Archives Performance
An Overview of 2010/2011
This year has been one of challenge and change as the Archive Service has adapted to reducing financial resources. Nevertheless there have been a number of success stories as well as continued progress and achievement of key outcomes. The main successes included: achievement of the new Customer Service Excellence Standard; maintaining the four star rating and tenth place in the National Archives Assessment; start of a grant funded project to record memories and testimonies of child evacuation in Staffordshire in the Second World War; establishment of the popular Family History Club; the launch of International Staffordshire – an online exhibition forming part of our 2012 Cultural Olympiad Programme; and last but not least completion of our new outstore to enable continued expansion of the range of our collections.
The year under review has also seen positive progress in all areas of the Archive Service’s work. Work continued with the survey of records of sports organisations and clubs throughout Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent again as part of our 2012 programme. As in previous years, the Service received high praise from its users, expressed in a satisfaction rate for the public service of 100% in the national Survey of Visitors to UK Archives. The crucial “nuts and bolts” work of negotiating the deposit of collections, cataloguing, preservation and conservation continued throughout the year. The focus on learning activity and outreach events was strong, as the Service continued to develop its role in interpreting and encouraging the use of archives.
This year our volunteers celebrated their 10th birthday with a very special Christmas Celebration and a cake! This special event allowed us to highlight and acknowledge their consistent hard work. We are also grateful for the vital ongoing support of the Friends of the Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Archive Service (FoSSA).
The year was not without its down side. Personal visits to the Service declined by 5% as we continued to feel the impact of the increasing digitisation of more family history sources. Budget reductions had to be accommodated and plans put into place to meet future savings targets.
However this should not detract from our clear achievements, none of which, in this or any other year would be possible without the staff. It is their hard work and commitment which make the service which so highly regarded by its users. In particular this year I must pay tribute to the former County Archivist, Mrs Thea Randall, who after over 35 years of dedicated service, retired at the end of March 2011. She has left a great legacy for the Service to continue to deliver excellent care of the archival heritage of Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent.
Joanna Terry, Head of Archive Services