Do You Really Have the Capacity for an Archival Project?
An Honest Look at What Schools Face
Schools are full of stories. Every classroom, every playing field, every assembly hall has witnessed the moments that shape young people’s lives. Parents, former pupils, governors and staff all care deeply about the school’s history, and increasingly, they expect to see that history preserved and shared online.
So, it’s no surprise that more schools are exploring digital archives, historic preservation projects and ways to bring their heritage to life for alumni and prospective families.
But here’s the question very few schools stop to ask at the beginning:
Do we actually have the capacity to run an archival project?
Not the aspiration.
Not the ideal scenario.
Not the dream of a fully catalogued museum-grade digital collection.
But the real, practical, day-to-day capacity of your team.
This article is an honest look at why so many schools struggle to get archival projects off the ground and how a more realistic, phased approach can preserve your history without overwhelming your team.
The intention is strong. The capacity… often isn’t.
When we speak to schools, nearly everyone agrees that their history is worth preserving. Marketing teams want authentic heritage content. Alumni relations teams want stories that spark engagement. Development offices want materials that reinforce legacy and philanthropy.
But the people responsible for these outcomes are usually operating within extremely tight constraints:
A marketing manager juggling multiple priorities
An alumni officer working part-time
A lone volunteer archivist with a limited budget
A member of administrative staff who has “inherited the archive”
A department head expected to take it on informally
Very few schools have the luxury of a full-time professional archivist and the digital infrastructure needed to run a classic collections-management process.
This isn’t a criticism. It’s the reality of school life.
The desire for a digital archive is high.
The available time, headspace and resources to run one are low.
And that gap is where most projects stall.
The leap to complex systems and why it backfires
Here’s the pattern we see repeatedly:
A school becomes inspired by its history or by what other schools are doing.
They begin exploring archival software or museum cataloguing systems.
They see a range of powerful, specialist tools intended for national collections or staffed heritage departments.
These tools demand careful metadata, controlled vocabularies and professional cataloguing workflows before anything can go live.
Teams realise they simply don’t have the capacity to populate or maintain them.
Progress slows, enthusiasm drops and the whole process stops because it’s simply overwhelming.
Schools rarely fail because the software is “wrong.”
They fail because the capacity demand of the system doesn’t match the capacity reality of the school.
Meanwhile, boxes of photos remain in cupboards.
Digital files stay scattered across shared drives.
Valuable alumni stories never make it out into the world.
The archive becomes something to feel guilty about rather than something to celebrate, and as more history is created the task grows ever more daunting.
Professional archivists know the standards, and the struggles
It’s also important to acknowledge that many school archivists are working incredibly hard, often with limited hours and ever-expanding expectations. They know the best practices. They understand proper cataloguing techniques. They’re aware of what ‘good’ looks like.
But they’re often the only specialist voice in the room.
They end up trying to educate the wider school while also processing decades’ worth of materials, responding to internal requests, supporting events, assisting with appeals and trying to engage alumni.
Even archivists with the right skills are often short on time, not knowledge.
That’s why positioning any solution, including SocialArchive, must never come from a place of ‘we’re simplifying because archivists can’t do it.’
They can.
They already do.
They just need tools that support the reality of their context.
The real issue isn’t skill. It’s bandwidth.
A school archive is almost always born out of passion. But passion alone doesn’t translate into the kind of daily, structured workflow most cataloguing systems require.
Digital archival work involves:
Collecting materials from multiple departments
Digitising photos, tapes and documents
Organising files
Applying metadata
Managing storage and access permissions
Ensuring long-term preservation
Making the archive discoverable and usable
Responding to internal and external requests
Producing materials for alumni and marketing
It’s a lot.
And for smaller schools, or even large schools with small teams, this workload either:
gets pushed to the side,
gets attempted in sporadic bursts, or
gets over-engineered far too early.
In all cases, the outcome is the same: the archive doesn’t move forward.
A more realistic approach: build value before you build complexity
The schools who succeed with their archives tend to embrace a different mindset:
1. Start with what you can do consistently
Not what’s theoretically perfect, what’s actually achievable.
That might mean:
uploading batches of photos
collecting alumni memories
digitising key materials first
or creating theme-based galleries or timelines.
The key is momentum, not perfection.
2. Make the archive useful early
A digital archive shouldn’t sit hidden until everything is catalogued ‘properly.’
Schools generate far more engagement, and justification for continued investment when they share:
historical photos
old newsletters
sports team memories
scanned yearbooks
alumni-submitted content
Visibility builds value.
Visibility builds buy-in.
Visibility builds support.
3. Add structure gradually
Instead of requiring a museum-grade metadata model before anything goes live, schools benefit from tools that allow:
simple uploading at first
growing metadata sophistication over time
optional (not mandatory) adherence to archival standards
gradual organisation rather than all-or-nothing cataloguing
This approach respects archivists and gives non-archivists a practical path.
This is exactly where SocialArchive sits
SocialArchive wasn’t built as a museum database.
It wasn’t built for national collections.
It was built specifically for schools and for the capacity realities schools face.
Simple enough for non-archivists
Upload media, create collections, share memories, engage alumni without needing specialist knowledge or weeks of training.
Robust enough for archivists
If you want controlled vocabularies, formal metadata, preservation workflows and professional standards — you can use them.
But you don’t have to start there.
Designed for limited time and teams
SocialArchive works even if you only have:
a few hours per week,
a rotating team,
a single archivist, or
no archivist at all.
Makes your history usable, not just stored
Because an archive will really start to deliver value when people see it.
SocialArchive helps schools turn their history into:
alumni content
admissions storytelling
fundraising narratives
student inspiration
community engagement
internal pride
without needing a multi-year collection and cataloguing process first.
Your history deserves momentum, not perfection
The truth is simple:
Schools don’t need a museum-grade digital archive to start telling their story.
They need to begin in a way that is realistic and sustainable, without overwhelming their teams.
Digital archiving shouldn’t feel like a burden.
It should feel like an opportunity.
And the schools who embrace a more capacity-aware model don’t just preserve their history, they activate it.
They use it to engage their alumni.
To strengthen enrolment narratives.
To connect generations of staff and students.
To celebrate identity, memory and belonging.
You don’t need unlimited time or specialist resources.
You just need a platform designed for the team you actually have.
Your history matters.
Your capacity matters too.
And with the right approach, the two can finally work together.
Ready to Finally Get Your Archive Project Off the Ground?
If you’re looking for a simple, realistic way to start preserving your school’s history, get in touch with us or book a short demonstration here.
Key Takeaways
Most schools value their history but underestimate the ongoing workload required to build and maintain a digital archive.
Capacity (not intention or skill) is the main reason archival projects stall.
Professional archival systems often overwhelm small or time-poor teams.
A phased approach focused on early usefulness and gradual structure leads to far greater long-term success.
SocialArchive supports both archivists and non-archivists by matching the real capacity of school teams and helping them build momentum, not perfection.
FAQs:
Why do school archival projects often stall?
Many projects struggle because teams don’t have the sustained time, bandwidth or staffing to run traditional archival workflows. The issue isn’t lack of enthusiasm, it’s lack of capacity.
Do we need a professional archivist to start a digital archive?
No. While archivists provide invaluable expertise, many schools begin with marketing teams, alumni staff or volunteers uploading materials consistently. A phased, realistic approach works even without specialist staff.
What’s wrong with using museum-grade cataloguing systems?
Nothing, unless your team doesn’t have the time to operate them. These systems require detailed metadata, controlled vocabularies and ongoing professional maintenance, which most schools realistically can’t sustain.
Can SocialArchive meet professional archiving standards?
Yes. SocialArchive supports professional metadata, controlled vocabularies and archival workflows, but they’re optional, not mandatory. This means archivists can work to the standards they value, while non-specialists can still get started without needing years of expertise or full-time hours.
How can we start an archive if we’re short on time?
Begin with what you can do consistently: uploading photos, digitising priority items, collecting alumni stories or creating simple collections. Early visibility builds momentum, engagement and internal support.
Other articles that may be of interest:
