Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002: Annual Report 2018 on the work of Jersey Heritage and the Archivist

Conserving our Island story

2018 ANNUAL REPORT ON THE WORK OF JERSEY HERITAGE AND THE ARCHIVIST UNDER THE PUBLIC RECORDS (JERSEY) LAW, 2002

jerseyheritage.org R.66/2019

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION  3  CLOSED RECORDS  19 & 20 RECORDS ADVISORY PANEL  4 RECORDS OPENED 2019  21 FUNDING  5 & 6  MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT  22 TRUST | ACCOUNTABILITY | CUSTODIAN  ARCHIVE ACCREDITATION  23

CASE STUDY, JERSEY ARCHIVE STRONGROOM BLOCK  7

CASE STUDY, DIGITAL PRESERVATION  8  APPENDIX A

PUBLIC RECORDS TRANSFERRED IN 2018 24 27 ENRICHMENT | OPENNESS | COMMUNITY

CASE STUDY, FAMILY HISTORY FESTIVAL  9  APPENDIX B

CASE STUDY, PRESERVATION OF COMMUNITY ARCHIVES  10  KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 28 IMPACT | ONLINE | INTERNATIONAL  APPENDIX C

CASE STUDY, PARISH REGISTERS ONLINE  11  ARCHIVE FUNDING 29 CASE STUDY, SOCIAL MEDIA  11

PUBLIC RECORDS LAW COMPLIANCE | IDENTIFICATION, TRANSFER, CARE AND ACCESS

PUBLIC INSTITUTION ENQUIRIES  12 DIGITISATIONS PROGRAMME AND GOVERNMENT RESTRUCTURE  13 & 14 TRANSFER OF ARCHIVES 15 PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATION 16 CATALOGUING 17 ACCESS 18

INTRODUCTION

Archives are important; they tell us the stories of our past, record our present and provide direction to allow us to move forward. They are a window on the world, preserving our culture and providing evidence and accountability of contemporary decisions for the communities of the future.

Archives are also vulnerable, physical material deteriorates in poor storage conditions and digital archives are under threat from deletion, file obsolescence and security breaches. In 2018 Jersey Heritage made significant progress in the safeguarding of both the physical and digital archives cared for at Jersey Archive. In January 2018 construction of a new £3.5 million extension to the Jersey Archive began, this building will allow us to continue to care for the Island s ongoing history with expansion space of at least 25 years.

In 2018 we also made significant progress in the long-term preservation of digital files, entering into a contract with Arkivum to use their digital preservation system to store original copies of the digital records. The system will create viewing and backup copies

of records, monitor file format changes and run checksums to ensure the authenticity of the digital files as evidence.

Whilst significant progress has been made to care for the physical and digital material that is transferred

the archive, appropriate management of records

within public institutions is essential to ensure that documents, identified by the Archivist as archival,

are transferred to Jersey Archive. Government reorganisation, office moves and digitisation projects require input from both the institution s Public Records Officer and the Archivist to ensure that vital records are tracked, retention schedules are updated and archival documents are deposited.

In 2018 we continued to encourage public access to  archives through online resources, in person visits,  written enquiries, reminiscence sessions, education  events, talks and tours. Comments made by our visitors  show how important their personal connections with  archives are;  

 I have been able to locate my grandfather s  Registration Card and the cards for my mother, my aunt  and my grandmother who left the island during the  

war and returned immediately afterward. I have found records of great-uncles who fought and died in the  war. These records are a treasure trove of my personal  history and I can t wait to come back next year to even  more records! Thank you to all the staff and volunteers,  you don t know how valuable your work is!  

The continued preservation of and access to Jersey s  unique archives is at the core of both Jersey Heritage s  purpose and the Public Records Law. In 2019 we aim  to continue to identify and preserve archival material,  promoting access through in person visits, online  visits and with events such as the 2019 Family History  Festival and What s Her Street s Story programme of talks celebrating 100 years of female suffrage.

Linda Romeril

Archives and Collections Director, Jersey Heritage - 26 April 2019

RECORDS ADVISORY PANEL

The Archivist and her colleagues are to be congratulated on another successful year of caring for and providing access to Jersey s unique archives. In her report for 2018 the Archivist has documented progress across a wide range of areas, including digital preservation, online facilities, and the first Family History Festival. The Records Advisory Panel has met regularly with the Archivist during 2018, and we have been continually impressed with the quality and extent of the work that is carried out by the team of staff at the Jersey Archive. This success is due in no small part to the excellent level of support provided by the Jersey Heritage Trust, thereby enabling the Archive to focus on its core functions.

