23 June 2010 Archives in the 21st century David Ruse Director of Libraries and Culture Westminster City Council

Archives in the 21 st century Look, there’s no money Your just costing money by storing a load of old paper that nobody looks at And don’t give me that Statutory service rubbish HOW DO YOU MAKE YOURSELVES RELEVANT AND WORTHY OF A PROPER DISCUSSION?

Westminster City CouncilArchives in the 21 st century Getting on the right radar Focus on the corporate priorities of the organisation Prioritise yourself – put the hobbyhorses out to grass! Use your assets – material from the collection; your customers; your volunteers; your local focus on place

Westminster City CouncilArchives in the 21 st century Who is the Leader in this context? YOU! Be visible and vocal Have ideas and solutions, anecdotes, and evidence of impact in your head Carpe diem – a need for immediacy! Identify and use champions Celebrate and showcase

Westminster City CouncilArchives in the 21 st century So what did the Chief Exec or Vice Chancellor make of the report? Have they Seen it? Read it? Binned it? Did you help them to see its relevance? Or did you think they would work it out for themselves?

Westminster City CouncilArchives in the 21 st century The efficiency thing Benchmarks and management information Unit costs Outcome measures Relatively low cost? Partnering and shared services….

Westminster City CouncilArchives in the 21 st century Innovation and development Always innovate Use / copy good practice examples Develop new models of delivery London Heritage Change Programme experience

Westminster City CouncilArchives in the 21 st century The confidence challenge – are you up for it? Make the service relevant to today’s organisation Lead and advocate for your service Drive for efficiency and improvement Innovate and develop for the future

Westminster City CouncilArchives in the 21 st century Management guru quotes Confidence – ‘a sweet spot between arrogance and despair’ (Rosabeth Moss Kantor, 2005) Do you want to be victims of circumstance, or creators of opportunity? (Mike More, Chief Executive, Westminster City Council, 2010)

Westminster City CouncilArchives in the 21 st century THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK! David Ruse