Collection Weeks at Warwickshire County Record
Office
Warwickshire County Record Office exists to preserve the county’s archives - the records which comprise the county’s memory of the lives of the people who lived and worked here.
Our job is to make sure that the records that need to be kept are looked after in the very best conditions so that they survive for future generations. We employ specialist staff to make sure that we select records for permanent preservation and to protect the records from physical deterioration.
We are also responsible for making it possible for those who want to use, enjoy and learn from the archives to do so. Visitors from all over the world come to our premises in Priory Park, Warwick to look at documents recording over 800 years of Warwickshire’s history. We also run events and learning activities to promote awareness of the county’s heritage, and to help people access the archives in our care.
Access isn’t only about opening hours, though. Warwickshire County Record Office (WCRO) has enormous backlogs of records waiting to be catalogued and indexed. Until staff can arrange and produce “finding-aids” for the archives, neither visitors nor on-line users can properly explore the collections.
WCRO now closes to the public for the first full week of every calendar month. Staff are working instead on opening up collections of records that have been difficult or impossible to use until now, and developing our web pages to make it possible for on-line users to access new services and new sources of information.
We have decided to select a theme for each year to provide a focus for the work we undertake. From April 2009 – March 2011, we will be concentrating on records and collections relating to Land and Property.
We are putting information about the tasks we complete during our collections weeks on this web page, so do keep checking to discover more about the collections we open up.
Each month we report on our accomplishments during our Collection Weeks. Please click on the links below to view a PDF copy of our reports which are also available in hard copy at the Record Office.
Report on Collection Week 23 - February 2011
Report on Collection Week 24 - March 2011
Report on Collection Week 25 - April 2011
Report on Collection Week 26 - May 2011
Report on Collection Week 27 - June 2011
Report on Collection Week 28 - July 2011
Report on Collection Week 29 - August 2011
Report on Collection Week 30 - September 2011
Report on Collection Week 31 - October 2011
Report on Collection Week 32 - November 2011
Report on Collection Week 33 - December 2011
Report on Collection Week 34 - January 2012
| Mission Statement and Feedback |
Many of you will be aware that we have been seeking views on our plans for transforming the service to meet the challenges we face. Thank you to all those who took the trouble to share your views with us. Your feedback has been much appreciated and we have adjusted our plans in the light of some of the comments that were made.
Our plans for the future were submitted to Warwickshire County Council's Cabinet and approved on the 27th November. To read the reports and consultation feedback that provided the context to these changes, please click on the links below.
Mission Statement and Objectives (PDF 16k)
Feedback Report (PDF 425k)
Response to issues raised (PDF 56k)
How will the closure weeks affect responses to postal and email enquiries?
Responses to postal and e-mail enquiries will be unaffected during the closure weeks. We will continue to answer your enquiry within 10 working days
How will the closure weeks affect orders for copies of documents?
Orders for copies will be unaffected during the closure weeks. We will still process your order within 10 working days
How will the Closure weeks affect responses to Freedom of Information (FOI) enquiries?
Your FOI enquiry will continue to be dealt with during the current timescales as declared on our Freedom of Information Webpage and will be unaffected by the closure weeks
How will the closure weeks affect the County Record Office opening hours?
The record office will be closed for visitors between Tuesday and Friday during the closure weeks, and continue to be closed to visitors on Mondays as at present, but we will continue to open on Saturdays between 9am – 12.30.
How will the closure weeks affect the paid research service?
The County Record Office paid research service remains unaffected by the closure weeks.
