Scotarch, Archives NRA, Britarch & RMSS
Afternoon, all.
If you care to go to
http://www.nas.gov.uk/about/100601.asp
you will find
"News: Public services in the National Archives of Scotland (NAS)"
...Why are we planning changes?
...We also have to keep down our costs, which are mainly for staff.
...We have 3 search rooms today: one at West Register House (WRH), plus the Historical and Legal search rooms at General Register House (GRH). From early next year we plan to centralise access to historical documents in a single search room at GRH. We also expect that within the next year or so most legal searches will be carried out through the Registers Direct service operated by Registers of Scotland. Once that happens we will integrate legal searches with historical access.
Having one location for onsite searches will make security/reception/search room supervision easier. Our policy on access to records will not change and preservation of records remains a key concern. WRH will still be used for storage. Working with our conservation experts, we will move some records to make sure the most popular are nearest to where they can be seen. ...I welcome views from readers past, present or future. In particular, which records should be stored close to the proposed new single search room at GRH? Which records should we digitise next? Write to me at: National Archives of Scotland, 2 Princes St., Edinburgh EH1 3YY, or email to [log in to unmask] "
You might like to enlighten any readers you know about this and ask how they exactly they will propose to examine a five metre long ship plan in digital form, or take a snapshot of it themselves (from a stepladder?), or feed it gingerly over a historical search room 1.5 metre wide desk while politely barking "sorry!" to the genealogist next door.
Would archaeologists be content to similarly swivel between say, an 18th century estate plan with faint pencil addenda and a modern OS plan in, presumably, 10 minute slots?
If not, they may wish to make their views known to [log in to unmask]
Iain
| IEF Flett | 5 Provost Road | Tayport | Fife | Scotland DD6 9JE | 01382 552218 | 07796585188 þ| [log in to unmask] |
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