Cyngor Archifau a Chofnodion Cymru :: Archives and Records Council Wales

Cyngor Archifau a Chofnodion Cymru
Archives and Records Council Wales

Minutes of the meeting held at the National Library of Wales on 2 March 2000.

Present: S Edwards (Glam, Chair); S Beckley (WGlam); E Bennett (UWSwansea); M Ellis (DILS); A Lloyd Hughes (NMGW); G Jenkins (NLW); R Jones (RCAHMW); S Jones (PRO); C Kitching (HMC); K Matthias (Denbigh); A Rhydderch (Gwynedd); R Williams (SocArch); J Watts-Williams (NLW); and, for the first item on the agenda, D Jeremiah (NLW).

Apologies: D Leitch (PRO); H Malaws (RCAHMW); L Tomos (DILS).

1 Minutes of the last meeting

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 November 1999 were confirmed.

2 Archives Network Wales

GJ reported on the meeting he and SE had held with HLF. On the basis of that discussion, he advised the withdrawal of the current bid in order to rework it. The main points to be tackled were ACW's non-qualification as a `legal entity', the removal of phasing, and the clarification of the project's management structure. A Constitution Working Group (Hilary Malaws, Susan Beckley, and Rowland Williams) was appointed to deal with the legal entity question; and the Networking Sub-committee was resurrected to consider the reworking of the bid. ACW would meet again in early May to receive the reports of the two groups and to try and resubmit the bid before the end of May.

3 Mapping Project

SJ reported that David Leitch was starting to structure the report and that he expected the draft would be ready for distribution by Easter. DL would then hope to receive feedback and be able to produce the final report by the end of May.

4 CWLIS

SE reported on an Executive Committee meeting of CWLIS she had attended where the following subjects were discussed:

4.1 Annual General Meeting: to be held at the National Museum on 5 April.

4.2 NOF bids: `Gathering the Jewels' project; and the Active Citizenship project, `Getting in on the Act'.

4.3 DRWS: WIS had expressed interest in University of Wales Swansea's DRWS proposal, developed for WHELF, to provide an electronic gateway for Welsh-related material.

4.4 MLAC Wales: CWLIS agreed to press for the issue of a consultation paper on the subject promised by National Assembly officials in October 1999.

4.5 People's Network: a report on progress was circulated, followed by a report on the Full Disclosure Partner Group at the British Library.

5 MLAC and Wales

SE reported on a meeting of representatives of the three sectors which she and GJ had attended at the offices of the Council of Museums in Wales. There was concern that little was happening with regard to MLAC Wales and the meeting had been very productive in mapping out common ground and in setting interim aims and objectives. The MLAC Consultative Document was discussed, and after the meeting Lionel Madden had written to Russell Thomas at the Welsh Assembly proposing that the group should be regarded as a consultation body for the setting up of a Welsh MLAC.

ACW discussed the relationship between Wales and MLAC. It was noted that the consultative document made very little reference to archives. In CK's opinion, MLAC still had a completely open mind about its remit and the document did not do justice to MLAC's knowledge of the archive sector. The meeting felt that the archive sector might have much to gain from the establishment of a similar body in Wales.

6 National Archives Policy

The draft document, designed to put the profession's standpoint in order to inform the Assembly, was ready for distribution. ME would be posting a copy to the member bodies of ACW and asking them to send their responses to SE/EB/ME by the end of March.

7 New Opportunities Fund (NOF)

The application of the Gathering of the Jewels Consortium for about £1m for its digitisation project on the theme of Community had been submitted in January. Every institution in the museums, libraries, and archives sectors would have a chance to contribute to the project. WIS was funding the consultation for the preparation of the second stage bid. The Consortium had a strong archive representation and further consultation with interested parties was in the offing.

8 NCA

NCA had not met since the last meeting of ACW. NCA's news bulletin for January had been distributed with the minutes and the February bulletin was handed out during the meeting.

9 Constitution

The new guidelines were accepted unanimously.

10 Subscriptions

It was decided to request subscriptions for 1999-2000 from representatives only, not from all members.

