Archive Consultancy

Preserving Collections, Improving Access and Delivering Change

Helping archives, museums, businesses, charities, local authorities, heritage organisations and community groups unlock the potential of their collections through expert advice, strategic vision and practical solutions.

✔ Clear priorities for uncatalogued collections

✔ Practical strategies to reduce cataloguing backlogs

✔ Support achieving Archive Service Accreditation

✔ Improved collections management and governance

✔ Better physical and digital access to collections

✔ Stronger funding applications and project plans

✔ More meaningful community engagement

About me

Unlocking Your Archives Potential

  • Many organisations know they have cataloguing backlogs but are unsure where to begin.

    I can help with:

    • Collection surveys

    • Cataloguing audits

    • Prioritisation frameworks

    • Cataloguing strategies

    • Cataloguing large and complex collections

    • Collections information planning

  • External funding can transform archives, but securing funding requires careful planning, evidence gathering and project development.

    I provide support with:

    • Project scoping

    • Funding applications

    • Business cases

    • Grant development

    • Project planning

    • Stakeholder engagement

    • Evaluation frameworks

  • Archives create the greatest impact when they connect with people.

    I can support:

    • Audience research

    • Community consultation

    • Learning and outreach programmes

    • Exhibition development

    • Interpretation and storytelling

    • Volunteer training and programmes

  • Digital collections present new opportunities and challenges for archive services.

    I offer advice and support on:

    • Digital preservation planning

    • Digitisation workflows

    • Metadata standards

    • Collections management systems

    • Digital access strategies

    • System procurement and options appraisals

  • Archive Accreditation demonstrates that a service is meeting national standards and managing collections effectively.

    I provide support with:

    • Accreditation applications

    • Review submissions

    • Strategic planning

    • Policy and procedure development

    • Collections development planning

    • Preservation planning

    • Governance and compliance

  • Effective collections management and development provides the foundation for sustainable archives.

    Services include:

    • Collections reviews

    • Documentation audits

    • Storage assessments

    • Capacity planning

    • Acquisition procedures

    • Preservation planning

    • Conservation prioritisation

My services

Past Projects

Rotherham Archives Revealed Project

The Boroughing-In: Cataloguing Place and Identity in Rotherham project was made possible through the Archives Revealed programme, funded by The National Archives.

The project involved appraising and cataloguing local authority records dating primarily after 1974, identifying gaps in the collection and facilitating engagement activities encouraging local people and school children to contribute stories and perspectives that reflect Rotherham’s diverse identities.

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I developed a series of engagement activities linked to the Queer British Art exhibition at Tate Britain, including a collage workshop that was attended by more than 300 participants and was later presented nationally as an example of good practice at the LGBTQ Archives and History Conference.

Tate Library and Archive went on to be involved in the Queer and Now Festival held at Tate Britain, in creative collaboration with the Museum of Transology. Together we organised an equally successful zine workshop and also hosted a speed dating style event in the Reading Rooms.

Queer and Now Festival

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I was involved in supporting a community heritage project that explored the history of the Becontree Estate through the creation of a shared archive and a major public artwork by artist Chad McCail.

This was a collaborative project that involved working with local residents, who contributed photographs, memories and stories that helped document the estate's past and present, as well as liaising with project paterners, Historypin, Barbican and Creat London. Drawing on archival records and community research, Chad McCail created a mural at Valence House Museum.

This Used to be Fields Project

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I secured a grant of £80,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to support the Fifty Years a Borough Project, which through archives and community engagement, was a celebration of the history of Barking and Dagenham.

I planned and managed the project from inception to completion, overseeing staff and volunteers who catalogued, digitised and preserved 6,000 photographic negatives by the Borough Photographer, Egbert Smart. The project also delivered an exhibition, oral histories, community workshops and a big celebratory event at Valence House Museum.

Fifty Years a Borough Project

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Let's Discuss Your Project!

Whether you need support with archive accreditation, cataloguing, collections management, digital preservation, project development or community engagement, I would be delighted to discuss how I can help.

Email: clare_sexton@yahoo.co.uk
Telephone: 07508 384158

Clare Sexton Archive Consultancy

Helping organisations preserve collections, improve access and unlock the full potential of their archives.