Adding to the Archives

Do you have records which provide unique or interesting information about Shropshire past or present?

Do you wish to ensure that these records are preserved for future generations?

Would you like to make them available for research?

Shropshire Archives provides secure and environmentally controlled storage in a modern, purpose-built repository. It is visited by over 12,000 people annually as well as attracting enquiries from across the globe. The staff includes a number of professionally qualified archivists, librarians and conservators. Shropshire Archives is recognised as a place of deposit for public records, and subscribes to the Historical Manuscripts Commission's Standard for Record Repositories.

What type of records are suitable?
Records suitable for preservation can vary greatly in size, quantity, format and age. They can consist of a single document or an extensive collection of records. They could date back to the Middle Ages or include the minutes of a meeting held last year. They may be the diaries of an individual or the administrative records of an organisation. They may be maps, photographs, documents or volumes. If you are unsure whether or not the records you have are suitable for permanent preservation, please ask us for advice - certainly before destroying anything.

Points to consider:
Might they be of interest to someone (present or future) researching information on Shropshire?
Do they form a unique or representative record of an organisation, person, place or activity relating to Shropshire?
Have they finished their useful life as "active" documents?
We also welcome gifts of printed material, photographs, theses and research notes to add to the local studies collection held here.

Gift or deposit?
There are two main types of agreement by which documents can be transferred to Shropshire Archives (see attached publications):
Gift agreement - ownership of the records is transferred outright to Shropshire Council. Although the donated records become the property of the Council, this agreement does allow them to be borrowed back by the donor if required, for up to three months in a year.
Deposit agreement - the depositor retains ownership of the records while transferring custody and certain rights over the records to Shropshire Council. As well as reserving the right to withdraw the records temporarily (as with a gift agreement), the depositor may also choose to permanently withdraw them at a future date. In the case of permanent withdrawal, the depositor may be liable to reimburse the Council for expenses incurred for storage, cataloguing and conservation during their term of deposit.

Sensitive or confidential information
You may be concerned that some of the information in the records refers to individuals who could still be alive and which may be considered sensitive or confidential. At Shropshire Archives, we provide public access to records according to current legislation, including the Data Protection Act and Freedom of Information Act, which protect information relating to living individuals. In addition, we can agree to specific closure periods being placed on particular records if considered appropriate. Please contact us if you require further advice.

Preparing records for transfer
If time is available, you may be able to help increase the value of the records you are transferring by considering the following points:
Do you have any relevant background information?
Make a note of any information you may have about previous ownership or custody of the records, or the names of people or places in photographs.
Do you know what you are depositing?
Please have a look through before bringing the records in. You may be able to weed out material which is unsuitable for deposit, such as duplicate records or old (though not historical!) shopping lists, which saves us having to return them to you. However, if in doubt, let us see them first.
Can you provide a summary list of the records?
Although we aim to catalogue all records eventually, any summary list you can provide will help keep our records up to date and make it easier for us to provide access to the documents.

What to do next?
If you do have some records which you are considering donating or depositing or would like further advice, please contact us. In general, an appointment should be made before bringing in records to ensure that someone is available to deal with the deposit.

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