STATES OF JERSEY

PUBLIC RECORDS (JERSEY) LAW 2002: REPORT OF THE JERSEY HERITAGE TRUST AND THE STATES ARCHIVIST DURING 2013

Presented to the States on 20th June 2014

by the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture

STATES GREFFE

2014   Price code: C  R.83

2013 Annual Report on the work of Jersey Heritage and the Archivist under the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002.

Introduction  

In 2013 Jersey Heritage continued to preserve and promote access to the unique written heritage of the Island stored at the Jersey Archive. The Archive team catalogued over 7,000 new items during the course of the year and welcomed over 3,300 local and overseas researchers to the Jersey Archive.

At the end of 2013 4 new members of staff (3.4 FTE) were employed at Jersey Archive under a Service Level Agreement with the Chief Minister's Department. The agreement acknowledged the staffing shortage highlighted in the 2008 report by Dr Norman James of The National Archive and the SOCITM Consulting Freedom of Information Implementation Plan.

The employment of additional staff, albeit on a fixed term basis, has been a significant step forward for Jersey Archive. The Archive can now start to make progress with cataloguing backlogs and also to work with public institutions to ensure that public records are correctly managed, recorded and archived or destroyed prior to the implementation of Freedom of Information legislation at the beginning of 2015.  

Jersey Heritage understands that the requirement for permanent funding is currently under review to ensure that the Archive is in a position to continue to advise public bodies on their responsibilities under the Law, to accession and catalogue public records within an appropriate timescale and to respond effectively to the demands of the legislation when it is brought into force. Permanent funding for these additional posts would also allow Jersey Heritage to review opportunities for increased access to the Archive in line with current standards.

Jersey Heritage has been advised by the Department for Education, Sport and Culture that funding for an additional Archive repository has been included in the States Long Term Capital Plan for 2016, subject to States approval in 2015. A project group will be formed in 2014 to progress a detailed feasibility study.

This additional storage space will allow the Archive to continue to receive key historic records from departments. It is anticipated that preparation for Freedom of Information in 2014 will lead to increased transfers of both paper and digital records.

Jersey Heritage acknowledges that key records are now often created and kept in a digital format. In 2014 we aim to work with the States of Jersey Information Services to put in place systems and procedures for the transfer of digital records to the Jersey Archive and the storage of those records as part of the ongoing history of the Island.

Archival Public Records

In 2013, 83 new collections from official bodies were transferred to the Jersey Archive under the Law. These collections contained nearly 8,400 individual items. All new collections have been accessioned, assessed by the Archive Conservator and placed in the strongrooms at the Jersey Archive to await cataloguing.

Collections transferred in 2013 include records from The Bailiff 's Chambers, Health and Social Services, Customs and Immigration, Education, Sport and Culture and various schools, Social Security, States Greffe, Judicial Greffe, Department of the Environment and Transport and Technical Services.

In total 15 cubic meters of records were transferred to Jersey Archive in 2013. If transfers continue at the average rate from the past five years the Jersey Archive repository will be full by the beginning of 2019.

The additional storage space at Jersey Archive will be vital as departments continue to prepare for Freedom of Information legislation. In 2014, as a result of the preparation work, we would expect to see a significant number of public records being transferred to the Archive.

Please see appendix A for a full list of public records accessioned in 2013.

Cataloguing and Preservation

The Jersey Archive currently holds over 320,000 records, 65% of which are catalogued and accessible for members of the public to research, subject to a small number of closure periods. The remaining 35% are waiting to be catalogued before they can be made available to the public. In 2013 staff catalogued 7,029 new items.

With current permanent staffing levels this represents 27.2-year cataloguing backlog (excluding digital material) which has reduced slightly from 28.6 years at the end of 2012. If we include the time spent cataloguing by temporary staff employed under the Freedom of Information agreement the projected backlog drops to 6.1 years. If these temporary two year contracts are not extended the projected backlog will significantly rise again in 2016.

Public records currently held at the Jersey Archive are kept in an environmentally controlled secure strongroom that is monitored for temperature and humidity by the Conservator on a daily basis. In 2013 the Conservator spent 438 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 2013 using in house resources and an external firm 26 items were conserved.

D/Q/A1/12 - Jersey Shipping Register, 1862 – 1866 Before and after conservation treatment.

The archive currently holds 614 items in an unusable condition that are in need of active conservation work and are currently unavailable to members of the public.  

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 2013 approximately 50,000 records were checked in stocktaking week and were found to be in their correct locations.

Digital Records

In 2013 6GBs of digital files were transferred to Jersey Archive. The Archive now holds 1,351 folders of digital material that needs to be catalogued. With permanent staff resources this material would add 4 years to the cataloguing backlog, if temporary staff are taken into account 1 year would need to be added.

Records Management

In 2013 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 2013 the Archivist appraised nearly 1,000 files and 11 retention schedules were put in place. A total of 64 retention schedules have now been signed off and agreed with public institutions with 22 draft schedules prepared and awaiting sign off.

Records Advisory Panel  

The Records Advisory Panel met on four occasions in 2013. The Archivist wishes to thank the members of the Records Advisory Panel and all the staff at Jersey Heritage for their support throughout the year.

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 2013 the Archivist reviewed 160 files of public records that, after closure periods of 30, 75 and 100 years, were due to be opened to public access. After review and consultation with the public bodies that created the records the Archivist recommended that 150 files be opened to public access and 10 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 at their meeting in December 2013.

