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.

This is a response to a reqest at a staff meeting last year. Staff expressed frustration at not being able to return held out archives to their proper locations on the held-out shelves with out running back and forth between the desk and the archives work room to consult the held out report.

Staff requested that held out locations be written on production slips. It seemed an elegant solution which I agreed to. However, on further thought it is a bit impractical. For one thing slips (despite our best intentions) seem to often get seperated from items and for another I often have to change held out locations as archives come and go which would mean a lot of scribbling out and re-writing. I foresee a terrible muddle ensuing, especially during busy times.

In leiu of this I thought that I will simply produce a second copy of the held out report which will be kept at AHO 3d. This is the first shelf labelled ‘copy requests’. Hopefully this means that staff will be able to check the held-out location in situ without having to refer to the report at the desk.

Let me know how it goes.

We have been given the go-ahead to purchase another ladder for the Macmillan Brown Library end of the Library warehouse. This is your chance to let us know what you would prefer. I can’t promise a democratic vote but if there is a consensus around a particular ladder that will help in the decision making process.

The company we can purchase from is Bindon Ladders

I have narrowed it down to this one: “The Comet”
I am open to suggestions so let me know what you think in the comments section. I would like to get an order in by the end of the week.

By the way, I don’t know why its called “The Comet” – perhaps because it enables you to reach out to comets? Your guess is as good as mine.

We only allow one item at a time in the secure reading room. We don’t allow coats, bags etc in this room which must be left in the lockers.

Sometimes if people have requested a huge amount of material (Oliver Sutherland would be a good example) I will leave a trolley with the material directly outside the reading room so that the reader can have easy access to it. They should still only take one item/box at a time into the actual room. This arrangement is the exception rather than the rule.

I have given William Northcroft permission to do his own photocopying from the Northcroft papers.

We have turned off the air-conditioner in the photograph store. We have had many problems maintaining this unit over the years and want to see if the photograph store, which after all is underground and well insulated will achieve an acceptable temperature and R/H naturally. We will keep a careful eye on the situation.

A CD for Ann Vernon Griffiths has been placed on the ‘items to be collected’ shelf near the desk. Ann should be arriving sometime on Friday to pick up this item.

Murray and I are refining the way we deal with archival copying requests. We hope this will make the process run a lot smoother.

Two shelves have been set aside in the archives workroom specifically for copying requests (AHO 3d and 3e- labelled ‘copying requests’). Please place any archival copying requests from users, along with the appropriate documentation, on these shelves.

Next to these shelves, on the tall filing cabinet, is a space labelled ‘copying status reports’. I will regularly produce two ‘copying status reports’ one for ordinary photocopying and one for digital copying. The reports will contain a list of all outstanding jobs, based on the physical items that appear on the copying request shelves.

Murray will regularly check the shelves and the copying status reports for material that needs to be processed. Once a job is completed he will tick off the item on the report, and I will update the database accordingly.

The main thing for desk staff to remember is to physically place items on the copying request shelves for processing. This includes both the physical item and the documentation.

We will keep an eye on how things are going and refine the system further if necessary. If you have any feed back please let me know.

The request forms for photocopying and digital copying from archives or photographs have been merged onto one form. It should be fairly self-explanatory but if there are any questions or problems please let me know. The form needs to be checked and approved by the ‘powers that be’, but I think we can use it in the meantime. This form should be read in conjuction with the Price List and Reproduction Charges that Jill e-mailed everyone about yesterday.