Business archives and local communities: corporate heritage in Loughborough, UK

The LoCHe project investigated corporate archives, focusing on the case of Loughborough, a market town in Leicestershire, UK. The potential benefits for the business from creating and managing a company archive are great and the local community also benefits, but this reciprocal relationship and its associated challenges has not been widely examined. Through analysis of interviews and focus groups with a variety of stakeholders, it explored the relationship between businesses, archives and the local community. The project found that corporate archives are considered important to local enthusiasts as a source for historic research, and help inform local and work identity. Individuals are key to collecting and preserving material both in the community and the business, but community members are often unable to contribute to or access business archives. Also there is a disconnection between stakeholders which results in an ad hoc and confused local picture. The impact of digital is yet to be felt except in limited ways. It also revealed that corporate archives are often treated as an afterthought by businesses, which potentially leads to the loss of archives due to lack of interest, resources or skill to manage it appropriately

Stakeholders in the selection of digital material for preservation: relationships, responsibilities, and influence

Selecting digital material for preservation in libraries, archives, and museums is a necessary task but has not been widely examined, although the nature of digital material challenges traditional methods of selecting. This article examines the social context of selection in institutions, in which the responsibilities of stakeholders and relationships between them can affect the material chosen for preservation by practitioners. A range of stakeholders is identified; relationships between practitioners, information technology staff, and sources of material are found to be crucial. The influence of senior managers is important in providing a mandate and encouraging shared working and networks of expertise

Complexity in decision making: Determining university library opening hours.

Making decisions on academic library opening hours is complex with many pressures on managers. This research surveys senior academic library managers from the UK, using a questionnaire to reveal views on library opening hours, the decision making process, and the pressures which influenced their decisions. A variety of factors were found, in particular satisfying undergraduate demands. The research also revealed the sources of information important in making decisions on opening hours and the influence of ‘political’ issues in the decision making process. Some institutions remove complexity by utilising 24/7 opening, though this is not an option for many

RUTHVEN, I. and CHOWDHURY, G.G. (eds) Cultural Heritage Information Access and Management. London: Facet Publishing. 2015. [Book review]

This is a book review of RUTHVEN, I. and CHOWDHURY, G.G. (eds) Cultural Heritage Information Access and Management. London: Facet Publishing. 2015.</p

Selection of digital material for preservation in libraries

The process of selection underpins many important questions facing those libraries which have responsibility for preservation. Properties of digital material present challenges to established preservation selection drivers and practices, including the increasing volume of digital material; the complexity of some digital objects; changing forms of cultural object creation and ownership; and the need for early interventions to keep material useable over time. This paper examines relevant library and related literature to identify and conceptualise factors which affect selection decision making relating to the preservation of digital material in libraries. It describes six organisational areas of concern: resources and volume; criteria; policy; legal and ethical issues; roles and responsibility; and user aspects of selection. Particular challenges include the need to revisit criteria and develop policies for preservation and selection along with the effect of unclear roles, responsibilities and expectations of a wide range of stakeholders