Is collecting suitable? - Archives sector

Whether to collect (or not)

A parent organisation might expect an archive to collect in relation to an event. External or political influences (‘top-down’) might be brought to bear.

There might (also) be public expectations (‘bottom-up’) on the archive service.

You might consider collecting and documenting an event part of your social responsibility, supporting affected people.

You should consider your service and wider organisation’s purpose and policies. What does your collections development (or equivalent) policy say? What are your existing processes in relation to accessioning material either permanently or temporarily? What resources are available to you? (more information about this in ‘Potential help and resources‘). Does the event affect the running of your service more generally?

You may decide not to undertake rapid response collecting. It may not be right for a number of reasons, including the nature and context of the event, lack of staff capacity or preparedness, or lack of resources. A decision not to collect at the time does not preclude collecting later. For example, you might encourage individuals and organisations to donate or deposit material later. You could undertake oral history projects in future. Organisational archives, research data and research project archives, or Public Records, may be transferred to the service later.
Featured case study: Lancaster University.
Some archives may provide short-term or temporary support in response to an event without creating a permanent, accessioned collection about it. Examples of this might involve storing material which bereaved people may take later, or providing space where material may be accessed temporarily.
There may be other ways in which archives or individuals might offer support following an unforeseen event. There may be an appropriate role both in the immediate aftermath as well as in the longer term, for example, donating Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from disaster kits, hosting donation stations or books of condolence, providing facilities for emergency responders, or supporting community groups to collect material.
Organisational archives may focus on supporting information management and recordkeeping processes to ensure that institutional records are preserved for future accountability.
This may include capturing website or social media announcements, for example about support or changes to services. Websites can be nominated for inclusion in the UK Web Archive if web archiving is not already in place. Featured case study: West Sussex Record Office.
If the event has an impact on your wider service and existing collection, you should ensure the physical safety of people and your existing collection first.

It may be useful to consider other events and timeframes which may affect your capacity and resources (covered in ‘Potential help and resources‘).

Ethical collecting

Appropriate codes and frameworks for ethical practice should be followed, such as those from the International Council on Archives, or Archives and Records Association UK & Ireland. The Nolan Principles of Public Life may also apply as well as your organisational code of conduct (or equivalent).

Ethical rapid response collecting is likely to involve considering:

how people can find out about collecting, and how material will be used, processed, shared or disposed of
how people can give their informed consent to collecting or opt out, where necessary or possible
how people will be protected from harm, including those people working on the collection now or in the future
how people will be included and not marginalised through collecting
how you will process material and make it available ethically and legally (for example, in line with data protection, and for public sector organisations, with freedom of information legislation)
how any selection or disposal decisions will be made, including recognising where a decision has been made by default (for example, exposure to weather, or focussing on physical rather than digital responses)
how material will be preserved sustainably
what social or civic role the archive service might play in relation to the event

This is not an exhaustive list. More information on processing, selection and disposal is available on the ‘Documenting and selecting material‘ and ‘Disposing of material‘ pages. More information on minimising harm to people working on the collection is available on ‘Managing wellbeing‘.

Ethical collecting will also depend on general ethical considerations such as:

respecting people’s safety, privacy, dignity and rights
how you will act in the best interests of people affected, and avoid harm
being honest and trustworthy
behaving appropriately towards others
respecting people’s right to make their own decisions
being aware of and setting aside your own biases and opinions
understanding different aspects of identity and ensuring people are not marginalised
enabling people to participate if they choose to, either now or later

You will also need to consider statutory requirements such as safeguarding children and adults at risk, public liability insurance, and health and safety. Your organisation may have policies and procedures including rules for procurement or using volunteers which you must follow. Depending on the event you may need to consider whether there is the possibility of encountering human remains in your rapid response collecting. If so, you will need to liaise very closely with emergency responders and others at all stages (‘Who is involved?’, on the ‘Initial evaluation‘ page, has more information on this).

We suggest you discuss and document these ethical issues so that there is an agreed set of standards for a team to work to, and can take responsibility for decisions and actions, ensuring transparency and accountability.
Featured case studies Lancaster University and University of Leeds

Depending on the circumstances you may need to get permission from the owner of the property where items are located to ensure that you are undertaking rapid response collecting lawfully.