Peterborough Local Studies and Archives Service
Access Policy
1. Introduction to Peterborough Local Studies and Archives Service
Peterborough Local Studies and Archives Service aims to identify, collect and
preserve the documentary heritage of Peterborough and to make it available for use
both now and in the future.
All the material held within Peterborough Local Studies and Archives Service is
donated to or deposited with Peterborough City Council. The care and management
of the material is the responsibility of Vivacity Culture and Leisure.
2. Summary of Access Policy
Peterborough Local Studies and Archives exists to care for a provide access to
archive documents relating to Peterborough and the region and to provide access to
them for residents of Peterborough and people who visit the city. This policy governs
how you can access the collections we hold. Throughout we aim to uphold the
Vivacity Customer Charter and the Vivacity Way, our commitment to customer care.
3. How you can access collections in our care
Reading Room
Our reading room in Peterborough Central Library is the main point of access for
records that we hold. Opening hours are available on our website.
Access to the reference collections, local studies collection and collections of
newspapers and historic Ordnance Survey maps is unrestricted.
Access to original and unique archival material is by registration with the service and
subject to forms of official identity.
Part of the process of completing a registration form requires you to agree to our
terms and conditions, particularly surrounding appropriate handling of archival
documents. You will be reminded of these by staff on duty in the archives and
through guidance sheets on handling that are issued along with every original
document.
We will produce documents on demand and this should always be within 15 minutes
of your order. If there will be a delay we will let you know as soon as possible.
We have microfilm and microfiche viewers for documents in this format. Some of the
machines can produce print outs.
We have two machines connected to the People’s Network which can be used for
accessing local and family history websites only.
Wifi is available throughout the building for customers with a Vivacity card.
We make copies of our archive catalogues available both in hard copy format in the
reading room and online through our online catalogue on our website. Members of
staff will always assist customers in using catalogues and our online catalogue.
Access to our reading room and to the archival and local studies resources that we
hold, is free. However, we may charge for any lengthy research, enquiry and
reprographic work that we undertake on your behalf. All our fees and charges are
reviewed annually and published on our website.
Copying records
There are two ways in which you can obtain copies of records which we hold.
Regardless of the method that is used, you must request permission to have copies
from staff on duty in the reading room. Copyright legislation or preservation
considerations may prevent the copying of records.
You can take copies yourself using your own camera. In this case staff will explain to
you the options around a per frame/per day licence for own camera copying.
We can take copies for you as photocopies, digital scans or digital photographs.
Digital photographs can be supplied to you in hard copy, by email or on CD. A price
list is available on our website.
Staff will discuss with you the most appropriate format for your copies, taking into
consideration the level of quality required, the condition of the documents and the
cost of reproduction.
We welcome interest from the media in using the archives in filming. Requests
should be directed to the Archives Manager and must be covered by a Media Rights
Agreement.
Enquiry service
Staff are always happy to help you finding relevant records and information from our
collections using our catalogues. This guidance will be provided free of charge. Staff
will also provide assistance reading original documents and suggesting additional
lines of research for customers in the reading room.
Remote enquiries about our holdings received by email, telephone or post will be
answered in accordance with our Customer Service Standards.
Staff will carry out 10 minutes of research on behalf of a customer free of charge.
After this point customers who wish us to conduct more extensive research on their
behalf should make use of the Research Service for which there is a fee. Details of
this service are available on our website.
We are not able to provide legal advice on the content of archival documents and any
requests for research not falling within the heading of private research should be
directed to us separately.
Restricted access to records
We do not usually allow access to uncatalogued collections. If you wish to access
material within an uncatalogued collection then you should speak with staff and
submit a request in writing. We will then try to make the material suitable for use in
the reading room or extract the information you require on your behalf.
Most records can be viewed without restrictions, however, some items are subject to
the Data Protection Act. These items are clearly indicated on the online catalogue
and staff will be able to explain the nature of the restrictions to you.
It is sometimes possible to view restricted or sensitive documents for historical or
statistical purposes if the user signs a Modern Records Form. For more information
on whether this may be suitable for your research, please speak to a member of
staff.
If you believe you should be able to access a record that is restricted under the
Freedom of Information Act then you can email foi@peterborough.gov.uk.
Outreach and community engagement
We have various events and activities to increase our visibility within Peterborough
and to bring new users into the service.
We welcome group visits to the archives and can arrange tours of our strong rooms
and talks on how and why we keep records. We offer talks to local groups and
socieities on record keeping, archives, and the history of Peterborough. We run a
series of local history talks in the Central Library.
We offer introductory sessions to the archives for university students through
University Centre Peterborough. We hold family learning events in the archives and
in libraries throughout the community. We have touring exhibnitions relating to the
Forty Years On project available for loan. We mount temporary exhibitions in our
reading room. We attend local history fairs and the Peterborough Heritage Festival.
We may charge for some of these services.
We do not run an education service, nor do we intend to in the future. Vivacity
provides an education service through Peterborough Museum.
Comments and complaints
If you have received particularly good or particularly poor service from us then we
would like to know about it. We have customer comments cards in our reading room.
You can also email enquiries@vivacity-peterborough.com. Your comment will be
logged and responded to by the Archives Service Manager or an appropriate senior
manager.
Last reviewed: June 2015
Next review: June 2020