Working in Archives
To recap, your next step after building your family tree is to verify the information you’ve got. Then you can extend the tree further back in time and, by following a particular branch of the family or story, investigate the historical context. You can start the verification process and extend your family tree online by obtaining certificates, census returns, wills and parish registers, as described in Section Two; but you may find it easier to simply visit the local studies centre or county record office in the area your family comes from to look at paper or microfiche indexes for these certificates and records, many of which are not available on the Internet. In any case, you will certainly need to visit an archive sooner or later to add historical context, so here are some important points to know before you do venture inside.
Step One: Preparing for Your Visit
If you are unfamiliar with working in an archive, here’s a checklist of things to do before you visit. Never just turn up unannounced – it’s a sure way to have a frustrating day.
Make Contact
The best thing you can do is to make contact with the archive you plan to visit. Call them, email them or write to them. The archivists there can tell you all about the place, demystify the process of registering as a user (or ‘reader’), explain how to search for records, both onsite and online, and – provided you ask simple, detailed and focused questions – may even be able to give specific advice to help you find what you’re looking for. If this is the case, you can always ask to talk to the person that helped you when you do eventually visit in person, if they are around and are not tied up with other duties. Don’t forget, you can find the archive nearest to you through ARCHON, mentioned above. If in doubt, contact the local studies centre for further advice.
Book a Seat
Family history is big business these days, and unprecedented numbers are flocking into archives as never before. Many institutions are fairly small, with limitations on the amount of space available for researchers, particularly as many of the most popular records are only available on microfilm or microfiche. It is therefore important to check whether you need to book a seat before you visit, otherwise you may be disappointed if you simply turn up on the day.
Registration and Identification
Most archives require you to register as a user before you can view original material or use their search rooms. Usually, you are requested to produce at least one form of official identification, although these requirements will vary from archive to archive. The National Archives asks for one form of official ID, such as a bank card, driving licence, passport, or national ID card for overseas visitors, and then issues a three-year reader’s ticket which incorporates your photo, taken on the day you apply. Many county archives also need to see proof of address, and some request passport photos for their records. However, a large number of county record offices have grouped together to form CARN – the County Archive Research Network – and registration at one affiliated archive gives you access to all participating members.
Location and Travel
It is not always evident where an archive is likely to be located. Many form part of council or municipal buildings; some are newly built, just out of town; others may have no parking facilities, or don’t have good links to public transport. Luckily, the majority of archives now maintain websites, and provide maps or necessary travel details.
HOW TO …
… prepare for an archive visit
1. Make contact in advance
2. Book a seat
3. Check ID requirements for registration
4. Check location and travel details
5. Find out the opening hours
6. Make sure you can access the records you want
7. Check costs and facilities
Opening Hours
There is no standard pattern to archival opening hours, so don’t assume that it will be open when you want to visit. Although many open 9–5, five days a week, some now close for at least one day midweek and offer either Saturday opening, or one late evening, or both. There is usually at least one period each year when an archive closes down for ‘stocktaking’, when checks are carried out to ensure none of the precious material they hold has gone missing.
Access
It is also dangerous to assume you can simply turn up and expect to see the material you need. Since there are pressures on storage space, many of the less popular documents in large archives are often kept offsite, which means you may not always be able to view material on the day you plan to visit unless you’ve made prior arrangements. In addition to storage restrictions, there could be other complications. Privately deposited documents – family papers, legal archives or religious collections – often come with their own restrictions. For example, you may need to write to the depositor to secure permission to view material. It is therefore vital to check all these details before you visit to avoid disappointment.
Costs and Facilities
There may be costs involved in visiting an archive. Some charge you an entry fee; others will ask you to leave your goods and belongings in a locker that requires change; and any photocopying you wish to take away with you will have to be paid for. Indeed, you may also want to buy food and drink for lunch and some archives provide snack machines, with larger institutions offering hot drinks, sandwiches or even restaurants.
Step Two: Searching for Documents
Having established which archive you need to visit, and made contact to cover the points listed above, you are ready to search their collections in the hope of finding the key documents you need to supplement your family tree. You should already have set your research goals in advance, but it might be worth writing these out, so you can hand them to the staff at the archive if you need some help. For example, you may have heard that Great-uncle Jeremy fought in the First World War, but don’t know where he served. You may therefore decide to restrict your search to establishing his movements during the war. Try to keep this ‘wish list’ focused and manageable; it is important to be realistic about how much you can get done in a day, and allow time for unexpected discoveries that may lead you into new investigations. Remember, if you don’t have time to complete all you originally wanted to do, you can always resume on a later trip.
Catalogues
Each archive ‘catalogues’ its possessions – that is, it gives a unique reference to every item that it collects. Alongside this unique reference there is usually a description of the item that has been catalogued. These catalogues and document descriptions are the main way that researchers identify documents they need to look at, though you should be aware that archives are complicated places, and there is not one uniform system of cataloguing documents that applies to each institution – each archive will have its own catalogue system, developed over time. Many repositories