www.surreycc.gov.uk

Making Surrey a better place

Caring for our collectionA guide for users of Surrey History Centre

Surrey History Centrepreserves the written heritageof the county of Surrey. Our collections includemanuscripts written on paperand parchment, early maps,printed books, illustrations and photographs. They are all a precious resource and mostof them are irreplaceable. It is our duty to ensure theirsecurity and preservation and we ask you to assist us by following the guidelines inthis leaflet.

Production timesOriginal documents and printedbooks are produced from thestrong rooms continuouslythroughout the day between9.30am and 4.30pm Tuesday toFriday and between 9.30am and3.30pm Saturday. Material held inthe strong rooms that is requiredon Thursday evenings needs to beordered before 4.30pm. Up to ten items may be ordered at onetime and we aim to producedocuments within thirty minutesof ordering. Normally, one item isissued at a time. Most items aredelivered to our main desk at the

Surrey History Centre

front of the search room butothers, especially fragile or specialcollections, will be issued to youby the duty officer supervisingthe document tables at the endof the room.

Restricted itemsThe majority of our documentsmay be consulted without priornotice. However, a significantminority have access restrictionsapplied to them. Researchers areadvised to search our cataloguesand check the full documentdescription before assuming theymay see any original document. Ifany restrictions are found toapply, please ask a member ofstaff for advice.

Some items that we hold areunavailable for consultationbecause they are too fragile totouch. These are classed as UUFFPP orUUnnffiitt ffoorr PPrroodduuccttiioonn. Others needto be handled with extra care toensure their preservation. Theseare classed as AAPP because theyrequire AAssssiisstteedd PPrroodduuccttiioonn. We

will advise you when this is thecase.

Surrey Heritage must• Safeguard our collections for

present and future users.• Ensure that our staff and

volunteers are able to work ina safe environment.

• Maintain an environment inwhich our users can study ourcollections effectively.

• Carry out our legal duties.Please see our leaflet, SSuurrrreeyyHHeerriittaaggee CCooddee ooff CCoonndduucctt forfurther details.

Surrey History Centre, reception

1. Closed circuit televisioncameras are used to monitorour search room. Theseimages are monitored andrecorded.

2. Staff will invigilate the searchroom and advise on the safehandling of our collections.

3. Staff may ask to check yourbelongings and notes beforeand after you have used ourcollections.

4. Collections that include looseor un-catalogued papers willnormally be issued by theDuty Officer at the far end ofthe search room. Thesecollections will be counted outin small batches of up to fiveitems at a time. At busyperiods this may cause a fewmoments’ delay, so please bepatient with us.

5. Many of our library cabinetsare locked for security reasonsand to preserve the order of

Search room security

their contents. Please ask us ifyou wish to see anything inthese cabinets.

6. Before handling ourcollections, please ensure thatyour hands are clean and dry.

7. Do not eat or drink anythingin the search room. Evencough sweets and chewinggum leave traces of sugar andgrease on your fingers thatwill harm our collections.

8. Original documents must beconsulted on the large tableat the right of the searchroom.

9. The smaller table is normallyreserved for printed materialsand maps.

10. Larger maps may be consultedon the wooden map tableopposite the Help Desk.

11. Pencils only must be used fortaking notes and completingrequest forms. No pens arepermitted in the search room.

12. Records that can be consultedon microfilm will not normallybe produced from the strongrooms.

13. Do not mark, annotate ordeface the documents in anyway.

14. Do not lean on documents orrest notepads on them whilemaking notes.

15. Place documents flat on thetable and ensure they are nothanging over the edge.

Safe handling guidelines

16. Use the book supports forvolumes in order to preservethe binding. Turn pagescarefully and slowly.

17. Use weights when consultingdocuments that are tightlyrolled or heavily creased.

18. Do not rearrange loose papers,even when they appear to beout of order.

19. Handle wax seals with greatcare as they are often brittleand easily damaged.

20. Use clear plastic sheets whenmaking tracings of ourcollections or when consultinglarge, unwieldy documents.

21. Handle unprotectedphotographs with gloves.

22. Do not try to flatten out itemsthat are heavily creased

23. Do not fold volumes back onthemselves to try to keep thepages open. Use a booksupport and the ‘leadnecklaces’ available from theduty desk.

24. Do not remove paper clips,staples, clips or string tagsfrom documents.

stand that can help to reducestress on some documents.

30. Not all of our collections canbe safely photocopied. Boundor tagged items, large andunwieldy documents and evenmodern books may sufferdamage by copying. Our staffwill be able to advise youabout copying options.

We’ve been to a lot of trouble tosave these records! Please help usto look after them.

25. Do not run your fingers downa document. Please use ourbookmarks to mark your placeor follow the text.

26. Ask staff for assistance if youare unsure about the safestway to handle a document.

27. Please bring fragile ordamaged documents to theattention of staff.

28. Do not place any of ourcollections on the floor, chairsor window sills. They mustalways be consulted on thesearch room tables.

29. Ask staff for assistance whenphotographing items from ourcollections. We have a camera

Surrey History Centre130 Goldsworth RoadWokingSurrey GU21 6NDtel 01483 518737fax 01483 518738email shs@surreycc.gov.ukweb www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreyhistorycentre

Opening TimesMonday closedTuesday 9.30am to 5pmWednesday 9.30am to 5pmThursday 9.30am to 7.30pmFriday 9.30am to 5pmSaturday 9.30am to 4pm

Closed Sunday and Bank Holiday weekendsincluding Saturday 09/07/10K/DTP/CS1187

Surrey County CouncilCounty HallKingston upon ThamesSurrey KT1 2DN