CALGG: Chief Archivists in Local Government Group

Who we are and what we do

CALGG is the Chief Archivists in Local Government Group. CALGG is one of the groups within the Archives and Records association (ARA). The group aims to influence policies and practices to promote the preservation and use of archives that are in the care of local authorities with archive powers in England and Wales. It provides a platform for the exchange of ideas and information among local authority archive services and with others.

CALGG is supported by the ARA and through its members represents the interests of a large number of local authority archive services at a national level.

The full CALGG membership is invited to an annual meeting with other meetings of the full membership arranged as required.

The CALGG Exec Committee meet quarterly and act as the steering group for the work of CALGG. Exec Committee meetings include representatives from TNA and ARA and act as a forum for information sharing between local authority archives and the wider sector. Exec Committee minutes are circulated to full CALGG membership and summaries provided on the CALGG Listserve (as below).

How to join and who can join

CALGG is open to a wide range of professionals working with archives in local government. Members are generally the individual with senior operational responsibility for the archive service within a local authority. To join CALGG you should be a member of the ARA.  For county services this could mean the traditional County Archivist post or similar role at a senior level, for smaller Borough services it could be someone  who makes day-to-day decisions about the management of the archive.

We want CALGG to represent every local authority archive in England and Wales and welcome the opportunity to include representatives from services across the country in our meetings.

You can submit a request to join CALGG by emailing calgg@archives.org.uk , giving details of your name, role and the service you work for. Please also confirm that you or your organisation is a member of the ARA.

Who is on the CALGG Exec Committee – our roles and responsibilities

CHAIR: Heather Forbes is Head of Archives Service at Gloucestershire and leads on liaison between CALGG and other national bodies (ARA, TNA, LGA) and leads major projects with a CALGG involvement.

VICE-CHAIR: Gary Tuson is County Archivist at Norfolk Record Office.

SECRETARY: Sarah Chubb is Archives and Local Studies Manager at Derbyshire Record Office and Secretary of CALGG. Sarah records the minutes of meetings, manages membership and the CALGG jiscmail list.

COMMUNICATIONS: Alex Miller is Archives & Resources Manager at Lancashire Archives & Local History.

Chris Ash is Senior Library Manager at Sandwell MBC Libraries & Archives. Chris and Sarah Chubb are working on developing cross sector engagement between libraries and archives through CALGG.

Lizzy Baker is Archives Lead Tyne & Wear Archives Service.

Kim Collis is County Archivist, West Glamorgan Archive Service, based in Swansea. Along with Gary Tuson and Sarah Chubb he leads on the Archives Card scheme, Home (archivescard.com).

Dr Patricia Dark is the Archivist at Southwark Council.

Lisa Snook is the County Archivist at Gwent Archives.

Dr Janet Tall is Head of Archives, Learning & Development at the South West Heritage Trust (Somerset and Devon).

Joanna Terry is Head of Archives & Heritage at Staffordshire County Council.

Wendy Walker is the County Archivist at the West Sussex Record Office.

Current projects

Records of adoption and care-experienced people project

This project is led by members of CALGG. More information about the project can be found at https://www.archives.org.uk/care-and-adoption-records

Archives Card

The Archives Card scheme is led by representatives from the ARA and CALGG. You can find out more about the scheme here: Home (archivescard.com)

Church of England Records

CALGG is currently acting as the liaison point between the Church of England and local authority services who care for Church of England records. For more information on this work please contact us calgg@archives.org.uk.

CALGG Blog

Coming soon - if you are interested in writing a blog for CALGG please get in touch: calgg@archives.org.uk

Resources and CALGG Listserve

CALGG maintains a listserve for circulating updates and as a platform for members to ask queries and seek advice from colleagues. To request access to the CALGG Listserve, please contact calgg@archives.org.uk

General resources for the recordkeeping sector can be found on the Resources page - including surveys, pay guidelines, ARA codes of practice and governance documentation, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion information, Volunteering guidance and a range of best practice guides and information.