The Records Advisory Panel is nonetheless concerned about two issues that have been highlighted in the Archivist s report. The first of these relates to a shortfall in the level of funding. The Advisory Panel has carried out a detailed assessment of

the resources available to the Jersey Archive Service, and it is of the view that the Service is significantly under-resourced and therefore unable to carry out its functions properly as required under the Public Records Law. These functions are set out

clearly in the Law, and they include cataloguing, conservation, and the provision of advice and support to public institutions. To take cataloguing and conservation as an example, it is estimated that by 2025 it will take nearly 100 years with the current level of resources to clear the backlog in cataloguing across all collections, and over 100 years to clear the backlog in conservation of items in unusable and poor condition. In other words, a significant proportion of the records held by the Jersey Archive will remain unavailable for public consultation for several generations to come, and in the Panel s view this is unacceptable. The shortfall in funding also has other implications, as detailed by the Archivist in her report, and the Panel has written to the Economic Development Minister to express its concerns. A bid for additional funding is currently under consideration, and we do hope this has a successful outcome.

contents included reports, correspondence and photographs. The Advisory Panel was dismayed to hear about this inadvertent destruction of records, and this incident will undoubtedly have resulted in the loss of material of historic value. This is the most serious incident involving the loss of public records since the Public Records Law came into force in 2003.

The Advisory Panel has been given assurances by the Government of Jersey that the necessary measures have been taken to guard against the occurrence of a similar event in the future. The Panel believes, however, that higher priority needs to be given to improving the standards of records management in government departments

if further losses of public records are to be avoided. We are of the view that major improvements are needed to ensure that public records are being managed appropriately and in line with the requirements of the Public Records Law. The Panel has been informed that a government-wide records management programme has recently been initiated, although this is still in its early stages.

Public records are invaluable to our understanding of our island s history. The Jersey Archive and Jersey Heritage are playing their part, and we look forward to the Government of Jersey playing a more active role by promoting and delivering improvements in records management.

Jeremy Harris Chairperson,

Records Advisory Panel

The second issue highlighted by the Archivist concerns the management of public records and the destruction by the Planning and Environment Department of over 4,000 files on Historic Buildings in Jersey. These files represented virtually the entire collection of files on the island s Listed Buildings, prior to the recent resurvey, and their

FUNDING

Since 2004 the Archivist s Annual Reports to the States of Jersey have consistently highlighted a lack of funding to support the appropriate implementation of the Public Records Law.

In 2008 a report from The National Archive which reviewed the performance of Jersey Archive concluded that;

 The archives service in Jersey is professionally run in line with best practice from purpose-built accommodation. This should continue to provide an excellent platform for the preservation of, and access to, Jersey s public records and deposited private material. The service does not however, currently have the staff resources needed to carry out the tasks allotted to it especially under the Public Records (Jersey) Law of 2002.

In 2010 P.75 which was debated in the States of Jersey and covered the Service Level Agreement and Funding Requirements for Jersey Heritage acknowledged that the proposition did not address Jersey Archive.

 Although the Trust s responsibilities also include the Jersey Archive, this proposition does not address important issues relating to the archive: the lack of a lease on the premises, the limited public access currently provided, the backlog in dealing with records and the implications this

has on the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002 and freedom of information legislation. This will be the subject of a separate report and proposition.

The Trust does now have a lease for the archive building  but the other issues highlighted have not been resolved  and a separate report and proposition were never  completed.  

During the period 2014 2016 funding for 5 additional  staff was provided to assist public institutions in their  preparation for Freedom of Information legislation. The  funding for these positions was not maintained and in  September 2017 I was asked to submit a business case  for additional funding for archive staff to Economic  Development Tourism Sport and Culture by the then  Assistant Minister for Culture for consideration by  

the Council of Ministers. I believe that this bid for 4  additional staff is still under consideration.  

In 2019 the archive service continues to run with limited  staffing resources and at the same time manages and provides access to significantly more records each year,  the majority of which were the responsibility of public  institutions prior to 2000. This is not sustainable.  

Whilst we are resolved to continue to provide a high  quality archive service for the people of Jersey the lack  of funding will have the following implications:  

 CATALOGUING AND ACCESS at the current rate  of 3,500 records catalogued per year our backlog is  32.5 years. Without additional resources this will rise  to 41 years in 2020 when all material identified for  transfer to the new strongroom has been received.  It will continue to rise on an annual basis. This does  not include 14,000 digital records and over a million  Jersey Evening Post images.  

