Lee Oliver

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Public Services for the 21st Century
Lee Oliver Head of Public Services
Development The National Archives Public
Services Quality Forum 8 November 2006
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One version of the future reading room
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But in the meantime

• Public Services still rely on satisfying
• Onsite visits
• Remote enquiries

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Remote Enquiries

• The real challenge is delivering the guidance and
  support normally offered in the reading room
• Traditionally 1?1 methods phone, letter, email
• Websites a move towards 1?many delivery, but
  still largely pushing information
• But in the future wikis, forums, knowledge
  bases, scanning-on-demand, live video links
• http//www.axsnet.org/

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Onsite Services

• Still revolves around traditional activities
• Advice
• Finding aids
• Access to records (mostly in original form)

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Impact of technology

• Computers as a research aid, and a means of
  access
• Personal technology
• Laptops
• Wi-fi
• Digital Cameras
• Increasingly access is to surrogates not
  originals
• Biggest Issue keeping up

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What surrogates mean for reading rooms

• The FRC model
• Relaxed rules (no worries about food, pens, etc)?
• No reader tickets or signing-in?
• Staff advice delivered away from the desk
• More technical queries

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What about the users?

• The impact of increased visibility for archives
  (such as Who Do You Think You Are), and the rise
  of the Google generation means users are
  increasingly becoming like.

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I want it now!

The big challenge could be managing expectation!
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Thank you