11 Annual Report

ACW's Annual Report had been distributed with the minutes.

12 Heirnet (Historic Environment Information Resources Network)

It was decided to accept a written offer from Hilary Malaws to represent ACW as well as the RCAHMW at the meetings of Heirnet.

13 Gregynog Meeting 2000

It was agreed to start planning the annual Gregynog meeting for the end of September. RW would put it to the next Regional Meeting at Cardiff on 20 March.

14 Society of Archivists Wales Region

Tom Middlehurst AM, Secretary for Post-16 Education, would be calling by the next meeting, which was to be held at the Glamorgan Record Office on Monday, 20 March. A panel consisting of Mary Clapinson, Rhidian Griffiths, and Jane Pierson Jones, would then lead a discussion about future structures in the heritage sector.

15 Next meeting

To be arranged.

Back to the Front Page

1	Minutes of the last meeting
	The minutes of the meeting held on 12 November 1999 were confirmed.

3	Mapping Project
	SJ reported that David Leitch was starting to structure the report and that he expected the draft would be ready for distribution by Easter. DL would then hope to receive feedback and be able to produce the final report by the end of May.

4	CWLIS
	SE reported on an Executive Committee meeting of CWLIS she had attended where the following subjects were discussed:
4.1	Annual General Meeting: to be held at the National Museum on 5 April.
4.2	NOF bids: `Gathering the Jewels' project; and the Active Citizenship project, `Getting in on the Act'.
4.3	DRWS: WIS had expressed interest in University of Wales Swansea's DRWS proposal, developed for WHELF, to provide an electronic gateway for Welsh-related material.
4.4	MLAC Wales: CWLIS agreed to press for the issue of a consultation paper on the subject promised by National Assembly officials in October 1999.
4.5	People's Network: a report on progress was circulated, followed by a report on the Full Disclosure Partner Group at the British Library.

5	MLAC and Wales
	SE reported on a meeting of representatives of the three sectors which she and GJ had attended at the offices of the Council of Museums in Wales. There was concern that little was happening with regard to MLAC Wales and the meeting had been very productive in mapping out common ground and in setting interim aims and objectives. The MLAC Consultative Document was discussed, and after the meeting Lionel Madden had written to Russell Thomas at the Welsh Assembly proposing that the group should be regarded as a consultation body for the setting up of a Welsh MLAC.
	ACW discussed the relationship between Wales and MLAC. It was noted that the consultative document made very little reference to archives. In CK's opinion, MLAC still had a completely open mind about its remit and the document did not do justice to MLAC's knowledge of the archive sector. The meeting felt that the archive sector might have much to gain from the establishment of a similar body in Wales.

6	National Archives Policy
	The draft document, designed to put the profession's standpoint in order to inform the Assembly, was ready for distribution. ME would be posting a copy to the member bodies of ACW and asking them to send their responses to SE/EB/ME by the end of March.

8	NCA
	NCA had not met since the last meeting of ACW. NCA's news bulletin for January had been distributed with the minutes and the February bulletin was handed out during the meeting.

9	Constitution
	The new guidelines were accepted unanimously.

10	Subscriptions
	It was decided to request subscriptions for 1999-2000 from representatives only, not from all members.

11	Annual Report
	ACW's Annual Report had been distributed with the minutes.

12	Heirnet (Historic Environment Information Resources Network)
	It was decided to accept a written offer from Hilary Malaws to represent ACW as well as the RCAHMW at the meetings of Heirnet.

13	Gregynog Meeting 2000
	It was agreed to start planning the annual Gregynog meeting for the end of September. RW would put it to the next Regional Meeting at Cardiff on 20 March.

14	Society of Archivists Wales Region
	Tom Middlehurst AM, Secretary for Post-16 Education, would be calling by the next meeting, which was to be held at the Glamorgan Record Office on Monday, 20 March. A panel consisting of Mary Clapinson, Rhidian Griffiths, and Jane Pierson Jones, would then lead a discussion about future structures in the heritage sector.