FUNDING

 DIGITAL PRESERVATION   the digital preservation system that Jersey Heritage has

invested in has an annual storage and maintenance cost. Whilst Jersey Heritage has committed to maintain this system to September 2020 beyond this date there are no specific funds for digital preservation.

The archive currently holds 28TB of digital archive material on our servers and several hundred DVDs, CDs, floppy disks, cassette tapes and mini disks that need to be copied onto a server and converted to accessible file formats. If this work is not carried out we risk a digital black hole in our Island story through obsolescence of data.

 PHYSICAL PRESERVATION the maintenance and monitoring of two strongroom

blocks, the 24 year repair programme for unusable items, over 100 year repair programme for items in poor condition and the cleaning and repackaging of 4,500 additional boxes of material is not possible with current resources.

Without additional funding for staff and packaging materials the archive will either need to delay transfers from public institutions or place untreated material in strongroom spaces risking the long-term preservation of the material and of other collections in the vicinity.

 RETENTION SCHEDULE REVIEW archive staff are due to carry out major 5 yearly

reviews of 50 retention schedules in 2019. We are also aware that the Information Management team within the Government of Jersey would like to review all schedules in light of recent changes to data protection legislation.

The Archivist and archive staff are required to work with departments on these major reviews and in the lead up to FOI implementation Jersey Archive had 3

staff working in this area. With current resources at less than 0.5 FTE for records management the archive will not be able to assist with these reviews leading to a risk that data is either retained or disposed of incorrectly and that archival material is not transferred under the Law.

 OPENING HOURS Since 2003 the Jersey Archive opening hours have been

deemed insufficient in public surveys, by The National Archive and through the Archive Accreditation programme. With current staffing resources these hours will continued to be limited.

TRUST | ACCOUNTABILITY | CUSTODIAN

One of Jersey Heritage s key duties under the  CASE STUDY

Public Records Law is to ensure that Jersey s  JERSEY ARCHIVE STRONGROOM BLOCK  written, oral and visual heritage, both physical  

and digital, is preserved for future generations.  In January 2018 the £3.5 million extension to the  

These unique records tell the stories of our  award winning Jersey Archive building started on  

lives; where we have come from, where we are  site. The project will see an additional strongroom  

and where we are going. blockprovision f and digital sor both papertorage ar and digital rea construcecorted with ds that  

should last for the next 25 years. Since the opening  

In January 2018 work on the new strongroom block at  of the original archive building in 2000 over 600  

Jersey Archive started with completion due in 2020.  years of documents have been transferred to the  

In 2018 we also entered into a contract with Arkivum  care of Jersey Heritage providing a window on the  Perpetua to preserve the digital heritage of the Island.  history of the Island.  

Implementation of the Freedom of Information  Law has seen an increase in the transfer of post- Occupation files to the Jersey Archive. The archive  now holds 786 cubic metres of records with a  current capacity of 793 cubic metres.  

The new extension has been designed to meet  British and European standards for the care of  archival material. By using innovative techniques  and the most up to date building materials we  

can run the strongrooms without air-conditioning,  providing a passively controlled, fully monitored  and sustainable space for archival material. The  construction process requires monitoring of the  strongroom block and a 6-9 month drying out  period to ensure low levels of moisture and humidity  suitable for records storage.  

TRUST | ACCOUNTABILITY | CUSTODIAN

CASE STUDY

DIGITAL PRESERVATION

The Public Records Law is format neutral and therefore covers paper, digitised and born digital records. In the law it is the information contained within the record that is important and not the media that the information is stored on. Digital content, both born digital and digitised versions of paper records, is challenging to store, preserve and provide access to.

Threats to Digital Material include;

Trust in the Data. Digital materials have the potential to be edited or altered with ease

and damaged by media failure or software obsolescence. For the user to have trust in the integrity of the data it is vital to have proof of the authenticity of the material. These records may be used in legal cases, by researchers, Government and members of the public. We can mitigate these risks by using checksums which are run on a set of files to create an overview

of the information or metadata associated

with each file. They can be used to highlight any changes to the data and give audit trails. Checksums must be generated and frequently recalculated to identify any loss and ensure the integrity of the data.

Redundancy. Redundancy can be avoided

by replicating or backing up files, introducing diversity in dependent technologies and storing data in more than one Geographical location.

Storage Media. Storage media, such as hard drives, must be monitored and refreshed and ultimately placed on a server which is monitored for file format obsolescence and subject to frequent checksums.

File Formats. Over time file formats and software will change and less well used file formats may become obsolete with the software that renders the files no longer supported. Systems should be put in place to review file formats, convert them to viewing copies and also to the latest file type whilst retaining the original file for its evidential quality.

