The Archives and Records Association (ARA) is the principal professional body for

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to Document, records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist c ...

s, archive

conservators In certain areas of England, Conservators are statutory bodies which manage areas of countryside for the use of the public. Establishment, Role and Powers Conservators are bodies corporate generally established, and granted their powers, by a ...

and

records manager A records manager is the professional responsible for records management in an organization. This role has evolved over time and takes many forms, with many related areas of knowledge required for professional competency. Records managers are foun ...

s in the UK and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The Archives and Records Association (ARA, UK & Ireland) came into existence on 1 June 2010 and is the result of a merger of the National Council on Archives (NCA) and the Association of Chief Archivists in Local Government (ACALG) with the

Society of Archivists The Society of Archivists (SoA), which was in existence from 1947 to 2010, was the principal professional body for archivists, archive conservators and records managers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In 2010 the Society amalgamated with the Na ...

(SoA). It is a member of the

International Council on Archives The International Council on Archives (ICA; French: ''Conseil international des archives'') is an international non-governmental organization which exists to promote international cooperation for archives and archivists. It was set up in 1948, wi ...

Aims

The principal aims of the ARA are: to promote the care and preservation of archives and the better administration of archive repositories; to advance the training of its members; and to encourage relevant research and publication. It achieves these aims through the work of its council and its various Committees, Groups and Regions, and through its role as the voice of the three professions. The association advises, submits evidence and makes comment on matters of professional concern to people or organisations whose activities affect archives and records.

Membership

The association has over two thousand members, mainly made up of professional archivists, records managers, archive conservators and digital curators from all the different types of organisations that employ such professionals. Through an affiliate membership scheme, those who work at a

paraprofessional Paraprofessional is a title given to individuals in various occupational fields, such as education, librarianship, healthcare, engineering, and law. Historically, paraprofessionals assisted the master professional of their field. In more recent tim ...

level or who are generally interested in the work of the association and its members can join. There is also a student membership option for those who are studying for a professional qualification in archives, records management or archive conservation.

Structure

The association is managed by a Council, which is partially elected every two years, along with a number of committees and sub-committees relating to specific areas of business. The membership is divided into eleven regions that span the whole of the UK and Ireland, each with their own regional committee. The regional group covering

(both the

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

) has a semi-autonomous status as the Archives and Records Association, Ireland. Seven special interest groups also exist within the organisation's structure, representing members' different employment backgrounds and/or concerns. The association has an office in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, which deals with the day-to-day administration of the organisation.

Publications and outreach

A biannual publication entitled ''Archives and Records: The Journal of the Archives and Records Association'', which covers professional issues, is produced for the association's members. The journal was previously known as the ''Journal of the Society of Archivists'', and this title was retained until 2012: the current title was first used for volume 34, published in 2013. The association also publishes a monthly newsletter, called ''ARC Magazine'' (Archives, Records management, Conservation), and a fortnightly recruitment supplement called ARC Recruitment containing job and voluntary placement opportunities. Periodically more in depth guides on particular types of records or professional issues are produced and made available for members to purchase.

Training

In terms of professional training for archives and records management, the ARA accredits externally provided postgraduate diploma/degree programmes, of which there are currently six; three in England and one each in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. For Archive Conservation, the association runs a Certificate in Archive Conservation as an in-service scheme restricted to members only. It is also involved in the Professional Accreditation of Conservator-Restorers (PAC-R) scheme. Other training events for members are organised by the Regional committees or Special Interest Groups of the association and co-ordinated by the association's Training Officer. The association's Registration Scheme acts as a formal process of continued professional development. A register was first established in 1987, initially with a clause allowing professional members to be accepted automatically if they had been working in a recognised post for at least two years: this clause has now been closed and full completion of the present scheme, introduced in 1996, is now the only way to become a Registered Member of the association. Those who complete the registration scheme are entitled to use the

post-nominal Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

s RMARA (Registered Member Archives and Records Association).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Archives And Records Association Archivist associations Library-related professional associations 2010 establishments in the United Kingdom 2010 establishments in Ireland Organizations established in 2010 Organisations based in Taunton History organisations based in the United Kingdom