Cuts to Bristol Archives will damage the city, says charity
Plans by Bristol City Council to shrink the service offered by Bristol Archives, are “short-sighted” and a “false economy”, says an independent charity.
The archives, which safely store and make available documents, objects, films and sounds on the history of Bristol and surrounding area are used by individuals, community groups, academics and the film and television industry for vital research.
The Friends of Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives charity says planned cuts are the latest in a gradual erosion of opening hours in the last 10 years and could put the council in breach of meeting its obligations in running an archive.
Council members vote on Tuesday, 25th February on proposed budget cuts that include a 25% reduction in the opening hours of the Search Room at Bristol Archives in B Bond Warehouse, saving £35,000 a year. It will reduce the number of days the archive is open each week from four to three.
Already there is only one Saturday per month when working people can get to visit, and extended opening on a Thursday evening was cut a few years ago. The proposals will further restrict the opportunities for community engagement, for academic and educational research and for citizens to access what is held in their name.
Sue Thurlow, Chair of the Friends of Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives, said: “These short-sighted proposals will damage the availability of collections to local communities and lead to further reputational damage to Bristol City Council.
“Bristol Archives is accredited nationally partly on the service provided but also on the quality of the archive collections which are considered to be among the very best of any city outside London.
“As such they are an exceptionally important research tool for academics from our local universities and from around the world, given Bristol’s importance as a trading port in Empire and perhaps especially around the period of Trans-Atlantic Slavery. Arts Council England has also recognised that Bristol Archives holds ‘Designated’ collections that are of national and international importance.
“As well as professional researchers Bristol Archives support an army of individual members of the public researching their family history or other aspects of the history of the city, community groups use the archives for research into their neighbourhood and there are the commercial users including filmmakers and publishers who also provide income. All will be impacted by a reduction in services.
“In December we celebrated 100 years of Bristol Archives at an incredible event at Bristol Beacon that showcased the City’s fantastic collection of rare Bristol cine film that was projected onto a massive screen as the Bristol Youth Orchestra performed.
“The link between archives and the cultural health and well-being of the city cannot be underestimated and the proposed service reduction will be a massive body blow to the dedicated Bristol Archives team at B Bond Warehouse.
“The council believes it is saving £35,000 but the cuts in access could reduce the amount that film makers and commercial users pay, so it is a false economy. The Archives is a cultural service in the Western Harbour area, which the council is keen to develop.”
Local authorities are legally required to provide an archives service and Bristol City Council is obliged to collect, preserve and provide reasonable access to the archives it holds.
As an Accredited Archive under the National Archives Accreditation Scheme, Bristol Archives is externally vetted to ensure it meets these three obligations in a manner to be expected of a service of such a size and importance considering the quality of its holdings.
The Friends charity say that if publicly accessible hours are reduced there will be question marks over whether “reasonable access” is still being provided and the award of Accreditation may be at risk, reducing the chances of being successful in applying for external grants.
Guidance issued by The National Archives states:
Councils can be officially held to account for not managing their records and archives service properly. A stripped-down service that does not meet the expected level of delivery may badly affect functions that support the parent body’s objectives and operations or that promote the value of collections to local communities. Failure to deliver an effective service can also cause reputational damage.