Security Breaches, Viruses and External Threats. Digital data is subject to breaches in security and also viruses that can attack a system

and corrupt files rendering access impossible. Confidential data can be obtained leading to significant breaches under Data Protection Legislation.

In 2018 Jersey Heritage entered into a two year contract with Arkivum Perpetua to put in place

a digital preservation system for Jersey s digital heritage. This work has been started and digital data is currently being uploaded by archive staff to Arkivum for long-term storage.

Jersey Heritage does not currently have funding to continue the contract with Arkivum post 2020

and it is vital that the Government of Jersey see

the continued investment in a digital preservation system as a part of its long-term digital and information security strategy. The system allows long-term, secure storage of vital data, provides data integrity and authenticity and manages file format obsolescence. Investment in this system will allow the Island to meet its legal obligations, national and international standards and ensure that historic data is preserved for future access.

ENRICHMENT | OPENNESS | COMMUNITY

Archives tell the stories of people and their  CAArSE Schives TUDtell the sYtories of people and their

communities, they can unlock memories,  FAMILcommunities,Y HISTOR the Y FESy can unlockTIVAL  memories, contribute to

contribute to long-term wellbeing and enrich our  long-term wellbeing and enrich our daily lives. In 2018

daily lives. In 2018 we continued our programme  In April 20we con18 tinued ourJerseyAr prchivogre held its firamme of outrst Feach acamily tivities

of outreach activities both in the community  Histbooryth in Festivthe communityal encouraging bo and ath islandert the Jerses and yArchive

and at the Jersey Archive engaging with over  visitengors aging with oto learn morve about er 2,000 people their roots.thrThe Fough ourestiv series oal  f

2,000 people through our series of talks, tours  topening fooktalkin partner place os,ortourthose noverships with ours and r 3 dayeminiscence sessions.t able s and included a full wt fo ellovisit w heritagthe archive prWeeke e engoviderend ags and ed  Thank you and all your staff

and reminiscence sessions. We engaged in  duringalso wtheork week.ed with associations such as EYECAN and  for a wonderful weekend - partnerships with our fellow heritage providers  Jersey Alzheimer s Association to bring heritage into the

and also worked with associations such as  Overcommunitythe course o. f the festival we held 12 talks  absolutely brilliant!

EYECAN and Jersey Alzheimer s Association to  focusing on different aspects of genealogy

bring heritage into the community.  including genealogical consultanIn 20from local clubs,18 wtwo guese also accept talk associat frs frtom BBCed oom Drtions,ver Nick charities, 100 nes Who Do Barrw colleca individuals and tt,You tions

In 2018 we also accepted over 100 new collections from  Thinkfamilies.You Ar eThis service allo?  ws the stories of associations  I thoroughly enjoyed the

such as the Jersey Scouts Association, St Martin s

local clubs, associations, charities, individuals and families.  The fAgriculturestival attral Socieacted justy and Libert under 400 people during ate Jersey and businesses Family History Festival and it This service allows the stories of associations such as the  the coursuch as de Fse of the wayeeeks Chemisend including some who t to be retained as part of our

Jersey Scouts Association, St Martin s Agricultural Society  travarelled ochival heritagver from e.the UK.  was well worth the trip from and LiberChemist tao be rte Jeresetained as part oy and businesses such as de Ff our archival heritagaye s e.  Case Study Family History Festival  the mainland for this event

and for a few extra days too as In April 2018 Jersey Archive held its first Family History

Festival encouraging both islanders and visitors to learn a lovely mini-break.

more about their roots. The Festival took place over 3

days which included a full weekend opening for those

not able to visit the archive during the week.

Over the course of the festival we held 12 talks focusing on different aspects of genealogy including two guest talks from Dr Nick Barratt, genealogical consultant from BBC s Who Do You Think You Are? . The festival

ENRICHMENT | OPENNESS | COMMUNITY

CASE STUDY

PRESERVATION OF COMMUNITY ARCHIVES DE FAYE S CHEMIST

Jersey Heritage not only identifies, preserves,  books which give a fascinating history of catalogues and provides access to public  a local pharmacy firm in the mid-late 19th records of official bodies. The law also  century.

empowers the Archivist to manage records

that are not defined as public but that have  The dispensing book from March 1874 significant evidential or cultural value. In  includes an entry in which Mrs de Quetteville 2018 we worked to preserve archives across  is prescribed a Chloroform and Belladonna the Island from local clubs and associations,  liniment to be applied twice or thrice a day. businesses, individuals and families, providing  The entry notes that before application she

a community archive service for everyone. must shake the bottle and also notes that

the liniment is poison. Belladonna or deadly In 2018 the records of de Faye s Chemist  nightshade, one of the most toxic plants in dating back to the 1870s were deposited at  Europe appears to have been used in the Jersey Archive. de Faye s operated from 21,  19th century as a muscle relaxant. It is one David Place with census records from 1891  of a number of drugs that are mentioned in showing that Francis G de Faye, a chemist  the registers such as opium or laudanum that occupied the building at this date. The  we would not expect to see in a 21st century collection of archives includes dispensing  dispensing record.

