Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002: report of the Jersey Heritage Trust and the States Archivist during 2011.

STATES OF JERSEY

PUBLIC RECORDS (JERSEY) LAW 2002: REPORT OF THE JERSEY HERITAGE TRUST AND THE STATES ARCHIVIST DURING 2011

Presented to the States on 20th April 2012

by the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture

STATES GREFFE

2012   Price code: C  R.50

2011 Annual Report on the work of Jersey Heritage and the Archivist under the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002.

Introduction

Jersey Heritage faces some significant challenges to ensure the continued provision of a high quality archive service for Jersey over the next 10 years. Freedom of Information legislation has now been adopted by the States of Jersey and the Jersey Archive, as the principal holder of public records in the Island, will need to ensure that the demands of the legislation can be met. The implementation of Public Records legislation is still underfunded with an additional 3.5 FTE posts required to meet the needs of this law as recommended by Dr Norman James of The National Archive.

The Archive faces an increasing deposit of digital material which will require new preservation techniques and skills to be put in place. In common with the international archival community we must ensure that the digital records of today survive to be consulted by future generations. Digitisation of archival material will require additional investments in IT infrastructure at Jersey Heritage and increased virtual storage space.

Whilst deposit of digital archives is becoming increasingly common the Archive still receives an average of 25 cubic meters of records each year. If current transfer rates continue a new storage block at Jersey Archive will need to be built and in place to store vital archival material by 2019.

Jersey Heritage has strived to ensure that the Jersey Archive meets National Standards for the preservation of and provision of access to over 600 years of our Island's unique written cultural heritage. In 2013 the National Archive plans to introduce a new Accreditation Standard. Working towards meeting this standard will be a key focus for archive staff in 2012.

As reported in 2011 Jersey Heritage currently runs a high quality archive service which achieves amongst the highest marks in governance, documentation and preservation when compared to services in the UK. The Archive building itself is in the top 10% of buildings across the Country.

The importance of the unique collections we hold was highlighted at a national level in 2011 when the Occupation Collections at Jersey Archive were listed as part of the UNESCO UK Memory of the World Register. The register includes items which span over 1100 years of history and embody some of the most pivotal moments and periods that have shaped the UK and Great Britain.

The UNESCO recognition of the importance of Jersey's Occupation Archives has highlighted the vital work that is carried out at Jersey Archive. The Occupation Collections are a unique reflection of Jersey and the wider Channel Islands' status as the only part of Britain to spend 5 years under German rule during the Second World War. If these collections were lost our understanding of this period in both Jersey and Great Britain's history would be immeasurably damaged

Archival Public Records

In 2011, 53 new collections from official bodies were transferred to the Jersey Archive under  the  Law.  These  collections  contained  nearly  5,000  individual  items.  All  new collections have been fully accessioned, assessed by the Archive Conservator and placed in the strongrooms at the Jersey Archive to await cataloguing.

Collections transferred in 2011 include log books and punishment books from St John's School, Honorary Police arrest registers from the 19th Century, maps showing proposed developments at St Helier Harbour in the 19th Century, photographs of the Jersey

Lifeguards from Economic Development and the Chief Officer's files from Sport, Leisure and Recreation.

JA/1901 – Extract from the Honorary Police Arrest Register of St John. Case of Alfred Turner, John Le Piez and Philip Hubert arrested for stealing and destroying swan's eggs from Hougue Boëte Manor.

In 2011 17 cubic meters of records were transferred to the archive compared with 29 cubic meters in 2010. This fall in bulk reflects the fact that the vast majority of historic public records that are over 20 years old have now been deposited at Jersey Archive under the Law. Additional annual deposits from public administrations take up less space than each initial deposit of potentially several hundred years worth of records.

If transfers continue at the average rate from the past five years the Jersey Archive repository will be full by 2019. It should be noted that, despite the fact that some archival information will be deposited in a digital format in future, plans should be made for the construction of an additional strongroom block at Jersey Archive.

An additional storage space at the Archive would have the added benefit of providing much  need  storage  for  semi-current  records  belonging  to  public  institutions.  Semi- current records are those files that do not have long-term archival value but need to be kept by law for a certain period of time. Many public institutions currently either store these files in valuable office space or commercial off-site storage.

Please see appendix A for a full list of public records accessioned in 2011.

Cataloguing and Preservation

The Jersey Archive currently holds over 300,000 public records, 65% of which are fully catalogued and accessible for members of the public to research. The remaining 35% are waiting to be catalogued before they can be made available to the public. With current staffing levels this represents a 25.9 year cataloguing backlog.

In 2011 staff at the archive focused on increasing the number of items catalogued. 7,473 new items were catalogued during the year compared to the 6,436 items catalogued in 2010. This represents an increase of 16% in items catalogued over the course of the year.

