Frequently asked questions
What are archives?
Archives are the collections of records produced by individuals, families or organisations
(such as local government organisations, companies or universities) during their
activities or business.
Archives may be in various formats, including paper files, parchment documents,
bound volumes, maps, plans, audio and video recordings and photographs. They may
be of any date, from early centuries up to the present day. Archives are retained
by their creators, or in record offices and other record repositories, because of
their abiding interest for researchers - interest which their original creators
might never have expected.
What are A2A (Access to Archives) catalogues?
The catalogues in the A2A database have been drawn up by archivists over time. The
level of detail provided in the catalogues varies. Some catalogues describe individual
files or documents in great detail, including references to people and places mentioned
in them. Others only give summary information on each document they describe. Other
catalogues provide a brief signpost to a whole archive.
Some terms used in A2A catalogues may not be familiar. The A2A Glossary will help with some of these.
Are all catalogues of archival collections in England and Wales included on A2A?
A2A contains about 30 per cent of catalogues of archival collections in England
and Wales. The database was last updated in April 2008 and now contains 10.3 million
records relating to 9.45 million items held in 418 record offices and other repositories,
however it does not always contain all the catalogues available online for a particular
archive.
Is new content still being added to A2A?
There is no further programme for the addition of new material to the A2A site.
However, it will continue to be available on the Internet, to be searched and referred
to, and there will be a facility for existing content to be updated.
Where else can I find catalogues for archives collections?
There are a number of other resources which may be of use, alongside A2A.
The National Register of
Archives (NRA). The NRA contains information on the nature and location
of manuscripts and historical records that relate to British history, held in the
UK and overseas. Collection level descriptions on the NRA also link to full catalogue
descriptions on all the main archival networks (A2A, SCAN, Archives Hub, AIM25,
Archives Network Wales, Janus) as well as 27 repositories online catalogues. In
total 93,000 NRA sub records link to an online catalogue (about a third of the total).
The ARCHON directory is the central
directory of contact details for record repositories in the United Kingdom.
An ARCHON entry for a repository also includes links to the National Register of
Archives (NRA), A2A (or other relevant network) and, where applicable, the repositories
own online catalogue.
The National Archives is also continuing to encourage the online accessibility of
archival finding aids. We recently launched the NRA Digitisation Project. The purpose
of the project will be to digitise 250,000 pages of paper NRA catalogues, and make
them available online as PDFs. The lists will also be fully-searchable using The
National Archives Global Search. The project will focus on repositories who are
unable to make their lists available online through any other route.
Can I view original documents on A2A?
Original documents cannot be viewed on A2A. A2A allows you to search and browse
for information about collections of records (archives) in England and Wales,
dating from the eighth century to the present day. The archives described on A2A
are cared for in local record offices and libraries, universities, museums and national
and specialist institutions across England and Wales, where they are made available
to the public.
