as there is a large range of potential

answers, something that the closed-questioning form of questionnaire does not

facilitate. However, free response was necessary for the purposes of this research

project, as individual opinion was more important than quantifiable information,

and unique perspectives were preferred over statistical data.


30

3.4.2 Reliability of Questionnaires

The survey used in this research project has relied specifically on the perceptions

and memory of those surveyed, which can often lead to inaccuracies, as it is easy

for personal bias to cloud the responses to the survey. This particular survey has

tried to limit the amount of personal bias by asking survey respondents to explain

their answer fully, using questions such as ‘What evidence do you have to support

your answer?” (Appendix III). By asking the respondent to explain their answer fully,

and to use specific instances from their experience of the archive, this forces the

respondent to consider why they are making the response they are making, and the

more the survey group has to explain and justify their answers, the less likely it is

that they will provide a completely biased response.

Reliability is a major concern with questionnaire design, as questions can easily

contain errors which result in misinterpretation from the end user (Hussey, 1997).

The researcher can try and predict potential misunderstandings or confusions of

those surveyed, but unlike the face to face interview, cannot be clarified in person if

those surveyed are confused by the wording or the meaning of the questions. One

way of preventing this misunderstanding is to attempt to display and lay out the

questions in a logical structure, ensuring that there is a natural ‘flow’ from question

to question so that those surveyed are not confused by jumping from one topic to

the next, which increases understanding. The survey conducted for this research

project was split into three sections of questioning, namely access, organisation and

storage and arrangement of the archive (Appendix III). The survey ends with a

question asking for recommendations for the archive service (Appendix III), thus

providing a good concluding point in which those surveyed can reflect on their

previous answers and conclude in a logical manner.

3.4.3 Limitations of the Questionnaire

For the purpose of this research project, the specific limitations were that of the

sample group. Because the survey questionnaire focused on a very specific area of


31

individuals, i.e. those individuals that had worked on the Sheffield University

cathedral archive project, it was almost impossible for me to pilot and sample my

survey, as the same people who would have been the intended pilot audience,

were the very same people who the survey was intended for, and it was not

possible, due to such a small group of potential survey respondents, to remove any

of these from the survey pool in order to pilot the survey. Instead, the survey was

analysed by Barbara Sen, the project manager of the cathedral archive initiative,

who suggested changes and potential conflicts in the survey. The survey itself was

compiled to be taken by just eight individuals, as these were the individuals working

on the cathedral archive project. Out of these eight individuals there was a 62.5%

response rate. The small amount of people involved in the survey is itself a

limitation, but is however a necessary one, as for the purpose of my questionnaire

it was only possible to survey people who had worked extensively on Sheffield

cathedral archive, this limiting my field of possible respondents significantly.

However, these limitations ensured that the answers I received were by people

with good knowledge of the cathedral archive, whose opinions and answers could

be trusted as being knowledgeable and informed.

3.5 DOCUMENT ANALYSIS


Document analysis is the systematic examination and evaluation of instructional

documents, which for the purpose of this research are documents such as archival

strategy, policy and guidelines on service operation. The focus of this analysis is not

mere overview or description of what the documents contain, but instead should

offer critical examination and analysis of the content of the documents (IAR, 2010).

Document analysis is best utilised when attempting to gain insight from an

instructional activity or approach, as it can help provide a basis for preliminary

observations and to support additional data from other sources of data such as

interviews and questionnaires (IAR, 2010). This research project uses document

analysis as a tool for examining trends in archival practice, and also to gain insight


32

into current best practice in archives. Document analysis findings have also been

used to inform survey questions and interview questions, and have been used to

support this data in the research analysis portion of this research project.

3.5.2 Limitations of Document Analysis

There are however limitations to document analysis, as there is with all methods of

data analysis. The biggest limitation is that document analysis is obviously limited to

what is freely available, or what the researcher can find. There may be more

suitable documents to analyse but through either expense or searching skills, they

have not been utilised. There is also no guarantee that the documents are of the

highest calibre of information. There has been an attempt to avert this limitation

however, through the course of this research project, by using documents from

reputable source such as The National Archive and The International Council on

Archives, both reputable bodies who produce guidelines and standards on a

national and international level and are trusted and recognised by archivists in the

profession as being a reliable source of information. In one instance, documents

from the collection at Sheffield cathedral archives have been analysed, namely,

letters from the previous archivist at the cathedral archive (Appendix II). While

using archival material from the archive being analysed is important, there is no

guarantee, especially with the current state of the archive, that the researcher has

a complete set of documents available in order to give them a complete picture

(IAR, 2010). Documents can be incomplete, and this is something that needs to be

taken into consideration when examining and evaluating source material from an

archive which is currently in disrepair.

3.6 RESEARCH VISITS FOR ANALYSIS PURPOSES



33

An analysis of the physical cathedral archives has been conducted (See Appendix

II) in order to determine the current physical condition of the archive material and

the current situation of the cathedral archive as a whole. This method of analysis

and evaluation is essential in order to determine how to proceed with organising

the archive and exactly what standards and policy need to be implemented. This

has already been conducted partially by the MA Librarianship students during the

cathedral archive project, of which this researcher was a part, but further

investigation has been necessary in order to gain a complete evaluation of the

service. Analysis of the physical archives is integral in order to provide a direct

comparison between the policy and strategies analysed previously, and to

determine how the cathedral is operating based on the best practice standards

offered by institutions such as The National Archives and The International Council

on Archives.

Both the Sheffield cathedral archives and the archives at Durham cathedral have

been evaluated in order to provide a direct comparison between a strong well-

functioning archive (that of Durham) and one with a great deal of faults and

weaknesses such as that of Sheffield. This provides the basis of the gap analysis

used to fulfil the third research objective, which aims to analyse the gap between

the current state at Sheffield cathedral archive and the desired state.

3.6.2 Reflective Research Reports

When conducting the necessary research visits to both Durham and Sheffield

cathedral archive, it became apparent that the best way to evaluate the experience

and the information obtained from both cathedral archives would be to create two

reflective research reports; one for both cathedral archives. Reflective reporting

allows the researcher to evaluate their experience thoughtfully, intelligently and

carefully, and allows the researcher to consider how they know what they know,

and how the acquired this knowledge, (Clarke et al. 1996). Reflective reportage is

key to understanding and documenting the research visits conducted and forms a

primary evidentiary tool for analysing and examining the experience. This research


34

project utilises the “reflection-on-action” conception of reflective practice

illustrated by Morrison (1996) in which the person reflecting “clarify, understand

and interpret meanings, intentions, actions through engaging the theoretical

underpinnings of the practices” (Morrison, 1996, 318). By reflecting on

experiences, it helps put the events into perspective and allows the person

reflecting to draw out the most relevant and significant information out of the

experience and draw insight from it. The use of reflective reports can improve and

enhance a case study (Rosier, 2002) as it allows the researcher to draw on a variety

of different methods to analyse the case in question. Nesbit and Watt (1984) state

that, “The basic principle in data collection for case study is to check your data

across a variety of methods and a variety of sources” thus highlighting that

reflective reportage, along with more traditional methods such as interviewing and

document analysis can provide an extra slant, or perspective which can in turn can

greatly inform the research analysis. This research will use reflective reporting for

the reasons above, and to report and examine the findings of these visits within the

data analysis section of this research project.

3.6.3 Limitations of Reflective Reporting

Reflective practice and creating reflective reports is a time consuming process, as

each sentence should be carefully considered to ensure that the reports are truly

reflective, rather than a retelling of the experience. The reflective reports included

in this research project (Appendices I and II) took several hours to write, as it was

crucial that each reflection was examined and considered carefully to ensure that it

was a true representation of both the experience and what was learned through

the visits. A further limitation is the ability to reflect critically, as not everyone is

well versed in the characteristics of reflective writing. Fortunately, this researcher

has had experience, throughout the course of the Librarianship Masters degree, of

reflective reporting and analysis, as keeping a reflective journal, as well as creating

reflective reports has been one of the key techniques taught throughout the


35

Librarianship course, which has proved immensely useful during this research

project.

3.7 ETHICS

The ethics proposal for this research project has been submitted and this project

has been classified as low risk. An information sheet has been created and designed

and has been given to everyone who has taken part in interviews or has been

surveyed. All those interviewed and surveyed will remain anonymous. The

interviews have been recorded, and all participants are aware of this as these

particulars have been included in both the information sheet and the ethical

consent form which they were required to sign before the interview took place. .

The information sheet outlines exactly how the interviews were conducted and the

type of questions the interviewee would expect. Upon arriving at the interview, the

consent form was signed by both the interviewer and the interviewee, and verbal

consent was asked again to reiterate that both the transcript of the interview would

be used as an appendix in the final research project, and that the interview was

going to be recorded. Throughout the interview there were no personal or non

business or archive related questions asked to the interviewee, so not to cause any

offence or discomfort during the interview process. Both the interviews and the

surveys conducted for the purpose of this research assignment were conducted

under the strictest ethical guidelines.

3.8 OVERALL LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH

A significant overall limitation of this research was the small field of interviewees

and surveyed individuals. Although in the case of those surveyed, this was a

necessary limitation, due to the necessity of surveying only people who had worked

within the cathedral archive on the Sheffield university cathedral archive project.

However, the lack of other interviews was certainly not a necessary or planned

limitation, and it would have been highly beneficial to have a larger interview


36

group. Ideally it would have been preferable to interview someone from Sheffield

Cathedral, and at least two archivists from other cathedral or religious archives.

Unfortunately this was impossible, as York cathedral archive were unable to find

the time to be interviewed, and Durham cathedral archive, whose archivist was

newly in post, preferred an information visit and chat to a formal interview as they

felt they did not currently have the knowledge of the service needed for an in-

depth and formal interview. Therefore it was necessary to make do with the

research opportunities available, and despite the limitations placed upon this

research project, the current research can still provide some very important results

and findings about the cathedral archive service.


37

4. RESEARCH ANALYSIS

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Despite the limitations of this research project, many important elements can be

inferred from the research, which will be discussed during the following chapter.

The way that the results of this research have been analysed is by answering each

objective in turn; using these objectives as headings which inform the research

analysis. This method is the most logical approach to analysing the information, as

each objective links together, forming a coherent path of analysis.

4.2 OBJECTIVE I: TO EVALUATE THE CURRENT SITUATION AT SHEFFIELD CATHEDRAL

ARCHIVE

This objective is best answered through the use of formal management techniques,

as these offer a technical overview of the situation at Sheffield cathedral archive

and allows the user to appraise and take a systematic approach to evaluating the

current status at the cathedral archive. There are many reasons why it is important

for an archive to measure its progress and examine the quality of a service.

Williams (2006) identifies the following rationale for measuring the performance of

an archive:

• improves the quality of your services

• assists with the decisions that have to be made on a daily basis.

• shows you are accountable to your stakeholders in your actions

• enables you to plan realistically, based on past performance

• and involves measuring, evaluating and monitoring your progress systematically.


38

Table 1 (Williams, 2006, 226).

All of these reasons are of importance to this research project. Evaluating the

current service quality of the cathedral archive will help identify the areas that are

the weakest and need the most improvement, allowing for a realistic plan of action

in order to improve.

Initially, it was expected, for the purpose of this project that the HISTOQUAL scale

(Frochot and Hughes, 2000) and the EFQM performance management scale would

be best utilised for this particular objective. However, through careful study of both

of these scales, it was determined that while these scales are useful at measuring

the performance and service quality of an organisation, and can in fact be modified

for use within an archive service (Williams, 2006), they are perhaps best suited for

archives that are significantly better functioning archives than the standards

currently in operation at Sheffield cathedral archive. HISTOQUAL focuses mainly on

a customer facing service, and purports to analyse the effectiveness of many

different features of the service, such as staff responsiveness, tangibles such as

appearance and cleanliness, communication and empathy for visitors (Frochot and

Hughes 2000), all of which is immeasurable in the current cathedral archive set up,

with the exception of the tangibles section of the analysis criteria.

The EFQM performance management scale was also deemed unsuitable. The EFQM

excellence model aims to give institutions a guideline for achieving and measuring

success and offers a somewhat holistic approach to analysing organisations. The

EFQM excellence model focuses predominantly on cyclical improvement but

unfortunately is based on rigid hierarchical concepts on how organisations operate

(Temple, 2005), which are not suitable for comparison with the cathedral archive,

which lacks the traditional staffing procedures found at many other archives. While

the EFQM model is a successful method of analysing a structured organisation, it is

not suitable for the specific organisational methods, or in fact, lack of organisation,

present at the cathedral archive. Another omission of the EFQM excellence model

is that the ‘excellence’ of an organisation is a somewhat nonaligned figure, and

asserts that the EFQM standard of ‘excellence’ is equally applicable across many

different types of organisation or institution (Temple, 2005), for example that the


39

same approaches to leadership are appropriate for every type of institution. Again,

this approach is not suitable for the cathedral archive, as it does not operate in the

same way as a traditional business or organisation, and is bound instead by its own

unique issues and constraints that the EFQM model does not take into account.

As a result, it was then decided that a SWOT analysis would be the most useful

method of analysis, due to its simplicity of design, use and ease of understanding,

as well as its ability to be tailored completely to a particular organisation. The

SWOT analysis is useful as long as the user honestly assesses and recognises the

weak points of the organisation. By using the SWOT analysis is easy to identify areas

needing improvement as well as clearly demonstrating the organisations present

and potential future situations (Ramos and Ortega, 2006).

