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Historic Environment Records

HER Committee

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Records Development

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Records development

The Association works in partnership with national agencies and other organisations to develop HERs/SMRs.

In 1998, the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers (ALGAO), the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) and English Heritage published Unlocking the Past for the New Millennium, a statement of co-operation on SMRs (RCHME, ALGAO and English Heritage 1998). This document emphasised the importance of SMRs for the conservation and management of the historic environment and the development and implementation of sustainable policies. The intention of the national organisations is to work toward a long-term vision of a series of locally maintained, computerised SMRs, compiled according to common data standards, accessible via networking to professionals and public alike.

 

In England, ALGAO, English Heritage,IHBC, DCMS and MLA meet regularly in an HER Working Party which has taken the lead in such initiatives as the publication of an SMR manual, Informing the Future of the Past (2000) (currently being revised), in the Benchmarks for Good Practice (Chitty 2002), Resource needs for SMRs and UADs to reach the first stage benchmarks (Baker, Chitty and Edwards 2004) and a framework document for Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) support for HER Outreach, Unlocking Britain's Past (1999) and Unlocking Our Past (2005). The challenge for the future is for the partners to successfully influence both national and local government to provide greater stability and increased resources to support the further development of HERs.

Similarly partnership in Wales between Cadw, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) , The National Museums and Galleries of Wales (NMGW) and The Welsh Archaeological Trusts (WATs) has led to the Strategic Framework for Historic Environment Records in Wales (2005).

In 2003 the Scottish SMRs and the RCAHMS published a Co-Operation Statement which sets out their aim to work together in a number of areas: liaison, on-line resources, user feedback and analysis, workshops and training, joint services, education and tourism and research.