My recent day at Australia Zoo was one of the most enjoyable zoo visits I've had. My experience as a visitor was easy and relaxed from the moment we drove through the gates and were specifically directed to a parking spot where our motorhome wouldn't be blocked in. All the facilities were well organised, staff were friendly and shared their knowledge eagerly and any opportunities for additional spending were reasonably priced. All important parts of a memorable day out.

Having a good visitor experience wasn't the main reason I enjoyed my visit to the zoo. Visits to other zoos around the world have left me uncomfortable about the purpose of the zoo. Was their priority profit, the animals or developing a visitor attraction? Australia Zoo was different because their mission was clear in everything they did and they encouraged visitors to support their mission. The zoo aimed to encourage its visitors to care about the conservation of wildlife and to act on this after their visit by respecting and admiring wildlife.

This mission was reinforced everywhere,from the interpretation boards, to the demonstrations and shows, to our interactions with staff, through to the merchandise and website. They encouraged us all to be Wildlife Warriors and to support them in delivering the mission of the zoo after our visit.

This led me to consider whether users of public archive services know the mission of the services they are using? How far does the general public understand the role of archive services in preserving archives, conserving history, personal data and public information? Are archive services taking every opportunity to explain and reinforce this mission?

Taking my lead from the practice I saw at the zoo there are a number of ways archive services could share their mission more effectively and secure the support of their users and the wider public.

The organisation needs to thread the mission through all its activities and to live its ethos, explaining how and why it fulfills its roles.
Enthuse people about your mission. Why should they care? Why is it important?
Apply the mission and explain how you are achieving this at every opportunity.
Encourage staff to share the purpose of the organisation with visitors.
Reinforce the mission in publicity, publications and personal interactions.
Encourage and support users and the general public in supporting your mission. provide practical suggestions in how they can do that

Could we cultivate a generation of Archive Warriors by sharing and promoting our mission more effectively?

From the other side of the archive

Are Archive Services conservation warriors? And why I loved Australia Zoo.

Should a local archive centre be a ‘home’?

A celebration or the 7 year itch part 2

A celebration or the 7 year itch?

About this blog - why bother?