Public  records  currently  held  at  the Jersey Archive are kept in an environmentally controlled secure strongroom which is monitored for temperature and humidity by the Conservator on a daily basis. In 2011 the Conservator spent 233 hours ensuring that all public records arriving at the archive were cleaned and repackaged. The Conservator is also responsible for a programme of conservation of badly damaged items. In 2011 20 items were fully conserved using an external firm. The archive currently holds 531 items in an unusable condition that are in need of active conservation work and are currently unavailable to members of the public.

A/B/2 – Lieutenant Governor's Letter Book, 1816 – 1842 before and after treatment Each year the Jersey Archive completes a stock take to ensure that public records are located correctly in the strongrooms and that none have been misplaced during the year. In 2011 approximately 50,000 records were checked in stock taking week and were found to be in their correct locations.

Digital Records

In 2011 7,327 or 8GBs of digital files were transferred to Jersey Archive. These files have been fully accessioned and are awaiting cataloguing. The digital files have not yet been included in the cataloguing backlog, which is calculated by bulk. As the backlog of digital records cannot be measured by bulk we will use these early transfers of digital material to test and apply a method for calculating the digital backlog. From 2012 annual reports will include figures for both physical and digital cataloguing backlog.

Public Access to Records

In 2011 the Jersey Archive was open to the public on 162 days of the year and 3,498 readers made use of the facilities – an increase of 7% on visits in 2010. The Archive also provides access to public records through its online catalogue and enquiries service. In 2011 staff answered 1,895 written enquiries and responded to 1,459 telephone calls.

The Jersey Archive resources are used by States Departments, States Members, law firms, construction professionals and by members of the public worldwide. In 2011 enquiries and research visits to the Archive covered areas such as; probate, family history, the German Occupation, the Jersey militia, legal enquiries, boundary disputes, requests for housing qualifications, house history, vehicle registration enquiries, inquest details, Royal visits to the Island, Claude Cahun, States legislation and minutes and records from the First World War.

The Archive continues to be used by members of the public of all ages from students to those who are retired. In 2011 staff talked to school groups from Victoria College Preparatory  School  and  Haute  Vallée  Secondary  School  and  worked  with  Les Quennevais Year 8 students to produce the Les Quennevais Family Tree exhibition held at the Archive.

Les Quennevais Family Tree Project on display at Jersey Archive

The Archive's Saturday morning programme of talks, sponsored by Appleby, continued in 2011. The What's Your Street's Story project focused on different areas of the community and encouraged members of the public to learn more about their Island. The programme proved to be extremely popular with nearly three times more people visiting the Archive on open Saturdays than on an average weekday.

The need for increased public access to the records at the Jersey Archive has been highlighted in previous annual reports to the States. The findings of the National Archive assessment of 2008 and the Public Services Quality Forum questionnaire to Archive readers in 2009 have both shown that the Archive needs to improve in this area to meet national standards and public expectation.

Access and outreach services are the area in which the Archive scores the lowest in The National Archive self-assessment process with a score of 58.5% in 2010 (the self- assessment did not take place in 2011). This is an area for concern that might prevent the Archive receiving accredited status under the new National Archive scheme.

Closed Records

Under the Public Records Law any information produced by a public body is closed to public access for 30 years unless it has been previously available, e.g. published reports. The Records Advisory Panel, appointed under the Law, has the ability to approve recommendations from the Archivist for longer closure periods on records of a sensitive nature, e.g. Children's Services or Hospital records.

In October 2011 the Archivist reviewed 192 files of public records that, after closure periods of 30, 75 and 100 years, were due to be opened to public access in January 2012. After review and consultation with the public bodies that created the records the Archivist recommended that 184 files be opened to public access on 1 January 2012 and 8 files should be closed for longer periods of time. The additional closures were made under Part 5, Article (a) of the Public Records Law – Unwarranted invasion of the privacy of an individual. The Records Advisory Panel agreed these recommendations on 12 December 2011.

Records opened included details of the criminal misdemeanours of some of our ancestors, admission registers from the General Hospital and the minutes of the Island's Defence Committee in the crucial period between the First and Second World Wars. The public can now learn more about Conrad Frederick William Krimmel, a soldier in the King's Own Regiment who was accused of bigamy. Krimmel was reported to have married Maud Alice Swatman at Colchester in 1908 before being sent to Jersey with his regiment and marrying Annie May Bourke at St Mary and St Peter's Church in Jersey in 1910.

The witness statements include that of Annie May who says that she made the acquaintance of prisoner soon after the Regiment came to Jersey in November 1908.' and that she kept company with him'. Annie May reports that the prisoner told me he was a Bachelor.'

Freedom of Information

On 4th May 2011 the States of Jersey adopted Freedom of Information legislation. The legislation was presented to the States with a report that highlighted the key link between Public Records and Freedom of Information legislation and the cost implications for Jersey Heritage.

