The general rule is that only one archival item (be it a box, folder or single bit of paper) is to be given to users at any one time. This should be the default position.

The reason for this rule is to make sure users don’t mix up archives and lose them (i.e. by returning the wrong item to the wrong place in a sequence of items; or worse a completely different accession which has occurred on a number of occasions) and for security purposes (i.e. the more items are issued at one time the harder it is for us to keep track of them, the more likely it is they could go missing) .

I will sometimes make an exception however and staff should feel able to make an exception too they think it is warranted. These are special circumstances such as:

• A user may have requested several large bound registers to look at. They are not going to be able to mix up the contents of these registers, or easily spirit them away, so there is no logical reason why they cannot look at several registers at once.

• Sometimes users need items side by side to compare and contrast. We have to be open to that.

In such circumstances it should be made clear to users that an exception is being made and the default position should be explained to them. That way they won’t necessarily expect the same provisions to be made during subsequent visits.

I know exceptions are a hassle to implement sometimes but we have to be reasonable about these things. If you are in doubt just stick to the default position and refer any queries to me or Jill.