Record Keeper of the Year 2026

That the Parliament congratulates Karyn Williamson on being named Record Keeper of the Year 2026 at the Archives and Records Association (ARA) Excellence Awards; recognises that the ARA Excellence Awards are presented annually to celebrate achievements in the recordkeeping sector in the UK and Ireland; notes that 1,693 people cast votes in the categories of New Professional of the Year, Record Keeper of the Year and Recordkeeping Service of the Year, with 961 votes cast in the Record Keeper of the Year category; understands that Karyn has built her career using a collaborative, people-centred approach to archives, record keeping and digital preservation, qualifying as an archivist in 2014 with a Masters from the University of Dundee, achieving ARA Registered status in 2017 and completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Information Management from University College Dublin in 2019; recognises her 10 years as company archivist at abrdn, formerly Standard Life, the establishment of her own consultancy, DigiKive, and her move to the Digital Preservation Coalition in 2024; further recognises Karyn’s contribution to the sector through her voluntary leadership positions, including Chair of ARA Scotland, Chair of the Section for New Professionals and ARA Board Member, as well as her work since 2017 as Campaign Manager for Explore Your Archive; notes that she is currently a Trustee of the Business Archives Council, executive officer for the Business Archives Council Scotland and incoming vice-chair of the ARA Board, and congratulates Karyn on this prestigious recognition of her contribution to the recordkeeping sector.