A campaign to preserve archives relating to the voluntary sector is to launch officially at the House of Lords in October, with an event that will present the business case for the idea and garner support from invited guests.

The Campaign for Voluntary Sector Archives was conceived in October 2011 after a group of academic researchers, information professionals and sector representatives got together to discuss the fact that documentation within the sector is not being properly organised and archived for future use.

The meeting, hosted by the British Library, was attended by figures from, among others, the British Red Cross, the Children’s Society, the Diana Fund, Barrow Cadbury Trust, London School of Economics and the National Archives.

They identified that, for a number of reasons, it will become increasingly difficult to preserve the records of voluntary organisations.  Charities may not know which documents to keep; smaller groups may lack the resources to maintain older records properly; emails and webpages are often ephemeral, and there is inadequate legal protection for charity archives.

Barbara Weeden, Campaign chair, said: “Understanding depends upon research, and effective research depends upon evidence.  Neglect of archives across the voluntary sector is endangering our ability to understand activities and agencies which impact on our lives.”

Now the Campaign is to launch formally with a seminar and reception at the House of Lords on 15 October, hosted by Baroness Jill Pitkeathley.  Those invited include researchers, historians, sector chief executives, journalists, archivists and people from trusts and foundations.

The seminar session will comprise two panels , the first presenting the business case for archive management and the second exploring the importance of the project to trusts and foundations. Then at the evening reception, the organisers intend to present their plan of action and listen to suggestions for how to take it forward.