IMPACT | ONLINE | INTERNATIONAL

CASE STUDY

PARISH REGISTERS ONLINE

With increased emphasis on Jersey s international reputation the records held at Jersey Archive can play a key part in both promoting the culture and unique history of the Island and also in linking people around the world with their Jersey heritage.

In 2018 36% of those using the online catalogue came from the UK with Jersey having the second highest rate of use with 35%. Australia and the United States had around 4,000 users each with Canada having over 2,500 individuals using the online resource.

The Jersey Heritage online catalogue now holds descriptions of over half a million archive documents and museum objects and includes over 600,000 images that can be viewed and downloaded around the world. In 2018 24 volunteers worked with staff at Jersey Archive and made a major contribution to our online records by adding catalogue entries and

images of marriage registers and honorary police records covering such diverse subjects as being drunk in charge of a horse and cart, keeping a house of ill repute and being caught with undersize fish.

CASE STUDY

SOCIAL MEDIA

Jersey Heritage has an active social media  talks in pubs allowing people to enjoy the local presence engaging with over 10,000 followers  atmosphere whilst learning about the area and on Facebook, 6,000 on twitter and over 3,500  via a series of online walks and talks on

on Instagram. The social media feed focuses  www.jerseyheritage.tv.

on activity across the organisation and  includes weekly posts highlighting archive and  collections material to our online audience.  

Social media allows us to engage with the  

broader community highlighting the work of the  

archive and the unique records that we hold.  

Our Liberation Day Facebook post in 2018  reached 45,412 people, some of the comments  made in reaction to the images we posted of  the British Troops in what is now Liberation  Square showed the tremendous significance  of the day to people in Jersey and the power of  archives to evoke memories and stories.

 I was a nine year old child with my mother and  sister amongst the crowd, we had walked from  Bel Royal and mum was given a tin of chocolate  by a British Soldier. I never forget that day.  Thank you for sharing those pictures.  

For a number of years Jersey Archive staff have  researched the streets and communities of the  Island giving talks and writing articles as part of  our popular What s Your Street s Story series.  In 2018 we took our street stories into the  community through a series of Heritage on Tap  

PUBLIC RECORDS LAW COMPLIANCE | IDENTIFICATION, TRANSFER, CARE AND ACCESS

IDENTIFICATION OF ARCHIVES

Each year the Government of Jersey, Civil Parishes and public institutions produce millions of records, from States of Jersey minutes to email correspondence

and patient records to policy initiatives. Much of this material will not be appropriate for transfer to the Jersey Archive and permanent preservation. It is a key part of the role of Jersey Heritage to work with public institutions to identify the material that does have long-term historic value and should be transferred to Jersey Archive under the Public Records Law.

The key tool that is used to identify archival material is the departmental retention schedule which lists

the records produced by the institution, the length

of time they should be kept and then whether they

are confidentially disposed of or transferred to Jersey Archive for permanent retention. In 2018 archive staff worked with public institutions to review 31 of the 194 retention schedules currently in place.

The current Government of Jersey restructure and introduction of new Data Protection legislation in 2018 means that all retention schedules should be reviewed to ensure that each function of government is still covered and that the schedule is owned by the correct department and implemented appropriately.

However with current staffing for records management and retention schedule work at less than 0.5 FTE Jersey Archive will be unable to provide the Government of Jersey with the archival expertise and support required to enable this review to take place.

PUBLIC INSTITUTION ENQUIRIES

In 2018 archive staff answered 230 enquiries from public institutions covering loans of documents, records management advice and transfer advice.

DIGITISATION PROGRAMMES AND GOVERNMENT  RESTRUCTURE  

In 2018 office moves took place in a number of public institutions and this has  continued into 2019. As a result of these moves archive staff were asked to review  records and identify archive material. However, with the strongroom project not  complete until January 2020 the Jersey Archive is unable to offer storage for a  significant proportion of this material. We have, therefore reviewed the documents,  identified those of archival value and then sent written confirmation to the institution  that documents we have identified must be securely stored until the new strongroom  block is complete.  

