Archives: A statistical overview

Abstract

This chapter of Cultural Trends examines the increasing use of statistical data to support evidence‐based management in the archival domain. After explaining how archives are managed and used, it reviews the available sources of data and evidence about the work of the domain and its contribution to the cultural agenda. Because there are no official requirements for data collection, much of the work on archival statistics has been voluntary, informal and, until now, uncoordinated. As a result, there are no comprehensive sources of data and no common statistics spanning the whole range of archives services. In their absence, this chapter explores the make‐up of the archival network and uses the available statistical data on core service elements as the basis for postulating averages for use as models for an attempted overview of the domain. While the limitations of this approach necessarily warrant caution over the results ‐ which are described as tentative ‐ it is proposed that with further refinement such a model could form the basis for future headline statistics of key archival inputs and outputs. The remainder of the chapter looks in detail at evidence and trends in archives, with a particular focus on usage (user profiles, motivation for using archives and patterns of use etc); collections management and stewardship (archive holdings and preservation activities); and impact. The section on impact takes an overview of the archival contribution to the public policy agenda with regard to social, economic and learning issues. In conclusion, the chapter reflects that too much of the previous effort has gone into measuring the resource base. It is argued that the future emphasis should be on using the available data to provide evidence of impact ‐ showing how archives can and do ‘make a difference’ in the broader cultural agenda. A final table illustrates the views of users on what archives contribute to society, highlighting the potential for creative partnerships between archives and other cultural service providers.