4.2.1 SWOT ANALYSIS

Table 2 - SWOT analysis

As stated previously, it has been determined that this objective is best answered

through the use of a SWOT analysis. Conducting a SWOT analysis to determine an

organisations strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities is a useful way to

identify the areas that are working well in an organisation and those areas that

need improvement. SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool, but can be useful in

STRENGTHS

Recognition of archive problems

Willingness to implement change

Archive storage is at least safe.

WEAKNESSES

Lack of clean storage facilities

No qualified archivist

No recent inventory or catalogue of archival material

THREATS

Lack ofadequate storage could irreparably damage archival material.

Lack of archival professional means collections are uncared for - in turn

damaging future records of the cathedral.

OPPORTUNITIES

Future development of archive

Funding

Creating links with university

SWOT ANALYSIS


40

understanding more about an organisation or situation. A SWOT analysis allows a

deeper look into the core structure of an organisation and allows insight into how

the institution operates, and is highly effective due to the simplicity of its design

and the ease in which it can be used and understood as a tool of analysis. The

SWOT analysis technique is useful for assessing the effectiveness of an archive

simply by bringing to attention the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation.

What is interesting about the SWOT analysis is that it calls into question both

external and internal issues. The strengths and weaknesses portion of the SWOT

analysis focus on internal issues, elements that can be controlled and managed by

the organisation, whereas the threats portion of the SWOT analysis identifies areas

beyond the organisations control; external factors which could place the

organisation at risk. The opportunities portion however, offers external positive and

attractive factors that both provide and offer the organisation a way to continue to

exist and develop (CIPD, 2010)

Using data collected from frequent research visits to the archive (as outlined in

Appendix II) and through a small survey conducted by members of the Sheffield

university cathedral archives project, it has been possible to identify key issues for

this SWOT analysis.

STRENGTHS

The cathedral archive does not currently have a lot of obvious strengths. It is

underperforming as an archive, and has been neglected for a long period. However,

the current cathedral staff have recognised that there are problems with their

archive, and have reached out to Sheffield university in order to rectify this

situation (Appendix II). The cathedral is showing a willingness to change the current

state of the cathedral archive, which can only be an organisational strength. This

willingness to implement change needs to be maintained and built upon, as good

morale of staff is vital when attempting to better or change an archive. A proactive

approach is important when fixing problems within an organisation, and the fact

that the cathedral has recognised that the archive needs improvement can only be

seen as a positive, therefore is a strength of the archive. The archive storage facility,


41

although containing many weaknesses and faults, is at least a fireproof

environment. While the facilities may damage the archives over time due to their

impracticality, the archives are contained within a cathedral vault, behind fireproof

doors; therefore keeping them in such an environment is akin to storing them in a

safe.

WEAKNESSES

The weaknesses present within the archive are considerably more pronounced than

the strengths. The main weaknesses identified are a lack of clean storage facilities

and correct storage boxes, a lack of trained archival staff, and no clear knowledge

of what is contained within the archive due to an outdated inventory list. The

British Standard BS 5454:2000, the standard for Recommendations for the Storage

and Exhibition of Archival Documents, states that unsuitable storage environments

damage documents more extensively than any other factor present within an

archive (BS 5454:2000). This standard is the benchmark used when assessing the

storage facilities and environment of an archive, and how successful this

environment is. Dampness and poor ventilation may cause mould to develop,

whereas too dry an environment can cause documents to become brittle, high

temperatures and humidity can cause rapid deterioration of documents (BS

5454:2000). Essentially, humidity, temperature, light and airborne pollutants all

contribute to the deterioration of archival material. Within a storage area these factors

can be controlled and monitored to ensure optimum conditions.

Sheffield cathedral archive is contained within a basement vault, which is dusty, dirty

and unclean. The room is small, and the larger items in storage have to be placed on

the floor as there is not room for them on the shelves. The room is not temperature or

humidity controlled or monitored in any way (Appendix II). Therefore currently, the

storage facilities within the archive are a serious weakness, and the lack of adequate

storage could potentially damage the archival collections further. The current storage

facilities need to be cleaned thoroughly to avoid further damage to the material, if no

other space can be found to house the materials, and the collection needs to be


42

repackaged in acid free paper and boxes, rather than the non archive standard boxes

and cases in which they are currently stored.

The lack of a trained archivist is a significant weakness also, as there is no one

currently employed by the cathedral that has the knowledge and the skills to

properly care for the archive, thus contributing to the neglect and disrepair of the

archive. Currently, the archive does not have the budget or the funds to employ an

archivist in either a full time or part time position, and without proper continuous

care and attention the archive is weak, and the collections are likely to continue to

deteriorate. Lack of funding for the archive is a serious weakness, without money

the archive is unlikely to be able to improve. Money is needed for improved storage

facilities, for the correct archive boxes and shelving, as well as for members of staff.

While the archive is currently using volunteers from Sheffield University, there is no

substitute for a trained employee, who has the necessary time and skills needed to

dedicate to the archive. The National Archives Standard for Record Repositories

(2004b) states that if an archive repository has no appropriately qualified staff,

they “should formally seek regular advice on such matters as acquisition, storage,

conservation and cataloguing from a professionally qualified archivist in another

repository or from The National Archives” (The National Archives, 2005b, 9). This is

also something that has not previously been undertaken by the cathedral, but could

be utilised in the present in order to improve the cathedral archive, and allow for

some degree of support from a qualified archivist in lieu of adequate funding for

the cathedral’s own qualified archivist.

There is currently also a lack of knowledge about what is contained within the

cathedral archive, by the staff at the cathedral. The cathedral archive lacks an up-

to-date inventory and catalogue, which in turn prevents the cathedral staff from

placing value on their archive, therefore making it more likely that staff will neglect

the collection as they are unaware of the importance of their archives. A lack of

knowledge about the cathedral’s collections is definitely a weakness in the archive.

Schwartz and Cook (2002) identify archives as having ‘power’, stating that archives

are created as an opportunity to protect or enhance an organisation or institutions


43

position in society, and that archives have tremendous power over the identity and

collective memory of an institution. Therefore according to Schwartz and Cook; if

an organisation does not place value upon its archives, or has no knowledge of

what is present in their archive stores, they are also neglecting to place value or

importance on the organisation or institution as a whole. If records are lost due to

neglect, an important part of the cathedral’s identity is lost also. Therefore, it is in

the cathedral’s best interests to maintain an accurate record of their collections, to

manage their collections fully, as these collections help shape the identity of their

cathedral, both now and in the future.

OPPORTUNITIES

The opportunities for the cathedral archive have been narrowed down to three

distinct categories. Firstly, the cathedral has an important link with Sheffield

University Information Studies department, one that could be utilised further for

maximum impact. Secondly, there is the opportunity for funding, and lastly, the

cathedral’s large amount of weaknesses can be turned into a positive; that there is

ample room for development, even if progress is slow. The links with Sheffield

University are an important opportunity for Sheffield cathedral archive. The

cathedral already has links with the university through various events, such as the

Sheffield Arts Festival (Appendix IV), and has in the past year cultivated a link with

Sheffield university Information Studies department. Through Barbara Sen,

Sheffield cathedral archives and the information studies department at the

university have formed something of an alliance together in order to create the

cathedral archive project currently in operation at the archive. As stated within the

interview conducted for the purposes of this research project;

“I consulted another colleague on, who was the chaplain of the

university, and he said it would be the department of information

studies at Sheffield, and I just contacted, actually I think I contacted

Barbara direct, I just flew a kite, and it was great. So far it’s been

really, really helpful.” (Appendix IV)


44

The link between the university and the cathedral is an important link that is ripe for

development and opportunity. While the archive project has only been in operation

for a year at Sheffield, it would be an excellent idea to continue with the project,

something that the cathedral has identified previously; “this project isn’t a yearlong

project, there is much more to do than that” (Appendix IV). Currently, the archive is

only half completed (Appendix II), with much work still needed before the collection

is fully inventoried and catalogued. Therefore, there is plenty of opportunity for a

further project partnership between the university and the cathedral archive.

Although the cathedral has previously been concerned that they are taking

advantage of the free labour (Appendix IV), the project is mutually beneficial, with

both the cathedral and the students undertaking the Archives and Records

Management course benefitting from the project. The cathedral benefits by having

additional help in cataloguing and inventorying its collections, while the students

gain valuable practical experience of working in an archive and experiencing first-

hand the challenges that archives face.

Gaining funding is also an obvious opportunity for the cathedral. There are several

opportunities for funding but most notable is HLF (Heritage Lottery Fund) funding,

which has given over eighty million pounds in funding to UK archives (National

Council of Archives, 2010), which has recently granted £50,000 to the

Cambridgeshire Community Archives Network in order to give their archives an

online presence (Heritage Lottery Fund 2010). While the cathedral archive has

already submitted a bid for HLF funding, of which they will find out the outcome in

September (Appendix IV), if they are not successful with their bid there is much that

they can do to ensure success at a later date. As stated previously in the literature

review, it is important that the person applying for funding truly understands and

knows their archive well, as “what people really want to hear is who and what your

organization is, what you’re all about and where you’re heading” (Bray, 2008,

32).Therefore, developing the archive alongside the university, will enable the

cathedral to pinpoint exactly the areas of the cathedral archive most needing

development, and target their funding bids accordingly.

THREATS


45

The two biggest threats to the cathedral archive are that of storage, and the lack of

a professional archivist. These two threats could ostensibly and irrevocably damage

the cathedral’s archival collections if solutions are not found As stated previously, it

is oft believed that unsuitable storage environments damage documents more

extensively than any other factor present within an archive (British Standard

5454:2000). Therefore, by neglecting to improve the storage facilities there is a

significant risk of further damage to the archival collection, through dirt, damp,

mould and age. Certain members of the cathedral staff have highlighted their

concerns at the current storage at the archive stating;

“...there is no light, it’s dusty, dirty, and storage is a problem as

there are no boxes for anything. The ‘tank’ as we call it, in the

undercroft, is damp, and full of dust, again not very adequate

lighting, there is no space to move around.” (Appendix IV).

Therefore, the current storage facilities are a serious concern, and the biggest

current threat to the archival collections. It is much easier to take preventative

steps than to repair damage. Therefore, although the cathedral does not have the

space to move the current collections out of their current environment (Appendix

IV), it is integral that the collections are protected as much as possible so that

damage from their current environment is at least slowed down, if not altogether

prevented. This means that the biggest priority of the cathedral is to generate some

funding in order to buy archive standard boxes and acid free paper, and to clean

the current storage facilities.

Another major threat on the cathedral archive’s future is the lack of a trained and

qualified archivist. Not only does an archivist physically cares for the collections, but

also creates archive policy to inform the decisions about the archive and its

collections and allows for a clear path of progression and development for the

archive. The decline of Sheffield cathedral archive in a sense is directly related to its

lack of an archivist. The staff at the cathedral have identified that the staff at the

cathedral are unaware of whose role it is to look after the archive (Appendix IV).

The current staff at the cathedral feels that this is not their role to manage the


46

archive collections, and therefore the archive has been left to decline. The lack of

an archivist at the cathedral has led to uncertainty and little awareness of the

archive and the value that it has for the cathedral.

Having an archivist immediately means that more value is placed on the archive.

An archivist would manage the collections effectively, as well as managing the team

of volunteers from the university, and using them to develop the archive in the

most suitable way. An archivist would also continue to monitor the archive to

ensure that the archive is not left to decline again. However, as with most of the

improvements needed at the cathedral, employing an archivist requires money,

money in which the cathedral does not currently have. Sheffield cathedral are

currently bidding for funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and if successful, one

of the most important ways the money should be spent is by hiring a trained

professional, even on a part time basis.


47

4.3 OBJECTIVE II: TO IDENTIFY ANY EXISTING BEST PRACTICE ESTABLISHED WITHIN

UK CATHEDRALS AND OTHER HERITAGE SITES

4.3.1 Introduction

Establishing best practice in archives is more than a matter of simply critically

appraising, evaluating and implementing research findings, but instead involves

combining this judgement with professional experience and judgement (Davies,

1999). Much professional practice in archives is performed on the basis that many

of the processes and actions that form best practice have been formed from an

archival tradition; that things have always been done this way, and therefore carry

the authority of many trained archivists over a long period of time. Therefore, the

opinions and experiences of these archivists, and established archival bodies such

as The National Archive and The Council on Archives, can be more important than

research alone (Davies, 1999). For example, The National Archives aims is to

support the records management community, and are the lead body in the UK in

developing guidance and practice for information management professionals and

archivists (The National Archives, 2010). The standards and policies created by

these archival bodies are then of vital importance when establishing and identifying

a method of best practice, as they have been formed by many archivists to be

workable practical standards.