Archive staff have identified over 4,500 archive will boxes of material that institutions  have been told to store before transfer to the new archive strongroom in 2020. The  repackaging, cleaning and processing of this material will require significant resources  both in terms of archival boxes, packaging material and staff time in 2020.  

Many institutions are investigating in major digitisation programmes which will include  some records that have been identified as archival. In 2018 archive staff became  aware of the destruction of archival files as part of a digitisation project which  

breached the Public Records Law. A further breach nearly took place over the summer,  however, we managed to stop the destruction in time.  

To mitigate the risk of future destruction of archival files after digitisation I have  now met with the project team who are scoping the digitisation projects across  the Government of Jersey and written to all public institutions highlighting the  importance of involving the archive in any digitisation process.  

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT FILE DESTRUCTION

On 12 February 2018 I was made aware of the destruction of a number of files held by the Department of Environment that had been identified as appropriate for transfer to Jersey Archive. These were over 4,000 listed buildings files dating from the late 1980s 1990s with some material from a 1970s Sites of Special Interest survey. The files contained reports, correspondence and photographs of SSIs.

The files were identified as relevant for archiving in a survey of the Environment Storage areas undertaken in July 2009 by Jersey Archive and sent to the Department the same month. The need to archive these key documents was confirmed in 2012.

In 2014 a complete review of all schedules within the Environment Department was carried out. Archive staff met with section heads and members of the Environment Governance team and produced 20 schedules that were then officially signed off by the Chief Officer and Archivist in 2015. This included a schedule for Historic Environment which indicated that all listed building files should be offered to Jersey Archive after 10 years.

The Department had scanned these files as part of their back scanning programme and then, rather than transfer the originals to Jersey Archive, had destroyed them. Whilst this means that, as far as we are aware, only a limited amount of information has been lost it is important to highlight that scanning does not produce an exact copy of a record but only an impression of certain aspects of it.

In this instance the files included photographs that are significantly poorer quality in the scanned copies than if the originals still existed. It is also possible that pages from the original files have been missed in the scanned copies and also that any annotations in the originals are not legible in the digital files.

TRANSFER OF ARCHIVES

In 2018 164 collections of public and private records were transferred to Jersey Archive and accessioned into the collections as worthy of permanent preservation. This included 55 collections from public institutions that were transferred to the archive under the law. Collections transferred include the Children s Services archive, 1946 2008, Lieutenant Governor s office honours and awards files, 18th and 19th century

Parish accounts from the Parish of Trinity and Treasury and Resources files including a cheque for £300,000 toward Jersey s contribution to the cost of the First World War, which was addressed to Winston Churchill as Chancellor of the Exchequer and signed by the States of Jersey Treasurer, Frank Ereaut.

A full list of collections can be viewed at Appendix A

PRESERVATION AND CONSERVATION

Preservation and conservation of archive material is

a key part of the work undertaken by staff at Jersey Archive. Once material has been identified as archival and transferred to the care of the archive team its condition is assessed and the material is then cleaned, reboxed, checked for insect infestation and frozen

if appropriate. With 35 cubic metres or over 18,000 records transferred in 2018 the initial assessment and preservation of collections takes up a significant part of our Archive Conservator s working hours.

Whilst preservation of records covers the basic cleaning and appropriate packaging of material so that it is secure in storage, conservation defines the active intervention to repair material so that it can be used by the public in our reading rooms. Some items arrive at Jersey Archive in such poor condition that they cannot be made available to the public until conservation treatment has taken place and restricting access to documents for conservation reasons is consistent with our duties under the law.

At the end of 2018 the Archive holds 732 catalogued records which are classed as unusable and many more uncatalogued documents. With current resources our aim is to work in house and with external book binders to repair 30 records per year. If we continue to achieve this rate of repair it will take 24 years just to repair the unusable, catalogued items. The archive also holds over 3,000 catalogued records in the poor category which, with use and no intervention, could become unusable.

ENVIRONMENT

Ensuring a stable, clean environment for storage of records at Jersey Archive is essential for the long-term preservation of the material. The archive team aims to meet British and European Standards for the storage of archival records and the brief for the new strongroom block includes reference to adherence with these standards.

The Jersey Archive strongrooms are designed to control the environment within the strongroom passively, air-conditioning is not used and the storage areas are continually monitored using a building management system. In 2018 the 1st and 2nd floors of the strongroom block met the humidity specified in BS4971 100% of the time with the ground floor only exceeding the upper limit of 60% on 2 days and the 3rd floor on 7 days over the course of the year.

