Purpose
This policy has been approved by the Deputy Keeper of the Records of
Scotland. It supports that part of National Records of Scotland’s (NRS) mission statement which states that “We collect, preserve and produce information about Scotland’s people and history, and make it available to inform present and future generations.”
Scope
This policy articulates the corporate framework for the management of National Records of Scotland (NRS) archives collections polices and plans. The structure outlined here oversees the stewardship of a range of underpinning polices and plans which relate to all aspects of the archival and preservation issues that pertain to all records, in whatever form, that belong to or are held by National Records of Scotland.
Legislative Background
NRS is a Non-Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. NRS was established on 1 April 2011, following the merger of the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) and the National Archives of Scotland (NAS). For administrative purposes we sit within the Scottish Government’s constitution, external affairs and culture portfolio.
NRS Chief Executive, fulfils the roles of two non-ministerial office holders – the Registrar General for Scotland and the Keeper of the Records of Scotland.
Principal Parliamentary Acts governing NRS archive functions:
- Public Records (Scotland) Acts 1937 and 2011
- Public Registers and Records (Scotland) Act 1948
- Public Records Acts 1958 and 1967
- National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985
- Local Government, etc (Scotland) Act 1994
- Inquiries Act 2005
- Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulation
- Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and Freedom of Information Act 2000
Roles and Responsibilities
The Keeper of the Records of Scotland has overall responsibility for the
management of the collections held by NRS. They lead and take advice from the NRS Executive Management Board (EMB) who direct and have responsibility for the management of business operations and delivery of NRS strategic objectives.
Oversight of the management and development of the archived collections is, in practice, devolved to the Deputy Keeper of the Records and Director of Information and Records Services, a member of EMB, who exercises this authority through and with the advice of the Information and Record Services (IRS) Senior Leadership Group which in turn is advised and supported by the IRS Team Leaders Group.
IRS Senior Leadership Group (SLG) meets informally weekly and comprises:
- Deputy Keeper of the Records of Scotland (DK)
- Head of Preservation and Information Management
- Head of Archive Depositor Liaison Branch
- Head of Preservation Branch
- Head of Records and Archives Engagement Branch
- Other staff as required for particular business
Remit of SLG:
To provide a communication channel across the directorate to ensure all matters relating to the management of collections can be swiftly identified and addressed.
To discuss, support and advise the DK in all aspects of the work of collections care, including collecting, collections development, conservation, preservation and collections information
To discuss and advise the DK in agreeing corporate objectives, priorities for work areas, adjusting procedures or practices, and development of business cases for submission to the keeper
IRS Team Leaders Group
The IRS Team Leaders Group (TLG) meet monthly and comprises:
- Deputy Keeper of the Records of Scotland (DK)
- Head of Preservation and Information Management
- Head of Archive Depositor Liaison Branch
- Head of Preservation Branch
- Head of Records and Archives Engagement Branch
- Head of Government Records Team
- Head of Court and Legal Records Team
- Head of Private Records Team
- Head of Public Records Scotland Act Team
- Head of Archive Strategy and Liaison Team
- Head of National Register of Archives for Scotland
- Head of Digital Records Unit
- Head of Conservation Team
- Digital Preservation Project Manager
- Staff invited from other directorates as appropriate to give updates and help cross-communication
- Other colleagues as required for particular business
The purposes of the monthly meetings are to support communications and to explore, discuss and bring best knowledge on current issues.
A formal Team Leaders Group business meeting, chaired by the Deputy
Keeper, meets quarterly to support the DK and Director of IRS by reporting on, monitoring and reviewing progress against operational and strategic objectives, encouraging continuous improvement and the highest level of performance. The terms of reference for the IRS team Leaders business meeting specifies the role and remit this group. This is reviewed every two years . Both meetings are minuted and an action log maintained.
The Archives Strategy and Liaison team have responsibility for collating and coordinating the review and progress against the forward business plan and strategic commitments. Quarterly progress reports are produced following IRS Team Leaders Group business meetings.
NRS Collections Management Polices and Plans under IRS Team Leaders Group Remit
IRS TLG maintains, reviews and coordinates key policies and plans covering archival work and collections management in NRS. Most of these policies are solely approved by the Deputy Keeper, as Director of Information and Records Services, however some require consultation with other areas of NRS and ultimate approval lies with the Keeper of the Records of Scotland. These key policies are currently:
- Collections Management Policy
- Collections Information Policy
- Collections Information Plan
- Collections Development Policy
- Collections Development Plan
- Web Continuity Selection Policy
- Collections Care and Conservation Policy
- Collections Care and Conservation Plan
- Policy on Fragile Records
- Policy on the Transfer of Records of Local Interest to Local Custody
- Cataloguing policy
- Catalogue Procedure Manual
- Takedown Policy
- NRS Records Management Policy
- NRS Record re-closure policy
- NRS Records Disposal Policy
Review
This policy is reviewed at least every three years by the IRS Team leaders Group.
Laura Mitchell
Deputy Keeper of the Records of Scotland
September 2021
