CV - Elizabeth Oxborrow-Cowan B.Sc., M.Sc., RMSA
Archival Consultant
I am a highly experienced archivist with extensive knowledge of both the technical and strategic issues involved in running and developing archive services. I am also very active within the archive profession at the national level. She brings a dynamic and individual approach to her work. Previous clients include the worlds of heritage consultancy, archive services, policy making and archival training. I work with individual institutions, local and regional bodies and on the national scale.
Specialist knowledge areas:
- Assessing archival accommodation and proposals for new build
- Access and Audience Development Plans
- Conservation Management Plans
- Collection management
- Strategic management and development
- Bespoke auditing against professional standards including BS5454, The National Archives Standard for Record Repositories and the Public Services Quality Group Standard for Access to Archives
- Consultation both group and one-to one
- Visioning and evaluation techniques
- Surveying and analysis of collection content and access
- Collections care and access with particular knowledge of photographic, industrial and business collections
- Cross-sectoral working with museums and libraries
- Advocacy - notably co-creator of National Archives Awareness Month, Director of Publicity and Communications for the National Council on Archives
- Professional training from para-professional level to senior management
- Assessment of archive-related initiatives
Previous consultancy work
I am experienced in a range of consultancy work including:
- Advising on architectural design for archival accommodation
- Designing and implementing analyses of collection care, content and access for archive services of considerably different sizes and environments
- Developing stewardship strategies based on consultation and data analysis
- Developing strategic plans and action plans for a range of archive services
- Developing practical emergency response plans
- Providing data and analysis to support major bids to the HLF, notably developing Conservation Management Plans and Access and Audience Development Plans.
- Advising on the development of a learning strategy and action in the North West of England
- Creating and delivering archival training material
- Advising on staffing, training and management of archive services
- Analyzing the impact of archive-related initiatives
Recent clients include:
Architectural work
Hull History Centre – judging the first round of architectural submissions for the new building.
Tyne and Wear Archives Service – an options appraisal for accommodation analyzing potential within existing accommodation (a Grade 2 Listed building shared with the large Discovery Museum) and new build.
Access and Audience Development Plans
Aberdeen University Special Library and Archive Collections – creating an Access and Audience Development Plan to open up collections to a wider audience both within and outside the University.
Centre for Kentish Studies – creating an AADP for a major capital bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Conservation Management Plans
Centre for Kentish Studies – developing a CMP for a major capital bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Hull University Archive, Hull City Archives and Hull Local Studies Library – a major project analyzing the content, care and access to these three collections to create a detailed action plan and data for a major bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a Hull History Centre. The HLF consequently awarded Hull £7.7million, the largest ever HLF award to an archive project or to a project in Hull.
Kent Archives Service – delivering a CMP a very large local authority archives service housed across three sites ahead of a possible move into a new building to be shared with the library service. Elizabeth also advised on the Access and Audience Development Plan and Training Plan.
The Rambert Dance Company – a CMP was required for this world famous contemporary dance company to inform both collection care in a possible new location and also provide solutions for the long-term care of the collections in existing accommodation.
Strategic Planning
Northampton NHS Trust – on-going advice on developing the small archive held at the General Hospital, which is run by volunteers
Salford City Council – developing a series of costed options for the development of their archives, with the aim of vastly improving access and collection development based on analysis and potential of the service and detailed consultation.
The Science Museum - reviewing all aspects of the Museum’s archive service and creating a development plan to deliver collection care to professional standards, manage the collection content to ensure the long-term development and relevance of material and significantly improve access.
Tyne and Wear Archives Service – Options appraisal for a very large local authority service housed within a Class 2 listed building, shared with a large museum. The options appraisal assessed the potential and outline costs to improve physical and intellectual care and improve access.
West Yorkshire Archive Service – a large project involving the analysis of the content, care and access of collections and a detailed action plan to develop the service, which is spread over five sites, including advice on staffing requirements.
Emergency Response Plans
The Harris Museum, Preston – guiding the development of a disaster management plan through analysis of the current situation, developing a framework plan and advising on good practice.
Stewardship
SEMLAC – implementing the SEMLAC Stewardship Strategy by creating a detailed action plan through gathering and analyzing stewardship data, identifying gaps in knowledge and consulting with key partners.
Learning and Education Activity
MLA North West – advising on the issues facing archives in the creation of a Learning Strategy for the North West of England was used to implement ‘Inspiring Learning for All’.
MLA North West – providing induction training on the popular Learning Links Project.
MLA South West – analysing the current capacity within local authority archive services across the South West for delivering education and prosposing means of creating a sustainable network to support educational work within the archive sector as well as investigating ideas for programmes of activity within the requirements of the Strategic Commissioning framework.
Research
MLA North West – assessing the Logjam Project, which quantified and analyzed the cataloguing backlog in the North West of England. The methodology went on to be used by other regions.
MLA North West - Evaluating the impact of the Archives Awareness Campaign 2004 in the North West through wide consultation.
Training
Liverpool University Centre for Archive Studies (LUCAS) – creation of a long-distance learning package for the Certificate/Diploma in Archives and Records Management.
Yorkshire MLA & MLA North West – developing a training day on archive collecting policies and devising subsequent support material.
Yorkshire MLA & MLA North West – Developing advice sheets for supporting community-based archives.
Previous Professional Posts:
Deputy County Archivist, Greater Manchester County Record Office
Archivist, Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
Professional Activity:
Publicity and Communications Director for the National Council on Archives
Executive Committee Member, Liverpool University Centre for Archive Studies
Mentor and Assessor for the Society of Archivists' Registration Scheme
Qualifications:
Registered Member of the Society of Archivists
M.Sc. (Econ) Archive Administration, University of Wales
B.Sc. (Hons) Modern History, Economic History and Politics, University of London
Assessor and Internal Verifier for the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Archive Studies
Publications
A National Archives Awareness Campaign for the UK,
Comma The Journal of the International Council on Archives
Autumn 2003
Photographic Care at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester,
Journal of the Society of Archivists April 2002 |