Temperature has always been more challenging to control using a passive system with no means of cooling in the Summer months. In 2018 the annual average temperature in all strongrooms did not exceed the 18"C specified in the standard. The upper limit

of 22"C was exceeded on 3 days in the 2nd floor strongroom and 23 days in the 3rd floor strongroom. The ground floor and 1st floor strongrooms did not exceed the upper limit. Despite 2018 being a hot Summer the storage areas were well controlled with the higher temperatures on the 3rd floor caused by increased solar gain at the top of the building.

CATALOGUING  

The cataloguing, indexing and locating of documents is key to ensuring appropriate levels  of access to the archival records in the custody of Jersey Heritage. One of the principal  duties of the Archivist under the Public Records Law is to ensure that public records are  appropriately managed and made available for public access. The detailed cataloguing  of records to our online database allows people to search across the records held at  Jersey Archive for names of family members, places and subjects of interest. Through the  cataloguing process we can identify key themes and stories across collections to build a  picture of a person s life or the history of a property.  

In 2018 staff and volunteers added 30,969 new enhanced descriptions to the online  database. These included individual marriage entries from Jersey s Church of England  marriage registers, over 4,000 records from the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry and  images from the Jersey Evening Post photographic collection.  

3,500 new document catalogue entries were added and these included files from the  Law Officers Department, the Bailiff s Chambers and travel permits from the First World  War period.  

The wealth of material that has been transferred to the Jersey Archive since the building  opened in 2000 does mean that over 220 cubic metres of records held are not yet  catalogued. Whilst the records are safely stored in the archive strongrooms with relevant  details of depositor, basic contents and location noted, this does mean that over 114,000  physical records are not fully available to public access. At a current rate of 3,500 new  documents catalogued per year this equates to a 32.5 year backlog at current staffing  levels.  

This does not include over 14,000 digital files that also need to be catalogued and made  available and also the photographic archive of the Jersey Evening Post which contains  approximately 1.5 million images. Without additional cataloguing resource the figure  

of records uncatalogued will significantly increase in 2020 on the opening of the new  strongroom block and then continue to increase annually.  

ACCESS

Whilst online access to records has become increasingly popular through our online catalogue development and digitisation programme it should be recognised that there are collections stored at Jersey Archive that will only ever be available in the original physical format as their digitisation would either be prohibitively expensive when compared against their use or their physical condition would make them inappropriate for copying. We should also recognise that there is nothing quite like the connection that a member of the public gets when handling and viewing a document that might have been created or signed by their ancestor several hundred years before.

at 9.94 out of 10 and the quality and appropriateness of staff s advice rated at 9.92 out of 10.

General satisfaction with the services provided by

the Archive was high with opening hours consistently the area in which the archive received scores which indicated that users were either not very satisfied or not at all satisfied. Comments from users who answered the survey included the following:

 Wonderful facility! Excellent staff - very helpful

 It would be great if the opening hours were extended - this is the only reason I rated the Archives 9/10 not 10/10 overall

In September 2018 the Jersey Archive took part in the

Archive and Records Association s Survey of Visitors to  Rewarding - I discover more every time UK Archives which was carried out by CIPFA. The survey

looked at reasons for visiting archives and satisfaction  I visit

with staff, services and facilities. Jersey Archive staff

scored extremely highly with the attitude of staff rated

CLOSED RECORDS

Every year public records held at Jersey Archive that are closed to the public on transfer are reviewed after periods of 30, 50, 75 and 100 years. Prior to the implementation of Freedom of Information legislation in 2015 these records were reviewed against Public Records Law exemptions to access. Under the Public Records Law the archivist and public institution were required to agree any proposed closures over 30 years and these were then approved by the Records Advisory Panel.

In 2015 with the implementation of Freedom of Information legislation this process changed and responsibility for deciding if a record is exempt from public access now falls under the remit of the public institution. The institution must use the exemptions set out in the FOI law and ensure that the Jersey Archive is aware which records are closed to public access is for how long under FOI regulations.

The table below shows the number of records due to be open each year, the number that have been opened, number remaining closed and the number yet to be reviewed.

CLOSED RECORDS

This table shows the decrease in the percentage of  records due to be opened to the public that are actually  opened each year.

As this table shows there has been a marked decrease  in the percentage of records opened to the public each  year over the past 10 years. With all records over 100  years automatically opened to the public this shows  that the number of records being released after 30  years has decreased significantly.  

