In October 2011, The National Archives took on additional leadership responsibilities for archives in England. One year on, this talk explains our vision for leadership, reviews our achievements to date, and explores some of the challenges ahead.
Isobel Siddons joined The National Archives as Head of Engagement. Her team supports public sector archives, including those belonging to local authorities and universities. Isobel qualified as an archivist in 1991 and worked in a range of archives including The Wellcome Trust, The National Gallery and Marks & Spencer. In 2004, she joined the Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) to work on archives sector strategic development. In 2007 Isobel became MLA’s programme manager for 2012, developing and managing cultural programmes for museums, libraries and archives as part of the Cultural Olympiad. The most high profile of these programmes, Stories of the World, worked with nearly 70 museums to embed youth participation and new ways of working with collections.