Exeter Cathedral Library and Archives are proud to announce that they have retained full accreditation status from The National Archives.
In 2014 the Library and Archives at Exeter were the first Cathedral establishment to receive the prestigious award of Archive Service Accreditation from the Archive Service Accreditation Panel. To retain this status there is a requirement to re-apply every six years – and all applications are reviewed against the up-dated UK Archive Service Accreditation Standard. This gives the Accreditation Panel a full view of organisational health, collections management and the work that is undertaken with a range of stakeholders.
Housed in the West Wing of the Bishop’s Palace, Exeter Cathedral’s Library and Archives looks after the Dean & Chapter’s many thousands of books and documents, which span the 10th to 21st centuries.
The Library contains medieval manuscripts, early printed books and modern published texts on a remarkable range of subjects including local history, theology, medicine, science and many more.
The Archives contain unique original records documenting the history of the Cathedral and its Dean and Chapter including the buildings, people and former estates across Devon and Cornwall (and Bampton, Oxfordshire).
The awarding panel commented:
“We welcomed this strong application from one of the first Accredited Archive Services. The panel were impressed with the range of activity undertaken by this small service which has grown in confidence and professionalism over the period since their first Archive Service Accreditation award.
They felt that the service continues to seek opportunities and is admirably proactive. It was excellent to see the range of outreach and partnership work, which was hugely impressive for a service of this size. It was also good to see the service’s work to connect with the current cathedral administration to ensure the collections continue to grow and represent its work”
Responses from Exeter Cathedral:
We are delighted to have retained full Accreditation Status for our Library and Archives. It is a great tribute to our small, hard-working team that they have achieved this, and it is hugely reassuring to the Chapter to know that our fantastic collection is in such capable hands.
The Very Reverend Jonathan Greener, Dean of Exeter
It really is wonderful to have retained our Accredited Archive status once again. The Accreditation Application process is rigorous, but represents a valuable opportunity to fully assess and evaluate all we have been trying to do, and plan to do to safeguard the Dean and Chapters collections and continue to give access to them in diverse ways. Achieving this award once again lets us know we are on the right track and we will keep on going pushing hard to do more for the collections and those who use them
Ellie Jones, Archivist
We are of course delighted by this award especially as it not only considers the Archives but also reflects the work of the Library as we are a combined service. We continue to look for new opportunities as we work towards one of our aims, namely “to be recognised as having one of the best and most accessible reading and research facilities for academics and visitors of any Cathedral Library and Archives in the country” It is onward and upward.
Ann Barwood, Canon Librarian