Policies

The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art (PMC) recognises the importance of collections information with regard to developing, managing and providing access to the archives in its care. It is committed to generating and maintaining records which support and evidence the implementation of relevant national and international standards and best practice in the field.

This Archive Collections Information Policy sets out what information is generated and captured in the process of acquiring, accessioning, cataloguing and preserving archive material at PMC. It also identifies the standards, best practice and in-house rules and guidance which are followed whilst carrying out these core archival activities. It encompasses both the Collected Archives and Institutional Archive.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure and support accountability and transparency in relation to the management of archives at PMC. It also acts as a tool for advocacy, communicating the core work undertaken by archive staff to, and managing the expectations of, internal and external stakeholders. It supports good decision making and effective forward and succession planning.

This policy is linked to PMC’s Mission Statement and the Archive Forward Plan. It is supported by the Collections Information Plan and related procedural documents.

PMC is an educational charity, established in 1970, administered by a Director who reports to a Board of Trustees consisting of officers and faculty of Yale University.

PMC promotes and supports the study of, and research into, British art and is a member of the Association of Research Institutes in Art History. It has two complementary purposes: to contribute to the study and understanding of British art; and to act as a research centre for scholars working in this field.

PMC derives its authority to manage and collect archives from the Memorandum and Articles of Association for The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 1970.

PMC has accepted archive collections since 1977 and is an actively collecting institution holding over forty separate Collected Archives acquired from external sources.

PMC also maintains an Institutional Archive. This was established in 2009, following an extensive review of PMC’s records carried out by a professionally qualified Records Manager.

The first qualified Archivist & Records Manager was appointed in 2010 and, since this date, work has focused on professionalising and developing all areas of Archive & Records Management activity.

Collections information regarding the archives at PMC is recorded and made available to external and internal stakeholders via the following platforms:

• Microsoft SharePoint – used to host and manage PMC’s current and semi-current records
• Axiell CALM – PMC’s Archive cataloguing software and CalmView web-based public catalogue
• Preservica – PMC’s Digital Preservation system and its public-facing portal
• PMC’s website – the primary platform through which PMC communicates to external audiences

PMC regularly receives offers of archive material from external sources. The material is assessed to determine its suitability for acquisition by PMC. During this process, information is recorded about the initial offer, assessment of material and the final decision regarding acquisition. All archive offers received by PMC are managed strictly in accordance with the offer process outlined on the Thinking of Offering your Archive page on PMC’s website.

All records generated during the offer process are managed in SharePoint, in a newly created e-folder titled by the name of the collection.

For offers that are unsuccessful, core records are printed to hard copy and filed in the Institutional Archive. Any e-records are managed on SharePoint in line with agreed retention schedules. Records related to offers that are successful are subject to PMC’s standard Acquisition and Accessioning procedure (see Section 5 below).

For Collected Archives, the activity of acquiring and accessioning material involves capturing information generated throughout the offer process; documenting legal transfer to PMC and compiling basic information about content. For the Institutional Archive, it involves recording information about their internal transfer or capture.

5.1 Collected Archives

Records generated during all archival activities undertaken post-acquisition (e.g. conservation, publicity etc.) are managed in a series of sub-folders which act as “working files” on SharePoint.

An accession record is created in Axiell CALM. This follows in-house best practice established in the PMC’s Accessioning and Cataloguing Rules document.

Within twelve months of acquisition, a “landing tile” and boxlist for the collection are created and published on PMC’s website. These follow in-house templates and provide the first point of access for the collection.

Following the creation of the “landing tile” and boxlist, new acquisitions are publicised through a variety of routes including PMC’s social media, news pieces and events.

PMC participates in the National Archives’ annual Accessions to Repositories Survey to ensure that newly acquired collections are available to a wider audience.

5.2 Institutional Archive

Transfer and capture of records for PMC’s Institutional Archive is managed in accordance with the individual retention schedules for the activity to which they relate. The retention schedules include information about transfer source and format.

PMC currently supports a hybrid approach which includes the physical transfer of paper records and the ingest into Preservica of digital records.

Cataloguing is a key priority as catalogue descriptions provide the primary point of public and internal access to the material.

