²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Archives become the first archives at the University of Oxford to achieve national accreditation
There have been a number of ‘firsts’ at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ—our Front Quad was the first of its kind, we were the first college to allow tutors to marry, and now ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ’s Archives have become the first college archive at the University of Oxford, along with , to be nationally accredited by The National Archives.
²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Archives have become an “Accredited Archive Service†which is the UK standard for archive services. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the award defines good practice and identifies agreed standards within the archive sector.
Assessors from the Archive Service Accreditation Panel reviewed a written application from ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ and visited the archives in person, meeting with ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ archivist Michael Stansfield, as well as ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Librarian Christopher Skelton-Foord, and Fellow Librarian Will Poole. In the report, they noted that ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ had submitted a "strong application from a service which has been developing at pace in recent years". In addition, Michael Stansfield was commended for his impact and for the "incremental and pragmatic way he has developed the service since his appointment". Following the announcement, Michael said:
“This is a great tribute to the contributions of all one’s colleagues, and also all one’s predecessors, including especially the college’s founder who set the standard for the care of the college’s archive in providing a Muniment Tower. Accreditation will be a great asset in the continuing work of taking the archive forward, and in developing its facilities and accessibilityâ€.
The ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Archives contain over 100,000 historical documents, the oldest dating from the eleventh century (nearly three hundred years before the ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ was itself founded). The archives also house a number of collections of personal papers donated to the ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ by the families of former fellows and alumni. Future development of the archives following the new accreditation includes the improvement of accessibility through the digitisation of the catalogue and records. We are excited to see the results.