What will be the costs of the Legislation to Jersey Heritage?

51. Jersey Heritage currently holds over 250,000 public records. Many of these records do not currently fall under the Code as they date from pre-2000. Once legislation is enacted Jersey Heritage will have 5 years under the proposed phased introduction to ensure that public records in the care of Jersey Archive are catalogued and easily accessible to members of the public. Jersey Archive currently has a 24 year cataloguing backlog and the service's lack of resources to meet the Public Records Law have been highlighted in a 2008 report by

Dr. Norman James of The National Archive. Dr. James recommends an additional 3.5 FTE posts at the Archive to ensure that Public Records

legislation is met.

52. If the 3.5 FTE additional posts required under Public Records legislation are agreed by the States then Jersey Heritage anticipates that no further permanent posts would be required should Freedom of Information legislation be passed.

If these posts are not agreed then Jersey Heritage would have to look again at the implications of FOI.

53. However in the short-term and as a direct consequence of FOI legislation, in addition to these posts Jersey Heritage would request a 5 year temporary cataloguing contract to ensure that pre-2000 public records were catalogued

and ready for consultation 5 years after the Law is adopted by the States. The costs of this would be £45,000 per annum in year one, rising to approximately £50,000 in Year 5 to cover salary, pension, social security, holiday and management costs for one individual employed on a full-time basis. The total cost would be a maximum of £250,000 over 5 years, which compares

favourably with the Cayman Islands National Archive who received £175,000 over a 2 year period.

Source: Draft Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 201- Lodged au Greffe 15th March 2011

Previous annual reports to the States have highlighted the need for additional staff at Jersey Archive to support the full implementation of a records management programme for the States as required by Public Records legislation. A fully implemented records management programme is essential for public institutions to be able to meet the requirements of Freedom of Information.

Records Management

In 2011 the Archivist has continued to work with States administrations to ensure that retention schedules are put in place and signed off under the Law. The retention schedules list all records produced by a department and give recommendations for retention of records and eventual disposal either by confidential shredding or to the Jersey Archive.

In 2011 the Archivist appraised nearly 1,000 files and 6 retention schedules were put in place. 30 schedules have now been put in place for public institutions over the past four years.

Records Advisory Panel

The Records Advisory Panel met on four occasions in 2011. The Archivist wishes to thank the members of the Records Advisory Panel and the staff at Jersey Heritage for their support throughout the year.

2012

In 2012 the Archivist plans to continue to work with States Administrations to produce signed off retention schedules. At current staffing levels the Archivist aims to produce 3 signed off schedules by the end of the year. The Archivist will continue to support the work of the States of Jersey Records Management working group and to be a member of the steering group for the implementation of Freedom of Information legislation.

In 2012 Archive staff will also continue to preserve, catalogue and provide access to the records at Jersey Archive. The promotion of the work of the archive and the records we hold will continue with projects such as the What's Your Street's Story programme and the Les Quennevais Family Tree exhibition.

Development of the new accreditation standard will be monitored in 2012 with the aim of becoming a fully accredited archive when the standard is launched in 2013. It is likely that this will require staff additional resources.

Therefore the Archivist will continue to work with Education, Sport and Culture to address the need for greater staffing resources to enable Jersey Heritage to carry out its functions under the Public Records Law, its obligations under Freedom of Information legislation and to meet The National Archives accreditation standard.

Conclusion

In 2011 my report stressed that the challenges the Archive faces in the transfer of digital records, the cataloguing backlog, records management implementation, public access and impending Freedom of Information legislation can be solved with a relatively small number of additional resources.

The current 25.9 year projected backlog would be significantly reduced with one additional permanent full time cataloguing post. With this additional post in place the projected backlog would be reduced to 10.6 years. The backlog would then start to reduce further each year.

The additional 3.5 FTE posts recommended by Dr Norman James of The National Archive's report of 2008 would mean that the Archive could build on the current success of the service, fully meet its obligations under the Law and work towards achieving accreditation.

Dr James' conclusion to the 2008 report that The Trust is conducting archival operations efficiently, but there is a growing gap between the responsibilities imposed on the service and its ability to meet them within the current financial settlement.' is still true at the  end  of  2011.  Freedom  of  Information  legislation  will  only  increase  the  legal obligations placed on Jersey Archive.

However,  despite  a  recognised  lack  of  resources  the  Jersey  Archive  continues  to provide a high quality service for the preservation of and access to Jersey's unique written  cultural  heritage.  The  importance  of  that  heritage  has  now  been  officially recognised by UNESCO and it is vital that we continue to care for and provide access to our history for generations to come.

Linda Romeril

Head of Archives and Collections Jersey Heritage

26 March 2012

Appendix A  

List of Public Records transferred to Jersey Archive in 2011