Whether you need advice about your archives, can’t find what you’re looking for on our catalogue, or need more information about our collections, we are always happy to help and advise.
General enquiries
If you have a query about our holdings, want to make an appointment to view documents or have questions about our services, then please let us know. It’s best to email us with your request but you can also give us a call on 01904 552800. We aim to respond to all enquiries within 15 working days.
Specific enquiries
If you are looking for something specific in our records (e.g. to confirm details you already know) we offer a free 15 minute ‘look-up’ service. Again, it’s best to email us with your request, but you can also send a letter, give us a call on 01904 552800 or send a quick question via Twitter. We aim to respond to all enquiries within 15 working days.
If you enquire via email you will receive an acknowledgement with an enquiry number, which you should quote in any future messages. If we are unable to complete your enquiry within 15 days, we will contact you to update you on its progress.
Complex research enquiries
For more in-depth enquiries, we offer a paid research service. This is charged at £15 per half hour (maximum time half an hour). Please email us for further information on this service and for a copy of our Paid Research enquiry form, or ask when you next visit.
For more extensive enquiries that would take longer than half an hour to complete, we can send you a list of local independent researchers who can look at our records on your behalf for a fee. They are not affiliated with our service and you should approach them directly for terms and fees.
Digital copies
We can provide you with digital copies of items, including our microfilm collections, by email. You can use them for private study, research or commercial publications, but please be precise in your request (including, for example, the newspaper title and date of publication required). There is a fee for this service. See our fees and charges page for details.
Other services
We also offer a range of other services, including an English transcription service (of our documents or your own), archival consultancy, training workshops, tours of the archive, talks and certified copies of documents. You can find more information about these services on our fees and charges page, or please contact us for further details.