PMC employs qualified archivists on permanent and temporary project contracts, to undertake cataloguing of collections. MA Archive student placements and graduate trainees may carry out basic cataloguing under the supervision of qualified staff.

All Collected and Institutional Archive material is catalogued in accordance with national and international standards, in particular ISAD(G), the International Standard for Archival Description (general) – second edition and ISAAR(CPF), the International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families. It is supported by an in-house manual: The Paul Mellon Centre Archive Accessioning and Cataloguing Rules.

PMC is committed to employing the principles of inclusive terminology across all areas of work, and archive cataloguing seeks to follow the latest guidance and best practice in the field.

Cataloguing of Collected and Institutional Archive material, regardless of format, is carried out in Axiell CALM. Links to digital material, stored in Preservica software, may be included as appropriate. In addition to archival descriptions synchronised from Calm, Preservica uses Dublin Core and its own internal metadata schema as an extension of ISAD(G). The relationship between the two standards is described in the DC Terms ISAD(G) Comparison document. Metadata creation procedure is described in the Cataloguing Born Digital and Digitised Archive Material document. As far as possible any supplied metadata, written collection documentation and sidecar files that help to understand and interpret the content of digital records are ingested alongside original born-digital records.

PMC aims to catalogue Institutional Archive material as soon as possible after transfer or capture, but due to the proliferation and volume of records created through the everyday business of PMC a certain amount of cataloguing backlog is inevitable.

Collected Archives are assessed on acquisition and scheduled for cataloguing according to the criteria outlined in PMC’s Archive Cataloguing Forward Plan.

Collected Archive catalogue descriptions are published online via the following initiatives:

• PMC’s website (via CALM View)
• Archives HUB
• Archives Portal Europe
• The National Archive’s Discovery
• LUX – Yale University’s Collections Discovery platform

Institutional Archive catalogue descriptions are available to internal audiences only via Axiell CALM. Catalogue descriptions for a small volume of records already in the public domain are publicly available on PMC’s website (link above) and some archival records in digital format are available through Preservica portal.

All Collected Archive acquisitions are accompanied by a standard Acquisition Form which clearly states (Section 3.3) that PMC is under no obligation to preserve items that it determines are unsuitable for retention. Appraisal takes place during the cataloguing process and material in this category is either returned to the donor or securely disposed of in-house, depending on the agreement made at the time of the acquisition and recorded in the Special Conditions section of the form.

Appraisal and disposal of Institutional Archive material is documented and carried out in accordance with, PMC’s retention schedules. It may be carried out by Archive staff or staff working in other areas of PMC activity.

Since the introduction of a formal Archive Collection Development Policy and related acquisition procedure in 2011, PMC only acquires Collected Archives that will be permanently preserved.

PMC has an ambition to review and de-accession any Collected Archives acquired before this date which do not meet the current criteria for acquisition.

The location of Collected and Institutional Archive material stored on-site is recorded in the Locations of Archive Material document (a copy of which is included in the Public Study Room manual). There is also signage in the Archive stores themselves. This information is updated when locations change (e.g. when the material has been catalogued).

The location of Collected Archive material stored off-site is recorded in a password-protected spreadsheet generated by PMC’s offsite storage provider. This spreadsheet is updated whenever material is moved.

Retrieval slips are used to manage the production and return of archive material from the stores for public access or internal purposes.

Core records relating to the successful and unsuccessful acquisition of Collected Archive material are created in hard copy and stored securely in purpose-built Archive stores. Access is via key card and restricted to Archives & Library staff only. Collections held offsite at Restore are held in secure stores with 24-hour CCTV, anti-intruder monitoring and advanced keypad entry systems.

Digital records relating to all activities associated with the management of archive material are managed on SharePoint. PMC’s IT support is provided by Them Digital. Backup services are provided by N-Able. For any records being part of hybrid collections (mix of traditional and digital records) Preservica offers catalogue integration with Calm. This also works for digitised records (originating in analogue formats).

Catalogue data is hosted off-site by Axiell CALM and is protected by regular backups. 

This policy was approved by SLT on 18 June 2025.

It will be reviewed at least once every five years, the next review being due in June 2030.