4.3.2 Identifying Best Practice

Business Link (2010) identifies best practice as “finding - and using - the best ways

of working to achieve your business objectives” and involves learning from, and

through the experience of others in the field. Implementing best practice can

improve the service of the organisation and work to make the best of an

organisation. Any organisation involved in the provision and access to archives

needs to operate within a structured framework of standards (Williams, 2006), and

if the organisation does not operate to these prescribed standards, it will be

difficult for it to function correctly. Therefore, it is important to identify the

standards which are most useful to the particular archive or organisation, and


48

understand what constitutes best practice for the archive. While many standards

offer an ideal of how an archive should operate, there are limitations for the

ordinary archive, through funding, staffing and facilities, so it may not be possible

to accommodate all the advice present within the standards themselves. Instead, it

is important to examine the advice and strategies present within the standards, and

determine what aspects are realistically possible for the archive to implement

within their service. The National Archive’s Standard for Record Repositories

(2004b) is the benchmark standard for assessing and exacting a model of best

practice for archives, and contains a significant amount of useful information for

managing, developing, and making the most of an archive.

4.3.3 Storage

Best practice for archival storage involves a number of different factors; such as the

building the archives are housed in, and the equipment and materials used to keep

the archive safe. Good storage is vastly important to an archive; without it, it is

almost impossible to keep an archive in good condition. The Council of Museum,

Libraries and Archives offers a checklist for self assessment of archives in which to

assess the storage facilities and the standard of these facilities (Council of Museum,

Libraries and Archives, 2002), which will help inform whether the storage facilities

within the archive are adequate. The British Standard BS 5454:2000 documents the

best practice for storing archival collections. While some of the advice, such as

automatic fire- suppression systems and secondary lighting systems (BS 5454:2000)

are way above the reach of most archive services due to lack of funding, but there

is much practical advice that should be considered when establishing an archive

that is detailed within this standard. For example when considering shelving, BS

5454:2000 states that all shelving should be made from carbon steel and the

dimensions should be specified to accommodate the archive material fully. Lighting

and air are also important factors, and the storage facilities should be well

ventilated, lighting should be energy efficient and of a low exposure to prevent

damage to the archive material. Storage facilities should be above ground, and

there should be no abrupt temperature fluctuations. The storage facility should be


49

large enough to cope with the amount of archival material within the archive and

provide reasonable excess space for future acquisitions.

Standard BS 5454:2000 also states that packaging for storage should fit the

document properly, without the document being adapted or folded in order to fit

the container, and be made up of un-dyed, acid-free materials which will have no

adverse effects on the documents. Loose sheets should be stored flat in

appropriate custom folders, and outsize documents should be either rolled or

stored flat on archival boards. Boxes should be marked clearly and permanently to

ensure correct replacement within the archive, so the collection items can be found

easily. The National Archives Standard for Record Repositories (2004b) also offer

useful guides for best practice when storing archival material, all of which conform

to the British Standard BS 5454:2000. The National Archives standard states that

the archive building must be made of a robust material such as concrete or brick

and must be able to support the weight of the materials, and be away from drains

or plumbing to avoid any potential water damage (The National Archives, 2004b).

Archive storages should contain smoke detectors, and the archive should contain

fire resistant doors. Following this practice and the advice given in BS 5454:2000

and The National Archive’s Standard for Record Repositories will ensure that the

archival collections have longevity, and are protected fully.

4.3.4 Staffing

The National Archive’s Standard for Record Repositories (2004) states that an

archive should employ at least one trained archivist with relevant experience in the

subject of the archive, a qualified conservator, either in direct employ, or a contact

at a nearby archive, and one or more non-professional archivists. Currently, the

archive at Sheffield cathedral is unable to employ a trained archivist due to lack of

funding, but The National Archives also offers guidelines to those institutions

without a qualified archivist in their employ, which will prove useful to the

cathedral archive. The standard states;

“The governing body should formally seek regular advice on such

matters as acquisition, storage, conservation and cataloguing from a


50

professionally qualified archivist in another repository or from The

National Archives” (The National Archives, 2004b, 9).

This is a best practice standard that should be utilised by the cathedral, either by

consulting an archivist at nearby Sheffield city archives service, or at a

neighbouring cathedral. Staffing is a large issue for religious archives, and Durham

cathedral archives, with its collection spanning over one thousand years, still

operates with a limited amount of staff, namely two archivists to attend to the

cathedral archive collections.

4.3.5 Acquisitions and Collection Management

Sheffield cathedral archive is currently without an acquisitions or collections

policy, leaving the cathedral without clear guidelines on what they should and

should not collect (Appendix IV). There is much standards and policy on the subject

of acquisitions management, but for the purpose of this research project, and to

fulfil this objective, standards from The National Archive and from Sheffield city

archive have been utilised in order to document best practice in acquisitions

management. Firstly, The National Archive’s Standard for Record Repositories

(2004b) states that every effort should be made to avoid duplication of material

collected within other archives and each archive should have a defined collection

policy which indicates the scope of the archive, both the geographic focus and the

subject area which the archive will collect from. The Church of England provides a

guide on what religious archives should keep and what they should discard or

destroy (Church of England, 2009a), but this is not an exhaustive list, and a

collection policy is still necessary.

If the archive is not able to care properly for the archive material, another archive

may be approached for the suitable storage of the item, as proper care for the

item is more important than where the item is held. The National Archive’s Archive

Collection Policy Statements (2004a) provides a brief summary of the type of

statements and wording needed for an acquisitions policy, and should be


51

consulted when creating an acquisitions policy. Highlighted areas of collection

include geographical area, subject area, chronological period or genre/media of the

records, a deaccessioning policy, as well as details of any items that are held

elsewhere. All these elements are integral to an inclusive collections policy, a copy of

which when completed should be sent to The National Archives (The National

Archives, 2009a). A solid collections policy is a vital document, which helps an archive

deal with funding agencies, donors, administrators and archive users alike (Ramos and

Ortega, 2006). If the motives of an archive are questioned, the collections policy can

help defend the archives methods and procedures. It is an essential tool of any

archive, and The National Archive’s guidelines on how to complete this policy

successfully, are integral to the best practice procedures of any archive.

4.3.6 Access

As with acquisitions, there is much literature and strategy on access to archives.

However, much of this policy and strategy is unhelpful for the cathedral’s current

situation, which does not have the facilities or the standard of archive needed to

allow access to its collections. Access to archives is defined by Williams (2006), as

applying the following four key principles;

Table 3 – Williams’ Definitions of Access in Archives

Equity: to serve all users in a community, without discrimination.

Communication and Openness: to offer open, two-way communication

with your community and policies which are available for scrutiny and

comment.

Responsiveness: to respond effectively to comments and complaints;

review performance and make improvements; reflect views and interests

of stakeholders.

Effectiveness and efficiency: provide best value for money; seek innovation;

actively manage risk.

Williams (2006, p.131)


52

These statements are an important aspect of access to archives, and are something

in which the archive at Sheffield cathedral should eventually aim to include within

its service. As stated previously however, the cathedral archive is currently in no

state to offer any kind of access to its service and collections, so for the purpose of

this objective, these methods of best practice are hypothetical for the moment, and

contingencies for the future, after the archive has developed enough to allow

access to its collections.

The National Archives Standard for Record Repositories (2004b) states that an

archive should provide a study area or reading room in which users can peruse the

archival collections. Regulations for access to the archives should be made public,

and details of opening hours should be readily available, with the archive service

accounting and considering the needs of the users of the service. Users should be

able to produce proof of identity before being allowed to view collections, with no

coats bags or pens allowed near the archive material in order to prevent damage or

potential theft of archival material (The National Archive, 2004b). Any reading room

should be supervised by a member of staff. All records available to the public

should be clearly catalogued and described, with finding aids in place and

compatible with international and national guidelines. Ideally facilities should be

available for photocopying with regard for copyright. Providing access to archival

collections is one of the fundamental goals of any archive (Ramos and Ortega,

2006), one which should be approached with caution. Above all, archival access, in

contrast with libraries, is not a right but a privilege, and protecting the collection is

more important than providing access. Therefore, in the case of Sheffield cathedral

archive, it is more important to ensure that the collection is well cared for, well

stored and maintained, than to allow users to view and use the collections, and

while it is a elemental aspect of an archival service to offer access, it is not a

priority, and should not be developed above other aspects of the archive service.


53

4.4 OBJECTIVE III: EVALUATING THE GAP BETWEEN CURRENT PRACTICE AND THE

DESIRED STATE

4.4.1 Introduction

Benchmarking is an important part of evaluating an organisation and comparing the

organisation against the best competition available for analysis (Balm, 1996). Balm

(1996) sums up benchmarking as;

“...the ongoing activity of comparing one’s own process, practice,

product, or service against the best known similar activity so that

challenging but attainable goals can be set and a realistic course of

action implemented to efficiently become and remain best of the

best in a reasonable time.” (Balm, 1996).

Benchmarking is an excellent tool for gaining new ideas and also for trying to

ascertain exactly where an organisation is lacking, and attempt to find a way in

which to improve. This research project will attempt to use benchmarking methods

such as gap analysis in order to determine how far Sheffield cathedral archive is

from its desire state, as a well functioning archive.

4.4.2 Gap Analysis

Gap analysis is conventionally used for management purposes, in conjunction with

service quality analysis in order to assess how a user finds the service, and how this

service measures up against the ideal (Brown and Schwartz, 1998). This version of a

gap analysis takes a decidedly different approach, and instead uses a model devised

by Chambers and Wakley, 2006). This particular model asks two key questions, the

first being “Where are we now?” and the second, “Where do you want to be?”

(Chambers and Wakley, 2006, 2), and while this approach was initially devised for

the NHS for implementing self-care for patients, the same techniques can be used

for assessing the current situation at the cathedral archive. Instead of focusing on

the service, which as stated before, is the main goal of much of the management

related literature on gap analysis (Headley and Choi, 1992), which offers a statistical

analytical approach. This model however, serves as an action plan, in which the


54

current performance of the physical archive is assessed against the desired future

position, as opposed to the service it provides, and details the actions needed to

reach the desired position (Chambers and Wakley, 2006). The gap analysis (Table 4)

then, alongside reflective research reports on both Sheffield cathedral archive and

Durham cathedral archive, which is itself a well-performing cathedral archive

service, can be used to assess and evaluate the current gap between what is

actually in place at the archive, and the desired future of the archive.

Based on the gap analysis diagram (Table 4) conducted for the purpose of this

research project, it can be assumed that Sheffield cathedral archive has a huge gap

to overcome before it can reach the ‘ideal’ archive service, outlined within Figure 3.

Sheffield cathedral archive also has a large path of progress necessary before it

reaches the level of Durham cathedral archive service, which for the purpose of this

research, has been outlined as a ‘good’ working archive model. Therefore, it can

clearly be identified that there is enormous progress needed before Sheffield

cathedral archive resembles in any way a ‘proper’ working archive. The main areas

identified within the gap analysis are the same as those identified earlier in the

SWOT analysis (Table 3), namely a lack of proper storage and containment for the

archive material, lack of an archivist and non-existent funding.

Durham cathedral archive has currently two archivists in place at the cathedral

(Appendix I) and the ideal archive has at least one qualified archivist in place

(Ramos and Ortega, 2006). Sheffield cathedral archive, as stated previously, has no

trained archivist and no money with which to employ one. This is an enormous gap

to close, as funding is needed in order for this to occur. There are steps that the

cathedral can take to partially close this gap, which will be explored more

thoroughly in the recommendations portion of this research project, as it is

important to devise a cohesive action plan, in order to close all gaps in the service

and show a commitment to the development of the service (Martensen and

Dahlgaard, 1999). However, volunteers can be utilised, through the cathedral’s

archive project in conjunction with the university to at least bring some sense of

order into the archive and its collections until more permanent measures can be

introduced.


55

There is also a large gap concerning storage, both in the building and facilities used

to house the collection and with the materials used to package and contain the

archival collection itself. Sheffield cathedral archive storage is wholly unsatisfactory

for its purpose, with many failings, as previously identified within the SWOT analysis

conducted. The storage conditions are cramped, dirty, and damp in places, and

without proper ventilation. The facilities have been identified by members of the

university cathedral archive project as being unsuitable. A student states; “there are

no lights. It’s too small. Access is precarious. The environment is not conducive to

conservation” (Appendix III). Compared with the storage facilities at Durham

cathedral, which houses its archives in controlled and monitored environments,

with documents stored in archive quality boxes and folders, and on archive quality

shelving (Appendix I), which follows the ‘ideal’ standards of an archive, for example,

low temperatures with air movement, metal shelving, and low lighting (BS

5454:2000), Sheffield cathedral archive has a large gap to fill. Proper archival

storage is incredibly important to an archive store, and this is something that must

be rectified, or an attempt must be made to resolve this, as soon as possible.

Sheffield cathedral archive also has no displays or exhibition of its archive material.

Although this is not a necessary function of an archive, it is a successful way of

introducing the archive to the community, and promoting the archive material.

Durham cathedral archive displays items of the collection to visitors of the

cathedral in the cathedral library, which is left partially open at one side so that

visitors can view both the library and the archival material (Appendix I). Exhibiting

various items of the archival collection promotes awareness of the archive and

seeks to ‘inform, educate and entertain’ (Appendix III), others about the archive.

Sheffield cathedral archive also offers no access to its archive, due to the disrepair

of the archive and the lack of structure of the collections, as well as being unable to

find the space needed for a reading room for users of the archive.

The National Council on Archives Standard on Access to Archives (2008) states that

archives have a duty to provide access to their collection and should offer the public

a reading area, conform to health and safety measures, include proper finding aids

and be catalogued following archival standards. Durham cathedral offers all of


56

these things as well as access to its collections both on site and remotely through

email enquiries and photocopies (Appendix I), with both a reading room and a

library for its users. Sheffield cathedral archive is presently unable to offer any of

these services, and therefore the gap between the ideal standards of access and

what Sheffield cathedral can offer is vast. The cathedral does not have the space to

offer these facilities, and the archive is in no state to offer access to users in its

current condition.

