Terms of Deposit

The Herefordshire Record Office, on behalf of Herefordshire Council, accepts both official and private records for their safe storage, care and preservation, and to make them accessible to the public under controlled conditions. Acquisition will be made only within the terms of the Record Office’s collecting policy, which stipulates the type of material collected and the geographical area of collection. A copy of this policy is available for inspection by the public.

Records can be received via statutory deposit, gift, purchase, bequest, or long-term loan. Records purchased and those deposited as the result of a gift or bequest become the property of the council, and donors are encouraged to include in the gift any copyright which they may hold in the records. Those records on long-term loan remain under the ownership of the depositor who should alert the Record Office to any change of address and ensure that the Record Office is notified of any change of ownership.

Preservation and Conservation

All deposited records are stored in the Council’s Record Office in secure conditions which comply broadly with BS5454 (2000) (Storage and exhibition of archival documents), and all reasonable precautions will be taken to preserve the records from damage, loss or theft.

Because records are irreplaceable, the Council does not normally insure records. A depositor may make his/her own arrangements for insurance in the case of records on long-term loan, but the Council shall not be liable for any costs incurred. In the event of loss or damage, from whatever cause, the Council can offer no compensation.

Records may undergo such conservation and preservation, by our trained conservators, as is considered necessary for their safe storage. Extremely fragile records may be withheld from public access. Records will be numbered with a reference code for identification and security, before they are made available for use by the public.

Cataloguing

The records will be appraised and then listed and indexed in accordance with the Record Office’s ongoing programme. The Council reserves the right to return to the depositor any records deemed to be of no historical interest, or, with the consent of the depositor (obtained at the time of deposit), to transfer them to a more appropriate place of deposit or to destroy them. The ownership of and copyright in all lists and other finding aids rests with the Council. A free copy of the list can be provided to the depositor.

Access

Records will be made available to the public for research during the advertised opening hours of the Record Office and in accordance with the search room rules, and the principles and conditions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Record Office staff will comply with any common law or statutory provision governing public access to records. Depositors may negotiate their own conditions of access at the time of deposit.

Reproduction and Copyright

With regard to the provisions of the current Copyright Act, copies of records may be supplied to members of the public, on payment of an appropriate charge, for use in private study. Depositors may negotiate restrictions on reproduction. If a searcher requires a copy of a record still in copyright, which is held on long-term loan, for the purpose of publication, they will be advised to seek the consent of the copyright owners, who may not be the owners of the records. The Council may copy records and make this copy available in the place of the original in order to further preserve the original.

Withdrawal of Records on Long-term Loan

A depositor may temporarily withdraw his/her records at any time, having given reasonable notice of their intent to the Record Office.

A depositor may permanently withdraw their records at any time, provided notice is given to the Record Office. During this period of notice, the Council reserves the right to copy the records and to make these copies available for private research.

However, as the period of a long-term loan is understood to be a minimum of 50 years, a depositor permanently withdrawing records before this time may be required to contribute towards the costs incurred by the Council in storing, listing and conserving these records. Where records are withdrawn for sale, the Council requires first refusal to purchase the collection.

Further Questions

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask.  You can e-mail us at archives@herefordshire.gov.uk.