Feedback

Although we do our best to fulfil all your requirements when you use our services, (please see the table below for our aims and achievements) we recognise that there is still room for improvement in some areas.

If you have any comments or suggestions to make, please e-mail archives@herefordshire.gov.uk or complete a suggestions slip when you next visit the office.

We would like to thank all our users for their comments, which help us to improve the service that we offer you. Thank you also for your compliments. We like to hear when we get things right! We also hold a user consultation meeting annually and any of our visitors are welcome to attend.

See below for some of your comments and our response:

There was a comment that the Catalogues and Indexes were ‘good’ but that they ‘could be better’.  Another person marked the catalogues and indexes as ‘poor’ for wills and ‘good’ for parish registers. There was also a complaint about having to take 1 hour to find a will on the microfilm.  The system for wills wasn’t considered to be good enough.
The standard of cataloguing has varied throughout the 50 years that the record office has been open, although all cataloguing now meets at a minimum, the basic requirements of the International Standard for Archival Description and that for parish registers is more detailed.
Unfortunately, the wills cataloguing is a 3 or 4 layer system, not helped by the fact that the microfilming of the wills was not entirely in sequence.  There is an ongoing volunteer project to create a database that should assist with the location of wills on the microfilm.  Until then, please ask the staff for help – don’t leave it an hour!

Film/fiche viewing rated ‘good’ with comment that ‘some old but originals available’.  Film readers were hard to use – particularly for Parish Registers 1600-1700, where large magnification was needed.  It was then difficult to slide the carriage in and out in order to see the whole page.  Reader no. 8 – the spool spindles were loose and likely to come adrift.  The film could easily snag on the lens holder/focus ring.
Not sure whether the comment ‘old’ refers to the film readers, the films or the documents themselves!  If the machines – we have begun this year on a programme to gradually replace the older machines.  Care will be taken to ensure that they have suitable magnification.  The issue of loose spindles on machine number 8 will be addressed at the monthly service.  There has been a campaign over the last couple of years via the Friends of The Record office to raise money to replace old and damaged microfilms.  If there are still films that need replacing – please inform the staff on duty then the details can be added to our next order of replacement films.   If it is the documents themselves that are troublesome – as stated in the comment, the originals can be viewed in exceptional cases and can sometimes be better deciphered with the aid of ultraviolet light.

A late night might be useful for visitors. 
The call for a late-night opening is one that is frequently made – but currently we simply don’t have the staffing levels to support this, though we continue to explore options of how it may be managed.

Could not locate a marriage on the family history internet site for Hereford which you have on your computers but located it on microfiche – also could not locate another marriage but will have to come back to check fiche/film. 
Issues with the marriage database on the public PCs should really be addressed to the Family History Society who compiled the index; we simply make it available to the public.  If the details of the missing marriage(s) are supplied they can be passed on to the FHS for correction/insertion.

It is a shame there is nowhere to eat a bit nearer to the facility.
Our website does say that there is space in the entrance hall if users wish to bring their own sandwiches.  Otherwise there are 3 establishments within Harold Street itself, so it is unnecessary to go as far as the town centre.

The table directly behind the chairs of viewers 1-3 restricts access to seat 2 when 1 and 3 occupied.  Please consider removing this table.
We will move the table back when we acquire a longer leaded extension cable to allow laptop users to plug in on the table.

Very noisy Record Office, especially the volunteers! 
We are sorry that you found the noise levels unacceptable.  As we have only one room for all the searchers, volunteers and visitors to use, besides it being the main reception point, it can get a little noisy at times.  If searchers mention the noise levels to staff, they will ask people to reduce the volume etc.  However, I will also remind the volunteers to keep the noise down.

The website needs improving  - poor map, no leaflets available to download, no catalogue to view. 
We have been working with the Council’s GIS department to improve the map and this is now available.  Also recently available are pdf versions of our leaflets.
We do not have the resources for an electronic cataloguing package (though it is one of our priorities to acquire), and consequently we have no electronic catalogue to put on the website. However many of our catalogues are available through the website A2A and there is a link provided from our website.

It would have been nice to take our own digital photo images of microfilm screens. 
It has been decided to permit searchers to take photographic images of microform screens.  However, there is a charge for a daily photography permit and copyright regulations are also taken into account.   

The searchroom facilities were rated as ‘poor’ but no detail as to specific problems were given.
We are aware that our searchroom facilities are cramped and in some ways unsuitable in comparison to other record offices.  Reports on the need for a new Record Office building have been presented to the Accommodation Strategy group and we are awaiting their decision.

Young female assistant was helpful but very loud and a bit too assertive.  Staff generally helpful and friendly.
Apologies that you found one of our staff a bit too assertive – this will be mentioned at the next staff meeting.