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Assessing the risk to collections

BS EN 17820:2023 (annex D.2) states that an organization shall have a policy that includes a commitment to the use of risk management in all planning and operations in compliance with BS EN 16893:2018.

Decisions on instigating or continuing a split-site archive service can only be made after considering the likely and potential impact of such decisions on the service and the archive holdings. This section deals with risks to the collections (service considerations are dealt with above).

Different storage sites and arrangements present different risks. A risk assessment will evaluate the size of every risk affecting the archive collection. Risk management goes further, planning the use of resources to minimize the risks.

Risk assessment methodology

Start by bringing together a group of experts to create the risk assessment and management plan. Your experts should include archive and conservation staff and also emergency planning staff, building managers and fire brigade.

A useful method is to look at each option or site being considered and assess the risks from each of the ten agents of deterioration:

  1. physical forces – ranging from earthquake to transportation and handling damage
  2. fire
  3. water
  4. criminals – internal and external
  5. pests – inspects, vermin, mould
  6. contamination – chemical agents from the environment
  7. light and radiation – including ultraviolet and visible light
  8. incorrect temperature – including variations
  9. incorrect relative humidity – including variations
  10. custodial neglect

Of these risks a number may have sub-agents (for example water: flooding and plumbing faults). For each risk you must assess the likelihood of the risk occurring within a specified time period and the impact on the collection if the risk should occur.

You should also assess each site for the risks described in BS EN 16893:2018 section 4.2. The standard describes the hazards and security considerations to take into consideration when selecting a site for a storage repository. Additionally it describes a number of types of sites which would be unsuitable for an archive repository and a variety of methods to tackle these risks.

A useful way to visualise and evaluate these risks is to put together a ‘risk register’ – a table that reviews each option against a set of criteria. As an example, the suggested format may be useful:

Risk reference number – An ID number given to a risk, to make it easier to track

Agent of deterioration/service risk – Which of the 10 agents of deterioration is most likely to cause the risk to occur

Sub agent/risk – Any other agents which might be a contributing factor in causing a risk to occur

Likelihood – The chances of each particular risk occurring

Impact – The impact of the risk occurring. Usually numbered from 1-5, where 1 equates to ‘limited’ and 5 equates to ‘catastrophic’.

Risk rating – A combination of ‘likelihood’ and ‘impact’ scores. The total score will determine whether the risk rating is classed as ‘low’, ‘medium’, ‘high’ or ‘very high’.

Once you have assessed the impact and likelihood scores, plot them onto a matrix, which gives the overall risk rating:

A coloured grid, comprising 25 squares - 5 across by 5 down. On the X axis is 'Impact', and on the Y axis is 'Likelihood'. On both axes are numbers 1-5, ranging from 1- Limited, 2 - Minor, 3 - Moderate, 4 - Significant, 5 - Catastrophic. The coloured squares range from green through to yellow, to orange, to red, depending on the perceived impact/likelihood.Key: Red = very high, Amber = high, Yellow = medium, Green = Low

Consider the risk appetite of an organisation carefully. The Treasury Orange Book defines risk appetite as:

‘The amount of risk that an organisation is prepared to accept, tolerate, or be exposed to at any point in time.’

You can also use the table to discuss which risks can be tolerated to achieve the objectives of the building. This toleration of risks should always be agreed by the governing body of the archive service.

In general the risk appetite for archive collections should be ‘as low as reasonably practicable’ (ALARP).

Managing split-site risks

Identifying the storage requirements

The main means of managing risks to the collections is to specify collection storage sufficiently well. An off-site store should hold archive collections in the same high-quality storage conditions as the main archive service site. This will ensure management of most of the physical risks which you have quantified.

In drawing up a specification for a building consider the following standards and guidance:

The building should be designed to allow for additional capacity according to the projected growth of collections. The guidance in the Archive Service Accreditation standard indicates a service should aim for a minimum of 5 years expansion space (Requirement 1.4) and provides support for calculating this.

Selecting material to be stored off-site

Archive services have generally followed similar rules in deciding which material should be stored off-site, prioritising public access and limiting the transfer of archives between sites. These considerations often mean that materials stored off-site are generally:

  • collections which have restricted access, for example items closed for a number of years under Data Protection legislation (some items might still need to be accessible if covered by the Freedom of Information Act (FOI))
  • collections which have been digitised or microfilmed for access (and are available in surrogate form)
  • collections which are in an uncatalogued condition and therefore inaccessible to users (remember in this case items will still need to be accessible if covered by FOI)
  • collections which are of a highly specialised nature and therefore have relatively low levels of use

However, this is not a recommended list of rules for deciding which material should be stored off-site. Archive services should audit collections, assess which would be most appropriate for off-site storage given the scale and purpose of their service, and create a series of rules based on their criteria.

Managing the risks

Having created the risk assessment for an off-site store you can create a risk management register which shows how you will manage the identified risks.

Keep this under review regularly and use it to manage any changes at the site or in operating procedures.

Recommendations for lessening the impact of the potential risks

Archive services operating split-site services identified a number of risks to the collections which are outlined in the case studies in the appendices. To lessen these risks, the site chosen for a split-site service should where possible:

  • house complementary services such as records management or museum collection stores (these are more likely to require similar levels of security and a similar storage environment and their staff will be more aware of the risks to the archive collections and likely to identify problems early be staffed on a daily basis)
  • contain high quality staff offices and resources
  • be situated as close to the main site as possible
  • be self contained to ensure security
  • provide well planned and high quality storage which will remove as many risks to the collection as possible
  • have adequate insurance cover which includes cover for the transfer of archive materials on a regular basis