With the significant rise in data privacy, implementation  of new data protection legislation in Jersey as a result  

of GDPR and the high profile data breaches that have  occurred in firms such as Facebook, British Airways and  Yahoo this trend is unsurprising. However it is important  that we continue to balance individual s right to privacy  against the rights of the citizen to information from  public institutions enshrined in Freedom of Information  legislation.

RECORDS OPENED 2019

Records that have been opened

to the public after 100 years include the minutes of the Public Assistance Committee, the 1918 admission register for the Jersey Hospital, witness depositions, honorary police registers and aliens registration cards. These records tell us the stories of people s lives at the end of the First World War period highlighting personal and social histories of the Island.

The hospital register for 1918 shows

the impact of the October outbreak

of Spanish Flu in Jersey which was a global pandemic and ultimately killed more people than the First World War. In Jersey nearly 300 people died during the 1918 influenza pandemic.

In October 2018 we suddenly see

a significant rise in the numbers of individuals who entered the hospital

for influenza. This sometimes included whole families such as Clement Joseph Aubin, aged 50 who was admitted to

the hospital on 26 October with his 7 children who were aged between 8 and

17 and his wife Elvina Aubin who was the first to enter the hospital on 22 October. Whilst Clement and his children appear to have survived the epidemic, Elvina died on 29 October.

Records opened to the public after  

30 years do not contain the detailed  personal information held in the earlier  records however they do remind us of  events that have significantly impacted  the Island such as the Great Storm  

and also the Island Plan process. One  of the files which has been opened  from the 1970s and 1980s shows the  development of the Island Plan during  this period. The file contains a report  of the Policy Advisory Committee  from 1973 on the scale and pattern of  development of the Island over the next  five years.  

They note the desire to  

 preserve the environment, to  retain the Island s character, and  to avoid the congestion and  pollution which too many people bring in their train.  

On the other hand they note that there  is a desire for  

 Better housing, better education  and hospital facilities, and more  money in the pockets of those  who aspire to central heating,  washing machines, holidays etc.  but who at present are not in a  position to afford these things.  

MANAGEMENT AND OVERSIGHT

The work of both Jersey Heritage and the Archivist under the Public Records Law is reviewed by the Records Advisory Panel. The Panel have an advisory role and under the law may provide advice to the Archivist, Jersey Heritage, the Minister and public institutions. The Archivist would like to thank the members of the Panel for their continued support and advice in 2018.

In 2018 the Panel met on 4 occasions and conducted

a review of the Public Records Law making recommendations to the Minister on a number of amendments to the law. In their advisory role the Panel corresponded with the Department of Environment and Chief Executive highlighting the destruction of archival records after digitisation projects and asking for measures to be put in place to ensure that this does not happen in future.

ARCHIVE ACCREDITATION

The Archive has full Archive Accreditation at the highest level after applying to The National Archive scheme in 2014. The assessors noted:

 The [Archive Accreditation] Panel felt that this was overall a very strong application, which meets all requirements of the Accreditation Standard one

of only a few to do so in the scheme s history. They considered that the assessment demonstrated a very well run service, with a clear policy direction and an important role in the public accountability of the government of Jersey.

In November 2017 the Archive completed an interim  assessment return to ensure that the service still met  the Archive Accreditation Standard. In March 2018 the  Panel confirmed that Jersey Archive continued to meet  the requirements of the standard and noted that they  were:  

 ..pleased to see a review which demonstrated so  much progress and success in implementing major  changes such as Freedom of Information. They also  welcomed the update on investment in expanding  the service s physical capacity, and look forward to  seeing this implemented when the service is next  reviewed.

APPENDIX A

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

ARCHIVE FUNDING

Jersey Heritage receives an annual grant from the States of Jersey to run a wide  museum services. Synergies include central support services across the organisation

of range of services including the provision of an archive. The organisation also  such as buildings maintenance, collections management, finance and human resources. self-generates around 50% of its income through a range of activities including

admissions, membership and heritage lets and venues.  As a result of these shared central costs it is difficult to give a definitive stand-alone

figure which reflects the exact cost of running the Jersey Archive service. However Jersey Archive is an integral part of Jersey Heritage and the public of Jersey benefit  the table below gives an indication of spend in different areas of the Archive services from the overall synergies between the provision of archive, historic environment and  operations.

This table does not include IT, telephones and computer support costs, insurance and rates and training costs which are all held centrally.

Archives sit at the heart of our collective understanding: who we are, where we came from, and, indeed, where we are going.

Archives Unlocked, The National Archive

Jersey Archive,

Clarence Road,

St Helier, Jersey JE2 4JY

Telephone: +44 (0) 1534 833300 Email: archives@jerseyheritage.org

jerseyheritage.org