Rectifying these gaps will involve a long and drawn out process. Currently, Sheffield

cathedral archive is operating greatly below the ‘ideal’ archival practice, and

resolving these issues will involve both money and time. If the archive can gain

funding, it will give the archive an important monetary injection which could mean

that the archive could fix the storage facilities and employ an archivist, which would

benefit the cathedral archive immensely. Significant progress at Sheffield cathedral

archive is needed before it can provide access to its collections and before it can

fully adhere to standards set by archival bodies. However, no cathedral archive is

perfect, and even successful cathedral archives such as the archive at Durham have

their problems; Durham still has difficulties with finding funds to complete projects

and to employ staff (Appendix I). Essentially, an archive is a continuous work in

progress, and will need constant improvement to both the archive service and the

physical archive space. Identifying the gaps between the current archive, and where

the archive wishes to be is a useful process, as it gives the archive the knowledge of

how exactly to improve its service, and create action plans for future initiatives.


57

WHERE DOES THE CATHEDRAL ARCHIVE WANT TO BE?

The ideal archive, which Sheffield cathedral archive is striving for contains the following:

Staff: A trained archivist.

Storage facilities: Ample storage space, with documents and archival items stored in acid-free paper and boxes.

Free from direct sunlight, clean and free from dust, dry – with no less than 45-55% humidity (Ramos and Ortega, 2006).

Storage supplies should include: metal shelving, plastic clips, acid free: boxes, wrapping paper, folders and envelopes.

Exhibition Space: Display cabinets to exhibit parts of the collection.

Access to the Public: Space for a small reading room.

Collection fully inventoried and catalogued, with finding aids.

Equipment: Copying facilities, a workbench, brush or vacuum cleaner, fire extinguishers and detectors.

WHERE IS THE CATHEDRAL ARCHIVE NOW?

The current state of the cathedral archive is vastly different from the ideal situation. Which is as follows:

Staff: No trained archivist or information professional.

Storage Facilities: Severe lack of space, items placed on floor and are not contained within archive safe boxes or paper.

Current storage facility is dark, but with no way to let pass through. It is dirty, dusty and in places – damp. Temperature and humidity are not controlled or measured in any way.

Exhibition Space: The archive has no current exhibition space, and the material is in no fit state to be exhibited.

Access to the Public: There is no current access available to the public as the cathedral does not have a record of what is, and what is not, in the archive due to a lack of complete inventory.

There is no space for a reading room.

There is no equipment specifically for the archive.

Actions

1. Funding is critical in order to progress with

the development and the repair of the

archive.

2. The single most important item on the list

of improvements is for the storage facilities

to be cleaned, and for the items to be

placed within archive recommended

storage material.

3. A trained member of staff is needed, but

this will not be possible unless funding is

required; in the immediate future,

volunteers can be utilised in order to

continue with improvements to the service

THE GAP THAT NEEDS TO BE CLOSED

Table 4 – Gap Analysis. Model taken from: http://www.selfcareconnect.co.uk/uploads/self_care_toolkit/sc4pc_tools/Tool5.pdf


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4.5 OBJECTIVE IV: TO RECOMMEND A BEST PRACTICE STANDARD FOR

SHEFFIELD CATHEDRAL ARCHIVE

4.5.1 Introduction

The issues present at the Sheffield cathedral archive have been discussed in detail

throughout the course of this research project, and analysed through the use of

SWOT analysis and gap analysis, as well as identifying best practice present in

various archive policy and strategy. While these methods are an excellent starting

point for analysis, what methods such as the SWOT analysis and gap analysis do not

offer is a course of recommendation that can be implemented in order to improve

and develop the existing archive. Certain recommendations for the improvement

of the archive have a number of conditions attached, and the biggest condition is

that of funding. However, improvements to the service are also considered and

examined, which do not need funding in which to be executed. It is important to

establish ways in which the cathedral can progress with a small budget, as the harsh

reality of the archive sector is that many organisations and institutions are forced to

operate with a small budget, or experience regular budget cuts (Cassarchis, 1999).

4.5.2 Creating an Archive Policy for the Archive at Sheffield

Cathedral.

As stated previously in the best practice section of this research project, the archive

at Sheffield cathedral is currently without a clear and unified archival policy. The

cathedral has a basic archive policy (Appendix VI), but this policy is in no way

detailed or specific enough to act as a cohesive policy which can inform the archive

and the cathedral staff on the proper care of the collections, and the aims of the

archive. The current cathedral policy (Appendix VI) instead focuses on what archival

material should be kept and for how long, and what should be disposed of. While

this is useful, it should form only part of the completed policy, not be the focus of it.

The main archive policy, which is itself a strategic document (Williams, 2006),

should not be too detailed, and more comprehensive and thorough policies should

be developed for various aspects of an archival service, such as collections, access


59

and deaccessioning policies. However, the cathedral staff have identified that the

lack of a cohesive policy has a serious effect on the archives themselves. The

Reverend Canon Simon Cowling states;

“...there has been no policy, that’s what it amounts to. If you have a

policy, you have something to help you take care of it. If there is no

policy, there is no procedure as to what to do; they don’t know

what they have to do. They bundle it up until eventually it finds its

way into the tank downstairs. If you don’t have a policy, then you

have no idea how to care, and it is very difficult to find a way

forward. If the service doesn’t run on a Sunday morning, then I take

the hit, that is my role, but the archives have not been anybody’s

role, so have been left. There is no one to take accountability.”

(Appendix IV).

Lack of policy has left the archive at Sheffield cathedral at a distinct disadvantage.

It is of the utmost importance that the archive creates and develops a complete

archive policy, a template of which is included in Appendix V. This archive policy

outlines the archives goals, visions and mission statement, as well as including a

collection, access and deaccessioning policy. The archive needs this in order to

understand exactly what the role of the cathedral archive is, and the role in which

the cathedral staff play in the development and maintenance of the archive.

Therefore, it is highly recommended that new policy be developed.

It is advised, that the cathedral archive calls upon the expertise of both the

Information Studies department at Sheffield University, of which it has links with,

and also expertise from trained archivists at The National Archives, or Sheffield city

archives. As stated previously, The National Archive’s Standard for Record

Repositories notes that if an archive has no trained archivist in place it should

formally seek regular advice from a professionally qualified archivist in another

repository or from The National Archives (The National Archives, 2004b). This will

aid the cathedral in the creation of a solid archive policy which will not only

document the vision, the mission and the objectives of the cathedral and its


60

archive, but also qualify whose role within the cathedral it is to be responsible for

various aspects of the archive service. Unfortunately, without the aid of a trained

archivist, and without the funding to employ a qualified individual, the

responsibility falls on cathedral staff to ensure that the collections are maintained.

The original cathedral archive policy lists specific individuals in the employ of the

cathedral to take responsibility for ensuring that relevant material is retained within

the archive (Appendix VI), but while these individuals are held responsible for

ensuring this material is kept at the cathedral, they are not currently responsible for

ensuring that the material is cared for and preserved according to archival

standards. Therefore, it is recommended that an inspection takes place at regular

intervals, to ensure that the collections are being managed accordingly, which will

motivate the cathedral staff to ensure that the archival collections are not left to

fall into disrepair, which has been the case previously. The National Archive offers

an inspection service in which an inspection is carried out by a member of the

National Advisory Service staff (The National Archives, 2005), or the cathedral could

call upon an archivist or conservator at Sheffield city archives to inspect the archive.

For example, Durham cathedral archive undergoes regular inspections from one of

the universities conservators, to ensure that the collections in the cathedral archive

are being maintained to standard (Appendix I), which ensures that the collections

do not fall into disrepair through lack of care. While a complete inspection is not

recommended at this early stage, it would be useful at a later date to monitor the

progress and development of the archive, and to ensure that after the long process

of re-creating order to the archive and its collections, the collection is maintained,

and that the current state of the cathedral archives, which is one of disrepair, is not

allowed to return.

These inspections or visits from a trained professional, if implemented, should be

documented within the cathedral’s archival policy in order to ensure that the

commitment to development and maintenance of the collections is recognised and

acknowledged. A mission statement and core values of the archive should also be

developed in order to articulate the organisations purpose, business and value

(Williams, 2006). Having a clear mission statement and a core set of values,


61

alongside a strategic and structured archive policy can aid the archive in its pursuit

of funding. Funding agencies feel more secure in handing out funding to individuals

and organisations with identifiable aims and goals, all of which can be determined

from a strong archive policy, and additional policy documents (Cassarchis, 1999).

As mentioned previously, the archive policy is not the only policy document needed

for the archive. The archive policy should include a brief summary of its collections,

access and deaccessioning policy, but separate and more thorough policy

documents are needed (Williams, 2006). For the purpose of the current cathedral

archive, an access policy is perhaps not crucial at the moment, as the archive has no

means of offering access to its collections, and instead a collections and

deaccessioning policy are more relevant for the cathedral’s current needs,

especially with regards to the current inventorying of the cathedral collections

which is being conducted by the university archive. The lack of knowledge on what

to collect has been a problem of Sheffield cathedral archive, and has been

acknowledged by staff at the cathedral, who recognise the lack of collection aims

(Appendix IV). Appendix V details a template of the information needed for a

comprehensive collections policy which will allow for the cathedral archive to be

evaluated and ensure that it includes the materials best suited to the archive. A

collections policy or strategy is a practical and systematic plan for enhancing

collections (Williams, 2006). It is important to evaluate archives collections against

the acquisitions or collections policy in order to determine whether the current

collections adhere with the strategy or should be moved on to another archive or

disposed of completely. Collections policy gives a structure to an archive; it informs

what the archive collects and also why they collect. Although most small archives

and non-profit organisations acquire their collections more by accident than design

(Ramos and Ortega, 2006) through donations from the public, it is still important to

evaluate and be clear about the collection aims of an archive.

A deaccessioning policy is also recommended, as through the development of the

cathedral archive it will be necessary to remove certain items from the archive, and

it is important to have a clear rationale of why materials should be deaccessioned.

Deaccessioning can be a controversial practice (Ramos and Ortega, 2006), so it is


62

vital that the archive holds policy stating who is responsible for the decision to

remove items from the archive, and list criteria on why archival stock is being

removed from the archive, such as physical condition, collection development, or

the item not fitting with the archive’s collections policy (The National Archives,

2004b). All the above practices and policy implementations will ensure that the

cathedral archive is clearer on why it exists, and why it is important, and therefore

is a necessary procedure. Having clear policies in place will not only aid the

cathedral in maintaining and improving its collections, but will help inform future

staff at the cathedral archive, or any future archivist, if funding is achieved.

4.5.3 Using volunteers and utilising the link with Sheffield University

The archive does not currently have the funding to allow a trained archivist to work,

even on a part time basis at Sheffield cathedral archive. One possible option could

be that Sheffield cathedral share an archivist with another cathedral archive in the

area, in a similar financial position to Sheffield cathedral. There are many cathedral

archives within the Yorkshire region, such as in Bradford and Manchester, and this

could prove a successful way of gaining the employ of a qualified archivist, while

sharing the cost. Another method, identified by Reverend Canon Simon Cowling

was that an archivist could be employed part time to work in the archive, and

contribute to another aspect of the running of the cathedral for the rest of the time

(Appendix IV). However, all these options require additional funding, and if this

funding does not materialise, they are not viable options. Therefore, it is important

to establish other means of ensuring that the archive is developed and improved as

it should be. One way of doing this is for the cathedral to fully utilise the volunteers

from the University of Sheffield MA Librarianship archive project.

Volunteering has been used within heritage organisations for a considerable

amount of time. While volunteers are more common in museums, which have the

funds to organise and manage volunteers more effectively (Howlett et al., 2005),

there has been a steady increase in the use of volunteers in archives. Archives like

volunteers because it allows them to do things with their archives that they would


63

otherwise be unable to do (Howlett et al., 2005). In the case of Durham cathedral

archive, these are specific projects. The archive at Durham cathedral recently

underwent a cataloguing project in which the majority of the work was undertaken

by volunteers, under the guidance of a librarian (Appendix I). Volunteers help add

depth to the service, and also help the archive forge links with the community in

which it resides (Howlett, et al.2005). Although in the case of the cathedral, it is a

very specific aspect of the community, that of university students, but this

willingness to let people work on the collections is a positive step which can help

with creating access to the archive from the general public at a much later date.

However, the cathedral has voiced some concerns over the use of volunteers.

Reverend Canon Simon Cowling was keen to insist that;

“...there has to be a direct benefit for both the department of

information studies, for the particular cohort of students and for

the cathedral. That they aren’t seen to be doing jobs for the

cathedral simply because the cathedral doesn’t have the money to

do it themselves.” (Appendix IV, p.5)

This is a legitimate concern on behalf of the cathedral, as they do not wish to take

advantage of the volunteers or exploit them. This is a concern echoed by many

other archive services. For example, Sheffield city archive states firmly that

volunteers “that volunteers “...are used to develop added value services,

complementing and supporting the work undertaken by paid staff. “ (Sheffield Archives

and Local Studies Group, 2004, 2). However, volunteers taken from the MA

Librarianship course at the university and the cathedral archive benefit equally. The

Librarianship students gain useful and important experience of working with real

archive material and within a real archive (Appendix II), as well as gaining a practical

understanding of many of the issues within archives documented within textbooks.

