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Archives & Special Collections  
 

Collections Care and Conservation Policy 

 

Contents  

 

1. Introduction 

2. Vision and Mission 

3. Policy Principles and Aims 

4. Context 

5. Staff and Resources 

6. Building, Security and Environment 

7. Disaster and Emergency Preparedness 

8. Access and use 

9. Copying and Surrogacy 

10. Remedial Conservation 

11. Exhibition and Loans for exhibition 

 

Appendix A : Policies, guidelines and documents consulted 

 

Document Control
File Name	Archives and Special Collections Collections Care and Conservation Policy
Original Author(s)	Archivist
Current Revision Author(s)	Archives and Special Collections Manager
Status	Approved by Collections and Cultural Affairs Task Group 19 December 2022.
Distribution	BU Digital Services
Authority	Archives and Special Collections

 

 

Version	Date	Author(s)	Notes on Revisions
0.1	March 2016	Archivist	Approved June 2016
0.2	September 2016	Archivist and Head of Archives and Special Collections	Mission statement revised to correspond with Archives and Special Collections  Collection Policy for Archive Accreditation purposes
0.3	17 October 2016	Head of Archives and Special Collections	Amendments made by Chris Woods, NCS
0.4	September 2017	Archivist	Revisions to 4. Context, 8. Disaster and Emergency Preparedness, and 9. Access and Use
0.5	May 2019	Manager of Archives and Special Collections	Revisions made by Chris Woods, NCS and EWS, Archivist. Mostly re. updating of conservation standards / new user registration system and storage of digital preservation copies.  Approved by Taskgroup June 2019
0.6	April 2022	Manager of Archives and Special Collections	Revisions made based on suggestions made by Chris Woods during visit in October 2021. Mostly re. updating of conservation standards and removal of “Collection Management” section.

 

Review Date:  April 2025 

 

1. Introduction 

 

1.1. Definitions and Role of Archives: 

 

Archives are the record of the everyday activities of governments, organisations, businesses and individuals. They are central to the record of our national and local stories and are vital in creating cultural heritage and supporting public policy objectives. Their preservation ensures that future generations will be able to learn from the experiences of the past to make decisions about the present and future (‘Archives for the 21st Century,’ (2009) The National Archives). 

 

1.2. The Archives Department of the University, founded in 1884, was recognised as a repository for public records in November 1927. It is responsible for the care and storage of the early College Records as well as Archives Collections, General Collection of ����ɫ�� Manuscripts, and Special Collections. All of these manuscript collections are bound by one common factor, their relevance to the history, people and topography of North Wales. However, their subject areas are wide ranging and are of national as well as local historical interest. 

 

1.3 The term Conservation is used here in compliance with BS 4971:2017 and EN 16893:2018 conservation standards.  Conservation refers to all measures and actions aimed at safeguarding archives, whether preventive (including policy, management, procedures etc.) or remedial (interventive measures to arrest damaging processes).1 

 

 

2. Vision and mission 

 

2.1. It is the vision of the Archives and Special Collections to be recognised as one of the finest university archives in Wales - supporting research, teaching and learning and working with other partners to promote our collections and attract users from far and wide.  

 

2.2 It is the mission of the Archives and Special Collections to be committed to the long-term care and preservation of the collections that are held by the University and to open up access to these unique sources. The Archives and Special Collections aims to be at the heart of academic and knowledge transfer activity in the University, making a key contribution to improving the student experience and engaging even more with the communities that it serves. 

 

 

3. Policy Principles and Aims 

 

3.1. BUA&SC seeks to preserve and make accessible its historic records and archive collections, including rare books, for the benefit of the people of Wales and for use by researchers here and worldwide. It also seeks to meet the legal and other obligations placed upon it by the Public Records Act, Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Data Protection Act 1998 and other statutory instruments which direct the conservation and accessibility of records. 

 

3.2. Conservation is a fundamental responsibility through which BUA&SC ensures the continuing care, availability and authenticity of the archival records that it holds in trust for present and future generations. The department will work to ensure that conservation remains an integral part of all archive activities from acquisition through to access. Prevention is always better than cure, and without conservation and care of collections there can be no access.  

 

3.3. Care and Conservation Strategy 

 

The Care and Conservation Strategy defines how the collecting body aims to achieve the goals set out in its Care and Conservation Policy. The collecting body shall develop and maintain a Care and Conservation Strategy for the collections it holds.  The Care and Conservation Strategy shall cover the following as a minimum: 

 

i.            assessment of collections and specific materials within them, that defines their scale, nature, physical vulnerability and general condition 

 

ii.           an analysis of the environmental needs of material types in the collection and development of appropriate storage and handling climates that are sustainable; 

 

iii.          identification and evaluation of risks to the collections, defining hazards, their impact and likelihood and any measures that can be taken to remove or reduce these hazards; 

 

iv.         assessment, definition and prioritisation of the actions and measures necessary to protect and preserve collections and items in storage and in use; 

 

v.          development of a set of procedures for storage, handling and use of collections. 

 

The policy sets out what the University aims to achieve in protecting and preserving its collections and in so doing it identifies the strategic approaches it will take to achieve these aims. 

 

 

4. Context 

 

This Care and Conservation Policy is a general statement, which is complemented by detailed documents as follows:  

 

• A&SC Operational Plan 

• A&SC Emergency Plan 

• A&SC Conservation Action Plan (NCS) 

• Benchmark Assessment (NCS) 

• A&SC Collection Policy  

• “Research into cataloguing, indexing and appraisal practices for archives in Wales: survey, ����ɫ��.” (Catalog Cymru Survey 2006) 

• A&SC Loans policy 

• A&SC Collections Policy 

• University Record and Data Retention Schedule 
   

5. Staff and Resources 

 

5.1. All staff of BUA&SC are responsible for implementing the Care and Conservation Policy, as appropriate to their roles and responsibilities. All staff are made aware of the importance of conservation and are trained on safe handling of archival material.  

 

5.2. All activities, from acquisition to access, are informed by the need to ensure that collections are in a fit state to be handled and that the deterioration risk is minimised.  

 

5.3. Each member of staff undertakes a programme of routine collections-monitoring and good housekeeping practices: conservation measures include cleaning, re-packaging and re-housing material. All new members of staff are given conservation training [see Conservation Induction Checklist], and appropriate refresher training provided for existing staff. 

5.4. The principal standards, guidelines and tools employed include: