Re:source: The Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries <http://www.resource.gov.uk> is developing a cross-sectoral Stewardship Strategy for museums, archives and libraries.
The Stewardship Strategy will inform policy and funding decisions by Re:source, Government <http://www.culture.gov.uk> and other strategic agencies and will provide a planning and development resource for museums, archives and libraries in the Stewardship field. The strategy will address key issues including standards and funding provision for Stewardship in the three domains. It will be concluded in March 2001 and will cover areas such as acquisition and disposal; preservation, conservation and collection care; preservation and collection management; documentation and cataloguing; environmental management of buildings; security; use of collections; risk management and emergency preparedness and research.
The strategy will build upon a number of national and international initiatives undertaken separately by museums, archives and libraries in recent years. Education for Change Ltd. <http://www.efc.co.uk>, have been appointed as consultants to map Re:source's vision for Stewardship, consult with stakeholders and produce the written Strategy. The work on interviewing and gathering evidence and opinion from the professional and policy-making communities began in December 2000 and will continue throughout January 2001.
Education for Change Ltd leads a team of consultants including Nick Moore (Acumen) and Sara Selwood (University of Westminster). Their work will be supported by an informal Practitioner Reference Group, drawn from across the museums, archives and libraries domains to advise on issues and validate emerging conclusions. A first draft of the Strategy is expected to be presented to Re:source by the end of January 2001, and a large-scale consultation meeting, attended by museum, library and archives practitioners and other stakeholders from all over the UK is planned for late February.
Education for Change Ltd (EfC) is an independent consulting, research and project management company, offering professional consulting services in library and cultural heritage information management, education and learning development, information dissemination and publishing. EfC is working with Acumen on the Stewardship Strategy, which is an independent research, consultancy and policy analysis partnership. Established in 1982, it has undertaken a wide range of projects for public and private sector clients in Britain and overseas. Main areas of expertise include research into the nature of information needs and the use of information services, and the use of ICT to deliver services. The team is completed by Sara Selwood, who is Quintin Hogg Research Fellow, School of Communication, Design and Media at the University of Westminster. Sara is based at the Policy Studies Institute. She is the editor of Cultural Trends.