Working within the archives provides the students with a working knowledge of

archives and the processes involved. The cathedral in return, gains the manpower,

under the guide of a trained information professional, Barbara Sen, project manager of


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the cathedral project, needed in order to inventory its collections. Therefore, both the

cathedral and the volunteers receive equal payback.

However, these individuals could do more. And while the cathedral is concerned with

exploiting or taking advantage of these volunteers, there is much that could be

achieved through the use of them. It is difficult to take advantage of volunteers, as they

are under their own agency. Volunteers, through being unpaid, are free to turn down

tasks they find unpleasing, or volunteer less if they either do not wish to participate, or

lack the time (Howlett, 2002). This is a trend that has been found at Durham cathedral

archive. On a visit to the cathedral it was noted that,

“Alastair himself had reservations about using volunteers and

expressed that when their volunteers, which are usually local

history enthusiasts and retired academics, are sorting through and

cataloguing and inventorying material they are happy, but are less

willing to do jobs such as enquiry work or finding items requested

by users of the archive” (Appendix I).

Judging by these observations from Alastair, the archivist in charge at Durham

cathedral archive, it appears then, that because the volunteers are unpaid, they will

not do work in which they do not want to do. Therefore, the power then is

effectively in the hands of the volunteer, and the cathedral should not worry about

taking advantage of their volunteers.

In the future, the volunteers from the information department of the university

could be engaged to conduct various sub-projects, such as aiding in the creation of

a catalogue of archival items, or creating an online database to link both the

physical collections of the archive, with the cathedral’s digital records and

eventually, the collections in the care of the city archives (Appendix II). The

cathedral could also manage its volunteers more effectively. For the past year, and

the first year of the archive project, volunteers have been working freely, without a

great deal of support from the cathedral or from the university. Next year, for those

students taking the Librarianship MA in 2010/2011, there should be more guidance,

such as written procedures explaining the process of inventorying and cataloguing


65

the archive material, include regular updates the progress of the project, and a map

of each of the vaults. This way, if volunteers take some time off the project, they

can continue easily, without confusion, and without compromising the work that

has been done previously.

4.5.4 Creating preliminary access through exhibitions

As explained previously, the current archive at Sheffield cathedral is unable to offer

access to its collections, due to a lack of knowledge of the complete archival

holdings, and through a lack of space for a reading room or user area. However,

despite these constraints, it is possible to allow some semblance of access to the

archival collections to the general public, by displaying or exhibiting some of the

best preserved and most interesting items from the archival collection. Students on

the Sheffield cathedral archive project have previously identified that displays

would be an advantageous asset to the cathedral (Appendix III), and Simon Cowling,

the Reverend Canon at Sheffield cathedral expressed an interest in exhibiting items

from the collection, and highlighted this as a way to prove access (Appendix II).

Exhibiting or displaying archive material is indeed an excellent way of creating the

first steps to access at the cathedral archive. One of the mandates of The National

Council on Archives standard for access to archives, states that “The archive service

has open, effective two-way communications with its community” (National Council on

Archives, 2008). One of the first ways of introducing this ‘communication’ with the

community in terms of access is to display items of interest within the cathedral itself,

so that visitors to the cathedral can view a selection of the archives, without

compromising the rest of the archival collection.

While funding could help develop a separate exhibition space, the cathedral currently

has display cabinets which display the cathedral’s collection of silver (Appendix IV),

meaning that the cathedral could display some of the archive material without having

to negotiate funding. Tables can also be used in lieu of display cases, and facsimiles can

be utilised to avoid damaging the original items (Ramos and Ortega, 2006). The

cathedral has already identified items that could be of particular interest to visitors,


66

such as architect’s drawings of the cathedral (Appendix IV), which are of historical

interest. Displaying items from the cathedral archive helps establish a dialogue

between the cathedral and the community, and helps promote awareness that the

cathedral has an archival collection and that it is important. Ideally, the archive should

be promoted to the public. Currently the cathedral archive has no presence on the

cathedral website (Appendix IV), and after the collection is fully inventoried, this should

be rectified. Presently, the public are unaware that the cathedral has an archive.

Displaying the collections, and at a later date, promoting the archive on the cathedral

website, will help change this opinion. The potential exhibition of the cathedral archival

stock proved a predominantly positive action from those involved in the cathedral

archive project, stating; “there are some really nice things in the archives that we’ve

discovered, and it would bring more tourism to the cathedral, and possibly

encourage more donations” (Appendix III, p. 2). The idea of exhibiting the collection to

improve donations is an interesting one. Durham cathedral has a specific donation box

for its cathedral archives (Appendix II), something that could be implemented by

Sheffield cathedral, but only if the cathedral’s collections have increased visibility, an

aim that displaying the collections would achieve.

Essentially, increasing visibility of the cathedral archive is an important step for

Sheffield cathedral, and an exhibition appeals directly to the general public, and

promotes the archive subtly, in a manageable way, without requiring a great deal of

effort, or without needing a fully complete and working archive to do so. This then,

opens up the subject of access for the cathedral archive, and although the cathedral is

unable to offer any significant access to its collections, it is a start, and an obvious sign

that the cathedral is seeking to develop and improve its archive.


67

5.CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 CONCLUSIONS

The present state of the cathedral archive, and the development needed in order to

improve the service in order to turn Sheffield cathedral archive into a working

functioning archive is a long process, one which will take a number of years to

complete. The findings and the research documented within this research project

are merely a beginning point and a first step in the developmental process. There

are many ideas and possible scenarios that have not been explored throughout this

research, due to the project being at its initial stage of development, and instead,

offers analysis of the current situation, and early recommendations that will prove

useful at this beginning stage.

The SWOT analysis and gap analysis highlight areas of weakness within the

cathedral archive at Sheffield and opportunity is presented, especially with the use

of volunteers, exhibiting and displaying some of the collections to the public and

the search for funding. Utilising volunteers will help the cathedral maintain a steady

pace of work towards its eventual goals, whereas exhibiting some of the collections

to the public will slowly and subtly introduce access to the public without

compromising the collections. A structured and complete archive policy must be

developed also, to inform the improvements to the archive service and to ensure

that in the future, the cathedral is not left to decline again. However, much of the

proposed changes, such as changes to the storage facilities of the cathedral, require

funding, which the cathedral does not currently have, so opportunities for

fundraising must be sought out if the service is to advance.

Despite the problems that Sheffield cathedral archive currently faces with its

archive, there are many areas of improvement to be found, and many positives to

be taken from the current developmental project, the most important being the

willingness of the cathedral staff, and the strong partnership with the university, to

progress and move forward. The cathedral needs both the positive attitude from

the cathedral staff, and to continue to embrace its link with Sheffield University’s


68

information department in order to ensure that the cathedral archive’s

development project gathers momentum and is continued beyond this year.


69

5.2 FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS

Although specific recommendations have been discussed previously during this

research project, there are still further recommendations to be raised. A significant

number of these recommendations depend upon funding being secured in order to

implement the necessary changes and improvements that the cathedral requires in

order to achieve something of a working archive. Currently the archive is not

functioning correctly, and this has been identified throughout the bulk of this

research project. If funding is achieved, and the cathedral project with the

university is continued on further and over a number of years, it may be useful to

again conduct another research project to determine how much the cathedral

archive has been bettered over this time and reanalyse the service using indicators

such as service quality analysis, gap analysis and SWOT analysis to determine how

much the service has improved over a period of time.

There are also a number of research projects that could be conducted in the future

from the development of the cathedral archives. There is certainly scope in the area

of digital and electronic access to the collections. Reverend Canon Simon Cowling

expressed interest in the idea of digitising various plans and items from the current

cathedral archive collection (Appendix III), and there is the opportunity to create an

online catalogue and inventory for the archival collections, both of which would be

interesting research projects and would be beneficial to the cathedral. This project

is hopefully only the beginning of the development of the cathedral archives, and

much work needs to be done in order to ensure that the archive eventually

becomes a functioning archive, and hopefully this work will be continued by both

the cathedral itself, and the university. Essentially the project must be continued, or

the effort that has been expended over the past year will be in vain, and the archive

will once again return to its former state.

20, 014 words in total.


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7. Appendix 1. Reflective Research Report: Visiting Durham

Cathedral Archives.

On Tuesday August 3rd 2010, I visited Durham cathedral archive and library in order

to ascertain how an effective cathedral archival service is run. I spent an hour and a

half in the company of Alastair Fraser, the current acting librarian in charge at both

the cathedral library and the archive. Alastair Fraser is not employed by the

cathedral itself, but by the university, and he and his colleague Jonathan, have been

seconded over from the university to work on the cathedral library and archives for

the time being. They are currently the only permanent members of staff working

within the cathedral library and archives. The visit was not a formal one, with no

formal interview conducted, but despite this, I still gained a great deal of insight

into both the organisation and the management of the cathedral archive at

Durham. These are my reflections on my visit.

Durham cathedral archive is vastly different to that of Sheffield cathedral archive.

Durham cathedral was first established in 1093 and its archival holdings form the

largest existing archive at any cathedral in England. It has a large collection of

medieval manuscripts and the archive holds items from the 11th to the 20th century.

Sheffield cathedral in comparison is a relatively modern cathedral; reverting from a

parish church to cathedral status in 1914. Because of this, the collections at

Sheffield cathedral archive are in no way comparable to Durham. However, there is

much in the organisation of Durham cathedral archive, such as its reliance on

volunteers, its links with Durham University and the physical condition of its

archives, which make Durham cathedral archive worthy of study.

Links with Durham University

Not all of the cathedral archive collection is in the custody of Durham University.

The cathedral’s medieval manuscripts, its antiquarian collections and collection of

wills and property leases are in the care of the university and according to Alastair,

are well catalogued and inventoried. Alastair identified that the collections in the

care of the university are well looked after, but the collections that belong solely to

the cathedral are not as ordered, with a large backlog of material, such as

photographic material and the cathedral’s Bishop’s papers, are not catalogued or

inventoried, due to lack of resources and time.

The university has placed the medieval collection catalogue online, and it is

searchable through the Durham university library website, and recently

implemented a digitisation project, for which the cathedral received funding from

the university, to digitise their collection of wills, so that their collection is fully


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viewable online. Due to the success of this project, Alastair informed me that the

cathedral are attempting to gain funding for an additional project; to finally

implement an online catalogue for the cathedral’s collection of early printed books,

which currently only exists in paper form.

Alastair identified that the arrangement that Durham cathedral and Durham

university has left the cathedral in a very fortunate position, a position which he is

aware not many cathedral and religious archives have the pleasure of being in. He

identified the university’s involvement in the cathedral archives as being an

arrangement that is distinctly more beneficial to the cathedral than to the

university, but believes that the university are willing to work with the archive

because of the diversity and the historical importance of its holdings. Durham

cathedral is fortunate enough to have nearly one thousand years worth of archival

material, which is understandably valuable to the university.

Because of the university’s involvement with the cathedral library and archive, the

archival holdings are all properly conserved and cared for, stored correctly and to

The National Archives guidelines. The cathedral makes use of the university

conservators, and is inspected regularly by the university conservators to ensure

that the archive is maintained effectively. I was lucky enough to be shown around

the medieval collections and antiquarian collections in the archive. The medieval

collection is all boxed in acid- free boxes on metal storage shelves in a temperature

monitored room, raised up from the ground. I was informed that the collections

used to be housed on all four levels of the archive store, but have since been

rearranged to fill only the top two levels, due to risk of flood damage. The

antiquarian collection is housed slightly differently, with no temperature controls in

place, but stored in sturdy shelves away from direct sunlight. Alastair noted that the

storage facilities in place were the most important part of the university’s

involvement with the cathedral archive. He noted that while the digitisation and

cataloguing projects were useful, the correct storage and handling of the archival

collections was the single most important issue.

Volunteers and staffing of the archive

I was informed that despite the university’s involvement with the cathedral archive,

funding of the archive was still an issue, with limitations on staff, projects and

materials in place. Alastair told me that the university was looking to find a more

cost effective way of managing the archive, and were considering trying to find an

individual who not only had experience of religious archives and rare and early

printed books, but also museum pieces, as the cathedral archive has items of rare

stonework on display to the cathedral visitors within the cathedral. Alastair Fraser is

not himself, a trained archivist or qualified librarian, and instead identified himself


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as a historian, who first came to the university as part of an archival project in the

university archives, and stayed on to work as a librarian afterwards.

There is currently only two full time staff working in the cathedral archives, which

as I stated previously, have been seconded from the university library. There is a

further term-time only librarian, but the cathedral archive relies heavily on

volunteers to catalogue the backlog of material present within the archive. Alastair

himself had reservations about using volunteers and expressed that when their

volunteers, which are usually local history enthusiasts and retired academics, are

sorting through and cataloguing and inventorying material they are happy, but are

less willing to do jobs such as enquiry work or finding items requested by users of

the archive. Therefore, volunteers cannot be relied upon entirely to help fill the

gap in the cathedral archives resources. However, the sheer volume of visitors to

the archive, who wish to view the collections, means that the cathedral archive

staff is unable to catalogue their backlog of material. The archive also receives

donations, which means that the backlog is growing. Because of this, the

volunteers are necessary, despite the reservations that Alastair has about their

commitment. I was informed that the archive currently has a Dr Stanford as a

volunteer, who is cataloguing while compiling his own research, which is an unusual

situation for the archive.

