What are they?

"Records created, used, received or assembled by organisations, families and individuals in the course of their activities."

• Most archives started life as working documents. They were created and acquired to do a specific job at the time: to communicate and to preserve information; to protect rights and interests; to justify actions; to get people to do things, or at least to influence them.
• They are things like correspondence, minutes, reports, registers, accounts, plans, publicity material and even e-mails and databases. 
• They are records which are usually no longer needed for their original purpose but which still contain valuable information.
• They record a vast range of interactions between people: formal, official, political, financial, legal, commercial, educational, private and personal.
• They are one of the raw materials from which an interpretation of the past can be built up.
• They tell us about the people who created and used them, the people they came into contact with, and about events, issues and trends.
• And they are not just 'very old stuff'. Some archives were created centuries ago, but many, like a lot of those in the Modern Records Centre, are of much more recent date.

How should I use them?

"Remember the who and the why"

• Although some archives were created with an eye to posterity, they were not originally intended for present-day students.
• So it is down to you to interpret them, and it helps if you know who created or acquired them and why. In other words, their context.
• That is why all archives from a particular source are catalogued together in a way which reflects their original use, and any known information about their source is given in the catalogues.
• This differs from the way books are generally catalogued by being slotted into pre-determined subject classification schemes.
• Most archive catalogues, including ours, are arranged in descriptive 'levels'. This is a key idea, so find out more here.
• Examples from the Modern Records Centre catalogues: description of a whole collection; description of an item showing the collection it is part of.

How do I use the Modern Records Centre?

"It's a bit different from a library. . . "

• On your first visit we will need to register you as an archives user, so please remember to bring your university card or other proof of your identity.

• Because so much of what we hold is irreplaceable and is not owned by us, we store it in strongrooms to preserve it and keep it secure.

• So instead of browsing the shelves yourself, you'll look through our catalogues, order the documents you want and we'll get them out for you. It doesn't usually take very long.

• You can't borrow archives, but you can order photocopies of them (provided there is no risk that copying will damage them) or photograph them with your own camera (without flash).

• Some items or whole collections have access restrictions or conditions to protect the interests of their owners or because they contain personal information about living people. 
• So it is always best to contact us before visiting to use archives. If you can identify items you want to see from our catalogues, you can order them in advance and save a bit of time when you visit.

Where can I find out more about using archives?

• The Archival Research Techniques and Skills (ARTS) website is specifically designed for students just beginning archival research.

• It includes general advice about the practicalities of visiting an archive repository and about using archives.

• It also includes an important warning against ‘Internet laziness’, reminding you that the Internet is not the fount of all knowledge. There is plenty of information about archives on the Internet (e.g. catalogues and other finding aids) but there is a huge amount more that can only be found within archives. That is what original research is about.