UK Standards
& Compliance
Infrastructure grounded in professional archival standards and UK law.
Standards are not a box-ticking exercise — they are what make your data interoperable, your systems sustainable, and your users confident. Our hosting is built around the professional standards used by UK archives, from TNA guidance through to international ICA frameworks.
The National Archives (TNA)
The National Archives sets the standards framework for archive services across the United Kingdom through its statutory role and its guidance publications. Our hosted systems are configured to support TNA's guidance on descriptive standards and metadata management.
- AtoM supports the ISAD(G) standard promoted by TNA and the ICA
- Authority records follow ISAAR(CPF) and can be shared via the UK Archives Network
- EAD exports from AtoM and ArchivesSpace support sharing with Discovery (TNA's catalogue) and partner aggregators
ISAD(G) — The Core Descriptive Standard
General International Standard Archival Description (ISAD(G), 2nd ed., 2000) is the international standard for archival description, widely adopted in the UK. AtoM is built natively on ISAD(G) — every field in the system maps to a standard element. This means:
- Your descriptions are immediately interoperable with other ISAD(G)-compliant systems
- Your data can be shared with aggregators, national catalogues, and research portals
- Migration to or from other standards-based systems is straightforward
ISAAR(CPF) — Authority Records
International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families (ISAAR(CPF)) governs the creation of authority records. AtoM implements ISAAR(CPF) fully — each creator authority record is a first-class object linked to relevant descriptions, exportable as EAC-CPF XML.
UK GDPR
The UK GDPR (retained EU law as amended by the Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2019) applies to all personal data processed in UK archive systems. Key considerations for hosted archives:
- Data minimisation: AtoM's access restrictions and closure date mechanisms support compliance with closure and sensitivity review policies
- Security: All instances run with SSL/TLS encryption, regular security patching, and restricted administrative access
- Data processing agreements: We provide a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) to all hosted clients as required under UK GDPR Article 28
- Data residency: Our infrastructure is based in the EU. Data residency options are available on request.
OAIS — Digital Preservation
The Open Archival Information System (OAIS, ISO 14721:2012) is the reference model for digital preservation. Our Archivematica hosting implements OAIS concepts — Submission Information Packages (SIPs), Archival Information Packages (AIPs), and Dissemination Information Packages (DIPs) — providing a credible, auditable digital preservation workflow.
DPC RAM — Maturity Assessment
The Digital Preservation Coalition's Rapid Assessment Model (DPC RAM) provides a framework for assessing digital preservation capability across five levels. Our hosted Archivematica deployments support institutions working towards DPC RAM Level 3 (Managed) and above, by providing:
- Automated fixity checking via checksums
- Format identification via DROID / PRONOM
- Preservation metadata in PREMIS
- Off-site backup and replication
IIIF — International Image Interoperability Framework
IIIF (pronounced "triple-eye-eff") is now the de facto standard for sharing and viewing digitised collections online. Adopted by the British Library, Bodleian, National Library of Scotland, and hundreds of UK universities and archives, IIIF enables:
- Deep zoom access to high-resolution images without downloading files
- Embedding images and manifests in third-party sites and portals
- Annotation, transcription, and scholarly tools built on top of your images
- Aggregation into national and international discovery portals
Archives and Records Association (ARA)
The ARA is the professional body for archivists and records managers in the UK and Ireland. Our work is guided by ARA professional standards and ethical principles. We support institutions working towards the Accredited Archive Service standard.