Outreach and public access to the archive

The cathedral archive and the library are keen to promote public access to the

archive. The cathedral library and archive reading room is situated within the

cathedral itself, and visitors to the cathedral are welcome to come in and browse

the library, which is partially open on one side to visitors to make it more

accessible. During my visit there was a PhD student using material from the

medieval archive, as well as queries from local history enthusiasts and individuals

researching their family tree. Alastair also informed me that he does outreach in

schools in the area, bringing material from both the archives and the library into

schools so that the children are aware that the archive exists and the collections

available. Alastair, as a historian, is very knowledgeable on World War One and has

brought material into schools both from the cathedral archive and the university

archive to show history students. This surprised me, as I assumed that, especially as

the archive contains many valuable items, that they would wish to keep their

collections somewhat closed off, but Alastair told me that the greater the interest

in the stores and collections, the greater the opportunity for funding and

development of the archive.


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Final Thoughts

Overall I found my visit to the archive and my talk with the archivist in charge very

interesting and useful. I discovered that even religious archives such as Durham,

which I had highlighted as a well run cathedral archive, with a large budget, is

subject to lack of funds and staffing issues, a problem that is present on a much

larger scale at Sheffield cathedral archive. What I found interesting, was that, to

help with funding, the cathedral archive has a specific donation box for the archive,

in which people can contribute small amount of money when visiting. This is

something which could be utilised by Sheffield cathedral.

My visit to Durham cathedral has helped me identify a number of areas which could

help Sheffield cathedral archive, specifically with the case of volunteers. During my

time with Alastair, I spoke of the project in place with the cathedral and the

university and Sheffield, and he highlighted this as an excellent way to progress

forward. I also became aware of the importance of good, clean storage facilities,

something that is present within Durham cathedral archive, and needs to be

implemented at Sheffield cathedral archive. Ensuring that archive material is clean

and well stored, to prevent further damage is of the utmost importance and I am

grateful for the opportunity to view a well developed and functioning cathedral

archive in order to further my research.


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8. Appendix II. Reflective Research Report: My

Experiences of Sheffield Cathedral Archive

Over a six month period I have been participating in a project at the Sheffield

cathedral archive as an addition to the Archives and Record Management module

part of Sheffield University Librarianship MA. Over this period I have witnessed

first-hand the organisation of the cathedral archive and feel that my experiences

and observations during my time there are worthy of reflection.

I first visited the archive at Sheffield cathedral in January 2010, as an extracurricular

visit as part of the Archives and Records Management module I had taken as part of

my Masters degree at Sheffield University. I, Barbara Sen – the project coordinator,

and my fellow students, found the archive in a state of disrepair and neglect. The

cathedral archive was residing in a basement vault in the cathedral itself, and the

archive material was inadequately stored in a dirty, dusty environment. We were in

possession of an outdated inventory from 1997, and a brief cathedral archival

policy, and these scant tools where all we had to work from. We began then to

slowly re-catalogue the archive material, in order to create a new inventory and

catalogue of the items in the archive. Whilst cataloguing we provided as much

information on the archive material as we could find, including elements such as

damage and condition to the item, a full description of the item, as well as size,

type, where it was located in the archive, and any other notes on the item. Because

of this project I have had extended access to the cathedral archive, both the

documents and archival items, and the physical space in which the archive is

located.

The Physical Archive Space and Storage Facilities

The physical space in which the archive is stored is less than ideal. It is a dark

basement vault with shelving up both sides. Unfortunately, the vault is not big

enough for all the holdings, and some of the larger plans, paintings and folders are

placed on the floor, which is dirty. The vault is also down a set of steep, rather

precarious stairs, which make moving the larger archival items from the vault

difficult. The archive material is stored in non suitable boxes, and as a result, some

of the items, such as photographs, portraits and some books are damaged with

mould and some are ripped due to neglect. Some of the old bibles are also in a

state of disrepair, and are crumbling due to improper storage and maintenance.

Ideally, the archive should be housed in a much larger facility, raised up from the

ground floor, and easily accessible. The archive should be clean, and the archive

contents should be stored in acid free boxes and containers to stop further damage

to the cathedral’s collections. The collections themselves are not hugely valuable,


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but are an important tool in documenting the cathedral’s history, from its

establishment in 1914 and therefore must be cared for appropriately if this

historical information is to be kept for the future. At the moment, with the neglect

that has occurred, and if that neglect were to continue, the archives collections

would be in danger of severe deterioration. It is therefore essential, that even if the

archive itself is not moved from its current location, that the items are cleaned, the

archival space is cleaned, and the archival collection is placed in suitable containers

in order to stop any more potential damage to the collection.

Archivists and Volunteers

The archive has no formal archivist to oversee the day to day running and

maintenance of the cathedral archive. According to documents within the cathedral

archive, a series of letters to and from the archivist, there was an archivist in

employment at the cathedral from 1975-1991, and there is no evidence of any

formal management of the archives after that point. The archivist then, as well as

being responsible for the maintenance of the archive, as also responsible for

answering queries on Births, Deaths and Marriages from enquirers researching their

family history, searching through the registers for a nominal fee, and reporting back

on his findings. The last inventory of the cathedrals archival collections was

completed by a Mr. Brian Thornhill in 1999, which suggests that no collection

management or maintenance has been completed since that point. Sheffield

University has since provided its services and the services of its students to ensure

that the archives are managed and a proper inventory is produced.

The cathedral has a very limited budget, and there is certainly no room in the

budget for a full time trained archivist. Therefore it would be highly beneficial for

the cathedral to utilise as much voluntary work as possible. Creating links with the

University is a positive step, and one, due to the university’s Information Studies

department should be built up. The cathedral would benefit immensely from

volunteers from the Information Studies department of the university, especially

those on the Archives and Record Management course. This arrangement benefits

both the cathedral and the students, as the cathedral gets free labour, who under

the supervision of a project supervisor, would help maintain the archive, and the

students in turn have valuable work experience.

Organisation and Funding

On reflection, based on my personal experience, I would suggest that one of the

main problems with the cathedral archive, as well as lack of adequate staffing and

storage facilities, is the organisation of the archives. Without an archivist, it is

unclear as who has the responsibility of caring and looking after the archive. The

current staff are not trained to look after the archive, they are unaware of how to


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care for their archive, how important the archive is, and have no idea on what the

archives should acquire and what should be thrown away. Because of this lack of

knowledge, the archive is failing. This is not the fault of the staff however, as it is

difficult to both continue with their job role, and take on the additional task of

running and caring for an archive. Caring for an archive without adequate staff and

additional funding is a huge task, and it is unsurprising that the archive has fallen

into neglect.

Since the university project started, the university has helped the cathedral attempt

to bid for additional funding. Although unsuccessful at that point, it is important

that the cathedral keeps applying for funding opportunities. Hopefully, with the

backing and support of the project co-ordinator, Barbara Sen, the cathedral and the

university will continue to search for funding opportunities.

With adequate funding, the cathedral could perhaps afford to employ someone

part time to ensure that the archive is maintained properly. The cathedral is

however, investing in archival standard boxes and containers for its collections,

which will be vastly beneficial.

Final Reflections

The archive has many problems, and unfortunately not a great deal of positives as

the archive currently stands. Essentially, I would place the problems at Sheffield

cathedral archive into three main sections, namely, issues of storage, issues with

funding and issues with staffing. The storage problems are perhaps the easiest to

fix. While the cathedral vault is not ideal, it can be cleaned out; archive boxes can

be purchased to store the collection more effectively. Volunteers can be brought in

as they were this year, in order to ensure the archive keeps on progressing. The

biggest problem is funding – as the archive will never fully realise its potential

unless there is adequate funding available, as volunteers can only do so much. The

archive is very much a work in progress. However, there are positives to take away

from the archive. After years of neglect, the staff at the cathedral is attempting to

rectify the problems with their archive, and appear willing to attempt to implement

change. This is a positive step forward; the cathedral recognises that there is a

problem and are attempting to correct the lack of previous management, thus

making the process of change and repair much smoother, for both the cathedral

and the university, with whom the project is being operated. It is much easier to

identify and correct problems in an organisation that is receptive, than one which is

against change or does not understand why change is necessary.


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9. Appendix III: Survey Responses from Students on the

Cathedral Archive Project

Survey Response #1:

Access 1a. Do you think the cathedral is making the most out of their archival collections? Give reasons for your answer. Not at present. There is a lot of interesting stuff down there, but it’s just been dumped and ignored really. Also in the past they used to make some money from enquiries, but no longer. 1b. Do you think the cathedral would benefit from displaying their collections? Give reasons for your answer. Yes. I think they could create some quite interesting exhibitions, and this would encourage more people to come into the Cathedral for tourism purposes. 1c. Is the cathedral archive valued? What evidence do you have to support your answer? Not hugely. The fact that they have brought some volunteers in to try and sort it all out may indicate that they do value it a bit, however I received the impression that this was more due to legal requirements than actually wanting to make use of the archives.

Organisation

2a. What do you see as the main problem with the organisation of the cathedral archive? Er, there is no organisation. The fact that some of the objects aren’t catalogued means that they don’t even know what is down there – who knows what they could be missing. 2b. What could be done to improve the organisation of the archive? Completing the inventory is the first step. But then, oh loads of things. Too many to type.


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2c. If you could change or improve just one thing about the how the archive is organised or run, what would that be? Take everything out of that dank cellar and put it all somewhere where it could be properly conserved. Criminal neglect so far!

Storage and Arrangement

3a. Do you think the current storage facilities e.g. the cathedral vault, are adequate for the cathedrals archiving needs? No. There are no lights. It’s too small. Access is precarious. The environment is not conducive to conservation. Etc.

3b. What would you recommend to change or improve the storage facilities?

I think a totally new space is needed. The other archive room (I forget the name) is more

suitable – somewhere like that.

Survey Response #2

Access 1a. Do you think the cathedral is making the most out of their archival collections? Give reasons for your answer. Not at the moment, simply because no one knows what’s there and it can’t be accessed 1b. Do you think the cathedral would benefit from displaying their collections? Give reasons for your answer. Yes. There are some really nice things in the archives that we’ve discovered, and it would bring more tourism to the cathedral, and possibly encourage more donations. 1c. Is the cathedral archive valued? What evidence do you have to support your answer? Again, not at the moment because it’s been so disorganised. Clearly though there is an awareness that the collection has a value, hence the collaborative project with the university to bring some order to the archives.


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Organisation

2a. What do you see as the main problem with the organisation of the cathedral archive? A complete lack of cataloguing (until now). There is no awareness of what should be kept and what should be disposed of, and the storage of items is insufficient. 2b. What could be done to improve the organisation of the archive? A comprehensive cataloguing system to enable items to be found with ease. 2c. If you could change or improve just one thing about the how the archive is organised or run, what would that be? Ideally, there should be a member of staff in charge of the archive to make sure that, once an archive system has been implemented, it stays in order. However, there are insufficient funds for this. All staff members could therefore be educated in how to care for the archives.


3a. Do you think the current storage facilities e.g. the cathedral vault, are adequate for the cathedrals archiving needs? No. While there is obviously limited space available, the conditions are not good. There is no temperature or damp control. Also, it would be better if the archives were all in the same place rather than in separate locations.

3b. What would you recommend to change or improve the storage facilities?

It’s difficult to suggest anything that wouldn’t involve financial investment, which the

cathedral cannot afford at present. However, it would help if items were stored in folders

or envelopes to prevent unnecessary wear and tear. Also if they were kept together in

one place, ideally above ground!

Survey Response #3

Access


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1a. Do you think the cathedral is making the most out of their archival collections? Give reasons for your answer. In all honesty I’d say that they are definitely not making the most of their archival collections. I think my main reason for saying that is that the Cathedral simply has no real concept of what they have in their archive because it is not organised in any way. It seems that currently the archive is not used by anyone and so I think you can safely say that it is not being made the most of. 1b. Do you think the cathedral would benefit from displaying their collections? Give reasons for your answer. Possibly, although I am uncertain about this. Firstly I’m not sure that a great deal of the things that I have seen in the Cathedral archive so far would be tremendously interesting if put on display; there is nothing with seems to be very striking. However, there are some things which I am sure would be of interest to the religious community. Therefore creating a display of archive items within the Cathedral itself, might be beneficial. I think I struggle with the concept of beneficial because I instantly think of money and profit, and I don’t think that they could really generate any funds from displaying their collections. 1c. Is the cathedral archive valued? What evidence do you have to support your answer? It is, yes. To the extent that things have been retained in the archive over time and therefore they must have been seen to hold some value. Also, in requesting the help of the University to voluntarily assist with the project, there is an indication that the archive is valued by the Cathedral. However, on the whole, it perhaps isn’t valued. The reason behind this is that the collection is kept in inadequate storage, is not well cared for and is completely disorganised.

Organisation

2a. What do you see as the main problem with the organisation of the cathedral archive? There isn’t any! I think there needs to be some serious time and money invested into the archive. The problem is that there is no real form of management or organisation – either physically or on paper. 2b. What could be done to improve the organisation of the archive?


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Firstly, some funds need to be generated to invest in the archive. These would be best used to create adequate storage facilities – both in terms of an appropriate location and the correct kinds of storage boxes, etc. Furthermore I think that a professional archivist should be employed. Someone professional who can properly manage the collection and then the team of volunteers from the University could act as a support to the archivist’s work. Practically there needs to be a mass clear out of the items which need to go to Sheffield Archives and those which are simply just rubbish. Then the remaining collection needs to be put in a logical order and then for this organisational system to be captured electronically in a database. 2c. If you could change or improve just one thing about the how the archive is organised or run, what would that be? Probably employing an archivist would be the main thing I would do, as I feel that this would make the most improvement to the situation. However, I do appreciate that this might prove difficult in financial terms.


3a. Do you think the current storage facilities e.g. the cathedral vault, are adequate for the cathedrals archiving needs? No, to put it bluntly. It’s a hazardous environment for people to access – steep steps, low doorways, dust etc. So that’s the first problem really. However I also think that, in terms of the collection itself, things are not being adequately stored as there is no humidity or temperature control, and the space is very dusty and dirty. Not ideal for the preservation of archival materials, basically. 3b. What would you recommend to change or improve the storage facilities? Obviously the ideal would be a purpose built archive with good access and an appropriate

environment for these types of materials. However, I appreciate this might not be feasible.

Sending the collection offsite to a storage facility might be an option or working in

partnership with the Sheffield Archive. At a very basic level the storage facilities need to be

cleaned and organised. Adequate shelving and containers need to be added, and pathways

into the space need to be cleared.

Survey Response #4

Access 1a. Do you think the cathedral is making the most out of their archival collections? Give reasons for your answer.


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No, because they are rotting away in a vault at the moment and there is some really interesting and valuable stuff there that should be seen and used. However steps are being taken to address this. 1b. Do you think the cathedral would benefit from displaying their collections? Give reasons for your answer. Yes, because this would increase awareness of the collections among the general public and inform, educate and entertain. This would also attract more people to the cathedral generally, and increase appreciation of the collections. 1c. Is the cathedral archive valued? What evidence do you have to support your answer? Not generally, as it has been ignored and uncared for many years. However there is an indication that some people do value it and therefore steps are being taken to organise it and preserve it. So far it has been neglected in favour of other aspects of the running of the cathedral.

Organisation

2a. What do you see as the main problem with the organisation of the cathedral archive? At the moment, it isn’t organised at all and anyone looking for anything would probably not be able to find it. 2b. What could be done to improve the organisation of the archive? Cataloguing it would certainly help, and that would happen at the moment. Ideally there should be an online catalogue as well as a paper one, and there should really be a specific storage area for the archives which are temperature controlled and have appropriate boxes etc to store the archives in, so that things can be easily found. 2c. If you could change or improve just one thing about the how the archive is organised or run, what would that be? Ideally there should be one specific person, preferably professionally qualified, who is responsible for the archives (rather a big thing!)


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3a. Do you think the current storage facilities e.g. the cathedral vault, are adequate for the cathedrals archiving needs? No, they are damp, dusty, difficult to get to, hard to manoeuvre around and are generally a bit rubbish. 3b. What would you recommend to change or improve the storage facilities? Move them to somewhere that is easier to access and easier to implement temperature controls in. Somewhere with shelves, and there should be appropriate boxes to store the archival material.

Survey Response #5

Access 1a. Do you think the cathedral is making the most out of their archival collections? Give reasons for your answer. No, at the moment they are hidden away with the cathedral actually having no idea what is in them. They are however getting better, and are starting to realise that there is a lot of useful information down there and consequently a project is going ahead to catalogue the contents of the archive 1b. Do you think the cathedral would benefit from displaying their collections? Give reasons for your answer. Yes, people are more likely to notice them. They are also more likely to learn from them, as they will encounter information that they were not necessarily looking for. 1c. Is the cathedral archive valued? What evidence do you have to support your answer? I think it is valued now, as the cathedral is doing something about getting the archive contents catalogued so they can do things with it, like displays mentioned in the previous question. I think it perhaps wasn’t previously valued, as they let it get into a state and seemed to put anything down there in any order.

Organisation


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2a. What do you see as the main problem with the organisation of the cathedral archive? We have no idea what is actually down there. Due to this unknown quantity it is making it difficult to put into categories. 2b. What could be done to improve the organisation of the archive? I could have been catalogued from the word go! Otherwise a bit more space would make it easier to see what is actually in the archive 2c. If you could change or improve just one thing about the how the archive is organised or run, what would that be? Eventually (when all cataloguing is done) an online system would be good, but it would have to be simple, as the staff at the cathedral have said they are not very computer literate.


3a. Do you think the current storage facilities e.g. the cathedral vault, are adequate for the cathedrals archiving needs? I think the vault in the building is ok, though the stairs are very steep to get down to it. This is sealed properly, though it is not very big. The other area is got to from outside the cathedral and there was a leak, but this has now been dealt with and better conditions put in place. So now, other than lack of space, I think the storage is adequate. 3b. What would you recommend to change or improve the storage facilities? I would recommend, rather than new storage facilities, someone that is able to look after the collection. Otherwise, books will need to be bought and possible better shelving, but these changes are already going to be taken place.


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10. Appendix IV: Interview Transcript:

Sheffield Cathedral

Interviewer: Right, let me just find my questions, and we’ll begin. Shuffles papers.

First of all, do you think it is important for the cathedral to have a fully working

archive? Respondent: I do, um, which is one of the reasons why we’re pleased to be in

partnership with the university department. Because we’ve no functioning archive

at all, which you’ve probably come across with your own work here.

Interviewer: Yeah. Do you think your archives actually have value? I can explain

what I mean by value if you would like.

Respondent: Well, I mean, I know what I understand that to mean...

Interviewer: (Interjects) What do you understand that to mean?

Respondent: Well uh, we are by some stretch the oldest building in the city, um,

there are all sorts of ways, in which that means such as the role that, it’s

incalculable really. Um, I understand archives very broadly, to me, er, historical

records based on paper, and also special artefacts, which helps document the

history of the building. And there is a lot of material, particularly material relating

to the, um, the second decade of the twentieth century, when Sheffield became a

cathedral, which should be available in our archive probably, ah, that material

would give future generations, um, the opportunity to look at quite an important

period in the history of the church, um, cathedral.

Interviewer: What do you perceive as being the biggest barrier to having a fully

operational archive?

Respondent: Well two things really, well one thing really, money, but that splits

down into two complimentary areas, one we don’t have a dedicated member of

staff who is able to take it on as a project, and essentially we haven’t enough space.

There’s those two things, and the second action is probably more important than

the first. If we had space, we could at least put the archive safely in a dry, and

temperature controlled condition, awaiting the moment where we could start to

[unintelligible].

Interviewer: Are there any plans to move the collection, because I know that the

place where it is at the moment isn’t exactly ideal.


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Respondent: Um, where it is now is actually no use whatsoever really (laughs).

There are plans; we have um, at the moment, major plans to refurbish the

cathedral *unintelligible+ and as part of that we’re hoping provide dedicated space

for um, materials of importance in the archive, but that is dependent on an HLF bid

and we won’t hear about that until September.

Interviewer: Um, are you taking any steps at all to try and remove any of those

barriers within the archive? I know you just mentioned funding.

Respondent: Well, the HLF bid is inclusive of this, that will provide us with space,

but it won’t provide us with a, um, the funding for ah, an archivist or equivalent

person. Which is why I think our partnership with the university is so important,

and actually is an interim measure, which I think provides a measure of synergy,

without a doubt it’s very helpful for us, but it’s also helpful for the department as it

gives an ongoing partnership between us and the university, well I hope it’s as

useful for the university as it is for us (laughs).

Interviewer: What do you envision for the future of the archive?

Respondent: Well ideally, we would have, um well, two things I think, a space for

exhibitions, exhibitions that would allow people to access helpful and relevant

information about the building, which is very important to the city, so there might

for instance be an exhibition about the plans that [unintelligible] had to re-

orientate the whole building on its axis, in the period between the two wars. There

is an incredible amount of archive material. Our archive seems to be very good with

architectural drawings, so a space for exhibitions of that sort, as well as a space

where material that is relevant could be stored. So that’s one development. The

other development is the employment of someone, almost certainly part time, who

would maybe combine with another role in the cathedral, such as a litigation

officer, to oversee the archive. I think an also important thing for us to do is to

make sure that we are completely materials there are at Shoreham Street, um...

Interviewer: And that’s the Sheffield city archive?

Respondent: Yes, that is the Sheffield city archive, and there is a lot of material

down there, um, some of which have to be there by statute, copies of marriage

certificates and so on, but some of it is there because it was the best place for it.

And having a complete picture of what is there and what is here is very important.

We’re part way there to be honest, in knowing what is there. But as far as I’m

aware some of the collection at Shoreham Street hasn’t been fully catalogued, and

I’m not even sure what the state of the collection is down there.

Interviewer: What does the archive aim to collect?


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Respondent: Well, that actually is one of the issues we face, I’m not sure we have a

set of aims. There is a policy, a document retention policy that the cathedral has.

Interviewer: Is that the Keep it, Bin it guide?

Respondent: No, the document retention policy is something which the cathedral

chaplain has agreed. I think Barbara Sen has a copy of that but I could send it to

you.

Interviewer: That would be great, yeah.

Respondent: That would give you an indication of what we think is important to

keep, but is by no means an archive policy. It’s about documents, and of course

archives are more than just documents.

Interviewer: Is there anything specifically that the cathedral doesn’t wish to collect,

that you don’t think is necessary for the archive collections?

Respondent: Um, well again, um, because we have no archive policy as such, I’m

afraid this is a difficult question to answer. I mean, I would guess ephemera. I don’t

think we would consider retaining for instance our weekly newssheet, which is

published each Sunday. And that is something that I would regard as a piece of

ephemera. However actually, as we know from people’s interest in newspapers

from the day they were born, that is a present that people get sometimes,

ephemera can sometimes be really interesting actually. And there is also the

question, which you might touch on later, about, um, well the advent of

digitisation; what do you retain electronically, and what do you retain in hard copy?

Um, and that’s something again that we need to be careful about. And if we retain

it digitally and not in hard copy, would format are we retaining it in [unintelligible].

Interviewer: Do you know if there is anything specifically that passes straight to the

city archives, or to the diocesan record office/town hall?

Respondent: The only thing that I’m aware in the statute that we’re obliged to pass

on, we need two copies of the marriages, deaths and births, when a marriage

register is full, the cathedral retains one and one goes to the council archive. As far

as those documents such as baptism registers, I’m not sure if this is entirely

accurate, it may need to be checked, but I think we retain them for, I think if they’re

a hundred years old they go to the city archives, but whether that remains to the

first entry or to the last entry I’m not sure. If the baptism register spans from 1900

to 1925, do you send it in 2000 or 2025? I don’t know, but that’s about all.

Interviewer: Were you aware that the archive previously did have an archivist?

Respondent: No?


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Interviewer: Yes, we found some papers in the archive that suggest there was an

archivist named Robert Stafford in place from 1975-1991.

Respondent: But not full time?

Interviewer: We don’t know, all we have are the letters, I just wondered if you were

aware that previously there was a budget for an archivist of some description.

Respondent: No I wasn’t.

Interviewer: Would this be a priority, obviously if funding permits that you would

like to see again at the cathedral, even perhaps as a job share with another

cathedral in a similar financial situation to yourselves?

Respondent: Yeah it would, I mean, it’s pretty unlikely that we would ever be able

to afford a full time archivist, so either it would have to be somebody who would

have another role at the cathedral or as you mentioned, somebody who would

have a shared role within another cathedral, but even that would involve funding.

Interviewer: Do you think that the general public are at all aware that there is an

archive within the cathedral?

Respondent: No, no, no. Many members of the public aren’t even aware that the

cathedral exists (laughs). But it’s like the flip of a coin, you talk to people who have

lived in Sheffield for a long time who may use the tram which has a stop named

‘cathedral’ who aren’t aware of what this building is.

Interviewer: Um, would you like to be able to offer more access to the public?

Respondent: Yes, although I’m not sure that our archive is interesting enough to

attract huge numbers. But what I do think we could do is provide exhibition space,

which I’ve referred to a number of times now. And if people are interested in the

history of their locality, in their cathedral or parish church as it was before the First

World War, and perhaps significant places within Sheffield.

Interviewer: Do you think the cathedral will ever have the facilities to allow the

general public in to view archive material, such as a reading room?

Respondent: Well ideally, the HLF bid will include a dedicated space where that

could happen, so yes ideally, is the answer to that question, but whether or not it

will ever happen or not is another thing entirely.

Interviewer: Touching on the subject of exhibitions again, what do you think, out of

the cathedral archives, would you most like to exhibit, and have you ever thought

about getting a display cabinet and displaying some things in the cathedral itself to

promote awareness of the archive?


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Respondent: Well we do currently have cabinets within the cathedral that currently

display the cathedral silver, near the gallery, and that I guess could be used to

display archival material as well. They’re pretty good display cases. What I think is

the most interesting period in the cathedral’s history, is the twentieth century,

partly because that’s when the parish church became a cathedral, and partly

because there are two significant architects. The cathedral has to have an architect

under statute, and we had two significant architects in the twentieth century, one

was Charles Nicholson and the other was George Pace. They both did a lot of work

in Sheffield with the architect for the construction of [unintelligible]. After the war

he, the architect for the chaplain... so Nicholson and Page had grand plans for the

cathedral, and I think a permanent exhibition of that period of property during the

1930s and 1940s would be really interesting. These architects worked significantly

to improve, adorn and um, beautify the cathedral.