Records opened include details of applications by two Austrian Doctors to move to the Island in 1938 to practice medicine. On 12th March 1938 the German Army had marched

into Austria and later that month Austria became part of the German Empire. One of the Doctors who applied to come to Jersey was Otto Wolfgang Lederer who was born in Vienna and was of Jewish descent. Dr Lederer's wife Alice was born in Liverpool and wrote to the Island Authorities on 8th July 1938 asking if there were any openings for her husband to move to the Island and practice medicine. In her letter she says Political changes here forces him to leave this country'

Hospital Admissions to the General Hospital for the year 1913 were also opened to the public at the start of 2014. These records allow us to find out more about the individuals who were admitted to the hospital in that year and the reasons for their admission.

In 1913 the hospital still acted as what was effectively the Island's poor house with many individuals admitted, not for medical reasons but simply because they were indigent' or poor. These include Marie Jeanne Aubin the wife of Mathurin Angé who was born in the Côtes du Nord and entered the hospital in poverty at the age of 82.

The Charpentier Family were also admitted to the hospital for non-medical reasons. Joseph Pierre Marie Charpentier who was 27 and born in Ile et Vilaine was admitted to the hospital with his two children Marie Joseph aged 21 months and Joseph Pierre Marie aged just 8 days on the 22nd March with the reason for admission being given as flooding of his house by the sea.'

Many of those admitted to the hospital for medical reasons had injuries or illnesses that we would be familiar with today such as tonsillitis, heart disease, pneumonia and hernias. The register also lists some diseases that are thankfully no longer prevalent in the Island such as typhoid and diphtheria.

Public Access to Records

In 2013 the Jersey Archive was open to the public on 160 days of the year and 3,332 readers made use of the facilities. The Archive also provides access to public records through its online catalogue and enquiries service. In 2013 staff answered 1,667 written enquiries and responded to 1,359 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 2013 enquiries and research visits to the Archive covered areas such as; house history, family history, the German Occupation, court records, shipwrecks, vehicle registrations, military history and witchcraft in Jersey.

The Archive continues to be used by members of the public of all ages from students to those who are retired. In 2013 staff talked to school groups from Victoria College Preparatory School, Jersey College for Girls and worked with Les Quennevais Year 8 students on their Identity Project. Talks and tours were also given to local clubs and associations such as the WI and the Probus Club.

The Archive's Saturday morning programme of talks, sponsored by Appleby, continued in 2013. 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 25% more people taking advantage of the open Saturdays than attended in 2012.

In 2013 Archive Staff told hundreds of Islanders the stories of L'Etacq, Gorey Village, Pier Road, St Mary's Village, Colomberie, Westmount, Green Island and Samarès, Noirmont and Portelet, St Peter's Valley and Clairvale, Clearview and Columbus Streets.

Triangle Park, Jersey

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 (PSQG) questionnaire to Archive readers in October 2012 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 has not taken place since). This is an area for concern that might prevent the Archive receiving accredited status under the new National Archive scheme.

If the additional staff employed as part of the Freedom of Information implementation programme could be made permanent then opening hours could be improved in line with best practice.

Volunteers

The  National  Archives  publication,  Archives  for  the  21st  Century,  highlights  the importance of archives as institutions that promote a sense of place, community and social inclusion. These values are particularly evident in the volunteer schemes in place at Jersey Archive.

Volunteers come to the Archive with a variety of backgrounds including students at local schools, retired individuals with specific skills that can benefit the archive, individuals interested in training as heritage professionals and those who see volunteering at the archive as an opportunity to combine a sociable activity with an area in which they have a specific interest.

Jersey Archive also has an important partnership with the Channel Islands Family History Society who provide volunteers to assist members of the public with their family history research on each day that the Archive is open.

In 2013 Jersey Archive benefitted from 2,116 volunteer hours – the equivalent of 56 weeks of full time work. During the course of the year 29 individuals volunteered at the Archive with a further 31 volunteers helping through the Channel Islands Family History Society.

Conclusion  

The work of Jersey Archive continues to centre on the preservation of the Island's rich cultural heritage for current and future generations to enjoy.

The Archive's comment book shows the high quality service provided by the staff and volunteers with individuals from Jersey and across the world showing their appreciation for the assistance they have received. The following comment is from a visitor from Canada:

This has been a wonderful day for me – pushing on a family's record book back from 1847 to about 1680. Your service was great, friendly, helpful, cheerful and terrifically valuable.'

The personal, family and community connections that the Archive promotes will be strengthened in 2014 with a new community focus for our What's Your Street's Story project and the development of our reminiscence programme.

Jersey Archive also provides the Island with a key service in the identification and preservation of records which illustrate and act as evidence of the activities of the States of Jersey and our Public Institutions.

The correct identification and storage of these records is an important part of accountable and transparent government, providing evidence of activity and helping to record and protect rights and entitlements.

In 2014 Archive staff will continue to work closely with Public Institutions to assist in preparation for Freedom of Information Legislation and to ensure that the correct records are identified and transferred to the Archive.

We will continue to work with Information Services on strategies for the transfer and storage of digital records and with Property Holdings and the Department for Education Sport and Culture to develop the new repository block project in preparation for 2016. In 2014 the Archive will apply to The National Archive's accreditation scheme with the intention of becoming a fully accredited archive.

Linda Romeril, Archives and Collections Director Jersey Heritage

February 2014

Appendix A  

List of Public Records transferred to Jersey Archive in 2013