Durham County Record Office County Hall Durham DH1 5UL Telephone (0191) 383 3253 e-mail: record.office@durham.gov.uk website: www.durham.gov.uk/recordoffice USER GUIDE 8 : THE DURHAM RECORD OFFICE - A GENERAL INTRODUCTION Issue No. 2 January 2004 The Durham Record Office is responsible for locating, collecting and preserving archives and records relating to County Durham, and also for making those records accessible for the purposes of study and research. This responsibility extends beyond the records of the County Council and other official bodies to records of private organisations and individuals in the County. Private collections of records are accepted by the Record Office either as gifts or as deposits on long-term loan. Large numbers of historical documents have already been donated or deposited by their owners for safe-keeping in the Record Office. These range from the records of large county landowners and their estates and the records of multi-national companies to the records of small retail businesses and single papers from private individuals. Records such as these, which by their very nature are irreplaceable, are the raw material for research into the history of the county and, in some cases, national history. The County Record Office is always pleased to accept further deposits or gifts of records and this leaflet explains the services offered by the Record Office. It should be remembered that age is not necessarily the only criterion for historical value and that many modern records and papers are of potential historical importance. For more information on the Record Office please contact: The County Archivist, County Record Office, County Hall, Durham. DH1 5UL Tel: Durham (0191) 3833253 or 3833474 WHAT ARE ARCHIVES? Archives are unique documents and are records produced or received by individuals, businesses or other organisations in the course of their daily activities. Initially, records are created to serve a practical administrative purpose, but in time this administrative value ceases and the importance of the records then lies in their value for historical research. Much of the vast quantity of paper which is created by organisations is not worth keeping permanently and archivists are continually making decisions on what should be preserved. The records held by the County Record Office fall into four broad groups: l the official records of the County Council and its predecessors and the records of other local authorities in the county, 2 records of Church of England parishes in the dioceses of Durham and Ripon for which the Record Office is the Diocesan Record Office, 3 private records deposited in, or donated to, the Record Office by land-owners, families, businesses, individuals, institutions, societies and other organisations, 4 public records, as defined in the Public Records Acts, deposited locally (including the Durham Quarter Sessions Records). The Record Office is appointed by the Lord Chancellor as a place of deposit for public records, and is recognised by the Master of the Rolls as a repository for manorial and tithe records. It is also designated by the Bishops of Durham and Ripon as the repository for parish records within the Diocese of Durham and that part of Ripon which is within the county of Durham, respectively. WHAT HAPPENS TO ARCHIVES IN THE RECORD OFFICE? Protection Unfavourable atmospheric conditions have probably contributed more to the damage suffered by records generally than any other single factor. The records held in the Record Office are therefore stored in purpose-built strong rooms in County Hall under ideal conditions - the temperature and humidity of the air in the strong rooms are monitored and maintained at 13-18°C and 55-65% respectively. Access to the strong rooms is strictly controlled and limited to Record Office staff, and the strong rooms are equipped with smoke detection equipment and an automatic halon fire-extinguishing system. Documents which are found to be affected by mould or mildew on their receipt into the Record Office can be treated in specialised accommodation. Records in the strong rooms are therefore protected against fire, decay and theft. Preservation The responsibilities of the Record Office do not cease when the archives are securely stored away. * All records which are held in the Record Office are sorted and cleaned where necessary. The records are arranged, catalogued and indexed by professionally qualified archivists and a copy of the catalogue is supplied to the depositor. Enquiries about the records are answered, and, although detailed research cannot be undertaken, specific questions will be answered where possible. * In many cases the full significance of documents is not always apparent in isolation and the comparison of documents which are brought together in the Record Office from different parts of the county can provide more information than the study of the individual documents. * Records deposited on long-term loan in the Record Office receive the same attention as donated collections, except that they remain the property of the depositor and may be withdrawn either temporarily or permanently. Conservation The repair and conservation of damaged and fragile documents is undertaken, when possible, to avoid any further deterioration in their condition. This work is carried out by specialist document conservationists working in modern, well-equipped accommodation in which both traditional and modern techniques are employed for conserving paper and parchment documents; map repair and book binding are also undertaken. A programme of security microfilming is undertaken to enable information from documents which are too fragile for constant handling to be made available, and to allow documents on microfilm to be made available on a self-service system. Documents which have been microfilmed are, of course, still protected and preserved to the same standards as unmicrofilmed documents. PUBLIC USE OF ARCHIVES In addition to the preservation of archives, the Record Office also encourages the public use of those archives and, in return for the preservation and conservation of his records, a depositor is expected to permit eventual public access to those records, although the wishes of the depositor with regard to closure periods will be respected. Documents deposited in the Record Office are, therefore, made available for consultation and study, without charge, to students and visitors to the Office. The main exception to this general rule are records which are less than 30 years old which are not usually made available to the public. The use of documents takes place only under supervision in the Search Room, which is used each year by over 9000 readers from all over the world - historians, lecturers, teachers, family historians and county residents seeking information. The Search Room contains the catalogues and indexes to the records held in the Record Office and a small library of local history and basic reference works. Accommodation is provided for fifteen visitors using original documents and nineteen using microfilms. Copies of documents held in the Record Office can be supplied subject to any restriction imposed by their owners and the rules regarding copyright. Any requests to reproduce or publish deposited documents are discussed with the owner of the documents. OTHER SERVICES A regular display of documents held by the Record Office is maintained in County Hall, and exhibitions and displays of documents illustrating local events and areas can be provided in other parts of the county. Depositors of records are asked to agree that deposited documents may be used in exhibitions and displays arranged by the Record Office, with due acknowledgement. Illustrated talks and lectures on the Record Office and related topics can also be given, if adequate notice is given. While of benefit to record owners, as outlined in the previous pages, the facilities provided by the County Record Office are of equal value to those using the records. Many of the records relating to Durham and its past inhabitants are available in one place, where they are properly protected and can be consulted with ease; advice and assistance on the use of the records is also provided and copies of most documents can be made. A leaflet on the services which the Record Office provides for record users is available. In addition to the services explained in this leaflet with regard to records deposited in the Record Office, the County Archivist is also willing to examine records in private custody, whether single items or large collections, and advise on their care and preservation. Advice can also be given to any individual , business or organisation on those records which should be selected for permanent preservation from among the bulk of modern papers. The County Archivist welcomes information on the existence of records of local significance, especially if the survival of these records is in any way threatened. Important historical documents have been found in attics, cellars and in even more unlikely places. HELP US TO PRESERVE THE DOCUMENTARY HERITAGE OF COUNTY DURHAM. HANDLISTS:USERGUIDE08.DOC/25-Aug-04/16:19 page 1