Interviewer: Regarding your links with the university now, how did that actually

come about?

Respondent: I had a conversation with the cathedral archaeologist; again, like the

architects, the cathedral must have an archaeologist by statute, which in our case

means very little as there is not much archaeology in the building, and I said, I asked

him about the possibility of linking up with the university department, initially I was

thinking in terms of a department of librarianship or something like that, but

Sheffield doesn’t have one of those.

Interviewer: No, it’s the department of information studies.

Respondent: Yes, the information studies department. So I consulted another

colleague on, who was the chaplain of the university, and he said it would be the

department of information studies at Sheffield, and I just contacted, actually I think

I contacted Barbara direct, I just flew a kite, and it was great. So far it’s been really

really helpful.

Interviewer: Do you think it’s an important link for the cathedral to have?

Respondent: Well yes, specifically for this, and we do have more general links with

the university through the summer arts festival, and an outreach project that we

handle, so this is kind of a third way of linking together, and we’re hoping in the

future to link in through volunteering, um, I mean I think there’s huge opportunities

for development and partnership.

Interviewer: I know this is the first year that this specific cathedral project has run;

would you like to see this built up in the future and for more volunteers from the

information studies department continuing to work with the archive?


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Respondent: Well I think there are different kinds of projects from the one that

we’ve got at the moment. What I’m very keen on, and what I’ve said to Barbara, is

that we don’t, is that we’re not seen to be exploiting students, in other words there

has to be a direct benefit for both the department of information studies, for the

particular cohort of students and for the cathedral. That they aren’t seen to be

doing jobs for the cathedral simply because the cathedral doesn’t have the money

to do it themselves. So in that sense, we are a resource for the department of

information studies, as well as being a place that has the opportunity to have

something done, which we couldn’t afford otherwise.

Interviewer: How successful do you think it’s been?

Respondent: I think it’s been very successful actually. I think there’s a lot that

needs done, but what I think that it has shown, is that the project is huge, and as

Barbara said to me a few months ago, is that this project isn’t a yearlong project,

there is much more to do than that.

Interviewer: Have you thought about making the archive a presence on the actual

cathedral website?

Respondent: No, no we haven’t. That’s not to say that we wouldn’t, but that again

is related to other things. We don’t have the time or the expertise to do something

like that. Now that actually might in the future be a task that would be part of a

dissertation project.

Interviewer: We were talking about digitisation and electronic media before, is

there anything that you think would be useful to keep records of electronically?

Respondent: Well we keep most things electronically. I think it would be helpful to

digitise, such as some of the more significant architectural drawings that I was

talking about earlier, as I doubt they are on acid free paper and will therefore

deteriorate, so to get those digitised, preferably in PDF format would be really

helpful.

Interviewer: Electronic catalogues for archives are becoming more prominent,

would you like to have an online inventory or database of the archival collections

available?

Respondent: Yes, I mean I think that would be very useful assuming there were

good search engines added to them for easy location and searching. Let’s take an

example, very often; collected memory within the institution is only as good as the

person who has been there the longest, and in an institution like this it’s rarely

more than about twenty years. So you can find yourself talking to someone in the

chapter, having a discussion about something which may have been discussed


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previously, and which may have been implemented previously. Being able to

access an electronic database that had all previous chapter papers and everything,

especially those from over twenty years ago would be incredibly useful.

Interviewer: And of course there is the opportunity to combine all your electronic

information, and your paper based information, your archives and the archival

collection which is down at Shoreham Street into an easily manageable format.

Respondent: Yes of course, because we keep everything electronic now, it would be

easy to add to that. And merging paper based archives with electronic archives...

yes that would be absolutely fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Every day that would

transform our ability to maintain and grow.

Interviewer: Again this is related to the website, which I know isn’t a major priority,

but have you ever thought about putting your inventory, when it is finally

completed, up on the cathedral website, so that people can see what is actually

being held at the cathedral archive?

Respondent: Again we haven’t thought about that, and that isn’t because it isn’t a

good idea, but the website is actually being refurb’d at the moment, we’re

launching a new website in September, and it would be at that point I guess that we

would possibly consider it, possibly after six months we would think, well what else

could we do?

Interviewer: Returning to the archive storage facilities, what would you say is the

major flaw with where the archival material is currently being kept?

Respondent: Where should I start? (Laughs) Well, there are two major locations,

one which you will probably be aware of yourself from your work within the

archive, the one under the *intelligible+ chapel, there is no light, it’s dusty, dirty, and

storage is a problem as there are no boxes for anything. The ‘tank’ as we call it, in

the undercroft, is damp, and full of dust, again not very adequate lighting, there is

no space to move around

Interviewer: Do you think it’s a shame the way that some of the archival material

has been damaged due to neglect?

Respondent: Yes, although I don’t think the neglect is deliberate, but it is real

nonetheless.

Interviewer: What do you think are the reasons that the archive has fallen out of

commission in recent years?

Respondent: Well there has been no policy, that’s what it amounts to. If you have a

policy, you have something to help you take care of it. If there is no policy, there is


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no procedure as to what to do; they don’t know what they have to do. They bundle

it up until eventually it finds its way into the tank downstairs. If you don’t have a

policy, then you have no idea how to care, and it is very difficult to find a way

forward. If the service doesn’t run on a Sunday morning, then I take the hit, that is

my role, but the archives have not been anybody’s role, so have been left. There is

no one to take accountability.


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11. Appendix V: `Archives Policy Template Model taken from Ramos and Ortega, 2006, p. 115-116.

A) Vision statement

B) Core mission statement

C) Goals

D) Objectives

E) Collection policy

(a) Purpose

(b) User community (list current and future users)

(c) Scope of coverage (list subject areas, geographical area, languages,

chronological limits, date of publication types of materials, exclusions)

(d) Cooperative collection development (any policies/agreements with

other departments that share the collection)

(e) Statements concerning resource sharing (policies/agreements with

other similar institutions)

(f) Summary of acquisitions/donation policy

(g) Summary of access policy

(h) Summary of deaccessioning policy

(i) Collections housed in archives (list location of collections if placed in

more than one room or building

(j) Procedures for reviewing collection development policy

F. Acquisitions/donation policy

G. Access policy

H. Deaccessioning policy

I. Organisational chart.


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12. Appendix VI: Cathedral Archive Policy

COR06/07

The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Paul in Sheffield

CATHEDRAL ARCHIVE POLICY

1. Introduction

1.1 Proper storage, alongside quality of paper, is crucial.

1.2 Preserve Important material which need not be kept

permanently on site. It is acceptable to deposit originals and

keep photocopies for Cathedral use.

1.3 Destroy Ephemeral material which can be discarded

once its purpose has been served. Do not destroy if there is

any possibility that the document may be required as

evidence, e.g. child protection, personnel and, financial

documents.

1.4 Review/Sample

Material where a proportion needs to be kept, either by

reviewing its value after an agreed period, or by taking a

sample to preserve at the Diocesan Archives.

1.5 Completion It is defined as the time when the

whole document ceased to be current, e.g. when the work is

finished and paid for; when the registers/terrier etc has been

replaced.

1.6 Underlined Names

The names underlined are the key persons responsible for

the action of preserving, destroying reviewing and

completing the archive policy.

2. Types of Paper


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2.1 Avoid newspaper, poor quality wood-pulp or any high acidic content.

As far as possible good quality ink should be used for signatures and

notes. Recycled paper will not be used for official documents. Cheap

brown paper or envelopes will not be used.

3. Computer Storage

3.1 Computer generated data will be copied to a CD. Little

research and agreement is available regarding the length of time

data will remain on discs and CD. Manufactures say, ‘a very long

time’. Therefore, it is recommended a paper back up of data is

stored alongside CD copies of computer information. The Finance

Officer is skilled and responsible in maintaining the Cathedral server.

The maintenance of good back-up procedures and practice will be

communicated to all personnel every three months. [Persons

Responsible: Finance Officer and all Staff].

3.2 The cathedral utilises the W File on the server, which includes

maintenance, administrative information and finance, for the sharing

of necessary data. This file will be updated every three months.

[Persons Responsible: The Finance Officer and Dean’s Clerk.

4. Old Service Books

4.1 Altar editions of the Book of Common Prayer, Alternative Service

Book will be stored in perpetuity. [Person Responsible: Head Verger]

5. Order to Services

5.1 These will be of interest to historians and future staff.

5.2 Red service files of annual services will be preserved on site for 2

years. These files are used as reference for a period of previous 2 years

when planning a current service. Also, enthronement services for Bishops

and installations of Deans and clergy licenses will be preserved for 5 years

on site and then reviewed. [Person Responsible: Precentor]


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5.3 Red service to be preserved on site for 4 years for individual services,

i.e. those that occur again in some form. Files to be destroyed after review.

[Person Responsible: Precentor].

5.4 A printed copy of the yearly cathedral diary will be preserved for 5

years on site then preserved in perpetuity in the Diocesan Archives. [Person

Responsible: Head Verger and Administrative staff]

5.5 Information of the history of HMS Sheffield, York and Lancashire

Regiments, chapels etc. To be preserved on site for 7 years and then in

perpetuity at the Diocesan Archives. [Person Responsible: The Precentor

and administrative staff.

6. Public Notice Sheets

6.1 Cathedral magazines, visitors and incident books, and weekly notice

sheets will be preserved, preferably in bound files or archive boxes for 7

years. After review, destroyed or preserved at the Diocesan Archives for 40

years. [Person Responsible: Head Verger and Administrative staff].

7. The Terrier: Inventory and Logbook

7.1 Church Wardens will, in consultation with the Precentor and Fabric

Advisory Committee, compile and maintain the terrier, inventory and

logbook of the cathedral. They will record details of alterations, additions

and repairs to buildings, artefacts and land belonging to the cathedral. All

faculties, with accompanying papers, photographs, plans drawing,

correspondence and accounts relating to major repairs of alterations will be

preserved for 7 years, and then preserved in perpetuity at the Diocesan

Archive. [Person Responsible: Church Wardens].

8. Cathedral Administration

8.1 all minutes of Chapter and sub committees, Cathedral Community

Committee, Cathedral Friends, Cathedral Council, College of Canons

meetings, and Fabric Advisory Committee will be preserved on site for 5

years, and then preserved in perpetuity at the Diocesan Archives. The

Cathedral Statutes and Policy Documents will be preserved on site in

perpetuity. These will not be stored with ring binders. They will be kept in

properly bound volumes or kept in an archival box. Pages and boxes should

be numbered and dated consecutively. [Person Responsible: The Dean’s Clerk+


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8.2 Routine Cathedral administration does not need to be preserved, but

letters and reports relating to major building, and other, developments in

the cathedral will be retained for a minimum of 7 years, and then reviewed

by the Administrator. [Person Responsible: The Administrator]

8.3 Baptism and Banns application forms will be destroyed after one

year. [Person Responsible: Canon Pastor]

9. Electoral Role

9.1 Copies of the Electoral Roll and Cathedral audits will be preserved in

perpetuity. [Person Responsible: Canon Pastor]

10. Vacancy and Appointments

10.1 The cathedral profiles, written in preparation for the appointment of

a new Dean, in consultation with the Archdeacon and Bishop, and any other

information relating to a vacancy and appointment of a new Dean will be

preserved on site for 7 years and then preserved at the Diocesan Archives in

perpetuity. [Person Responsible: The Dean and Dean’s Clerk.

11. Personnel

All personal files of previous members of staff to be preserved on site for 7

years, then preserved in perpetuity after review. [Person Responsible: The Dean

and Administrator]

All personal files on current staff to be preserved on site for 7 years after

employment ceases, and then reviewed. . [Person Responsible: The Dean and

Administrator]

The Dean’s documentation on confidential staff matters e.g. child protection to

be preserved for 7 years, and then in perpetuity on site after review by the

Dean. [Person Responsible: The Dean].

Correspondence with the Church Burgesses Trust relating to key decisions on

the building, policy or memorandum preserved on site for 5 years, and then

reviewed. [Person Responsible: The Dean, Dean’s Clerk and Administrator].

12. Finance


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12.1 The cathedral will generate a great deal of financial information. The

Annual Accounts of the cathedral funds will be preserved in perpetuity. Cash

records, bank statements, wage records and routine correspondence will be

preserved on site for 7 years after the end of the covenant, and then

preserved at the Diocesan Archive in perpetuity. [Persons Responsible: The

Finance Officer and Chapter Treasurer]

13. The Development Project

13.1 The minutes, policies, letters, reports, financial and bank statements,

and plans, relating to the building of the Community Resources Centre, will

be stored on site until the end of 2022, and then at the Diocesan Archives in

perpetuity. All documents, which also includes legacy agreements and

covenants will be bound or stored in archive boxes. No metal ring-binders

will be used to store documents. All computer information relating to the

Development Project and Community Resources Centre will be stored on

CD, accompanied by printed copies of all information. The archive

documents will be printed on good quality paper and stored in an

adequately ventilated room to prevent deterioration. [Persons Responsible:

The Marketing and Fund Raising Manager].

June 2006

[4th Draft 07 June 2006]