Archives hold the unique and irreplaceable story of organisations, businesses, communities and individuals across the country. The National Archives, as archive sector lead in England, has written this reference guide to help inform LGA members. Archives are extremely varied, coming in all shapes and sizes, but all with the same essential mission to safeguard the records of our work, our decisions, our achievements and to make them accessible to the public. Archives play an essential role in democracy, fostering openness and accountability, and are vital to people’s sense of place and community. Archives help to bring people together, introduce them to new ideas and concepts, instil a sense of pride in communities and can improve quality of life. Archives, as part of a wider cultural offer, play a vital role in the social, economic, environmental, physical and mental wellbeing of communities.
This reference guide is designed to help LGA members better understand what archives are, why they are so important, and where to go for further information.
What is an archive?
An archive is essentially materials generated by individuals, groups or organisations during the course of their life or work and deemed to be worth keeping permanently because they have long-term value for cultural, historical or evidentiary purposes. The organisations which maintain these materials for the long term are also called archives, or sometimes archive services.
Archive material comes in a variety of formats – both physical and digital – including council committee meeting minutes, planning applications and decisions, files relating to children’s services, electoral registers, letters, photographs, maps and emails. Local authority archives will hold records relating to the governance of the area and the communities that live there. These collections may include records such as architectural plans, council minutes, material from local communities and individuals, and the personal papers of prominent local figures.
What is the role of archives in councils?
There is an archive working within or on behalf of every local authority in the country. Councils have statutory obligations to record their decisions (see the next section), and to manage and make available those records to anyone who wishes to consult them, for any purpose.
An efficiently run archive service will support compliance with Freedom of Information and Data Protection. Archives play a vital role in transparency, accountability, and democracy within local government. In turn, archives – and the highly skilled professionals that manage them - contribute to local priorities such as economic growth and regeneration, education and volunteering, community cohesion, place making, and health and wellbeing.
In safeguarding and ensuring public access to these records, archives are a powerful resource which supports a council, its story and its people. They empower individuals to take part in the democratic process and understand how the decisions which impact their lives are made.
Local authority archives share many important characteristics with libraries, museums and other forms of heritage and culture, and sometimes sit within the same departments, but their mission and what they can bring in return are unique. Other archive services sit at the core of local authorities with corporate resources or legal and democratic services.
What is the offer of archives to wider agendas?
Archives play a vital role in preserving our collective cultural memory and in protecting local stories of the past and present, for future generations. Many archives have helped communities to embrace change by firmly placing their history, heritage and identity at the heart of urban regeneration. Archives help to build stable and prosperous communities with a strong sense of identity, they encourage well-being, and they provide opportunities for people to learn, explore and interact. In doing so, archives strengthen the connections between people in a locality, enhance placemaking and the shaping of the public realm, and support evolution.
Archives in local planning guidance
‘Championing archives and libraries within local planning’ guidance, created in partnership with Arts Council England, sets out the role that libraries and archives can play in place shaping. It offers practical guidance on including libraries and archives in the Local Plan, using the Community Infrastructure Levy to support this, and engaging residents with the plan.