The Scottish Council on Archives (SCA) has appointed Kay Foubister as its new Chair. Kay has taken over from Bruce Jackson, who has served as Chair since 2019 and stepped down and retired from the board at the Annual Members’ Meeting on 3 December 2024.
Kay Foubister has been the Acquisition Curator at the National Library of Scotland’s Moving Image Archive since 1999. Kay began her professional career as an undergraduate working at the Orkney Archives in 1993 before moving to Glasgow to specialise as a film archivist. The majority of collections offered to the Moving Image Archive are home movies or amateur, however Kay also works with professional filmmakers, businesses, central & local government agencies, community archives and Universities with regard to moving image collections.
Kay has also taught as part of an international faculty at the Biennial Audio-Visual Archival Summer School (BAVASS) and has supervised multiple student work placements from traditional archive courses from University of Glasgow to catalogue our written archives and museum objects. Currently she is a co-supervisor with Edinburgh Napier University and University of Edinburgh for a PhD Candidate researching the evolution of film and TV workforce in Scotland. Kay serves as Chair for the Scottish Council on Archives and is a member of both the Archives & Records Association (UK) and Scottish Records Association.
In 2004 Kay established the Glasgow Area Disaster Plan Network which is a group of archives within Glasgow which meet regularly to share information and provide mutual support for disaster prevention and recovery.
Kay said: “The work SCA has done over the years to support the archives and records management sector has been terrific and I am delighted to be able to take on the role of Chair. Bruce Jackson will be difficult to follow as he brought so much experience and wisdom to the role. I am looking forward to building on the work that my predecessors have done and exploring new avenues.”
Bruce Jackson, who was formerly County Archivist and then County Heritage Manager for Lancashire County Council for 20 years, said: “I have enjoyed my 5 years as Chair of SCA although it has been challenging at times, particularly during the years of COVID. I believe I leave it an organisation more focused on its strategic sectoral role and more capable of delivering on its priorities.”
Also at the AMM, Philip Astley, City Archivist, Aberdeen City & Aberdeenshire Archives, retired from the board after nine years of service; and Natali Higgins, Information Governance Manager (Corporate Records) within NHS Ayrshire & Arran, was elected as a full trustee.
You an find details about the full board here.