Introduction

Historical records are collected and preserved on the understanding that they will be available for inspection and study by all who have an interest in the events which they commemorate. Access is therefore an essential part of our purpose, and throughout the history of the Devon Record Office the public service has been given high priority. Access to certain classes and collections may be closed, by statute or by agreement, for a specified period, but it is nevertheless a principle that they will eventually be generally available.

Aims and objectives

Access is provided at three levels:

• general information about what can be learned from different classes and types of documents and about their administrative history and background

• details of what information is contained in particular individual documents or classes of documents

• the documents themselves or copies or surrogates.

Means of access

Our aim is to provide access on all these levels, by means of

• search-rooms where documents can be studied under supervision, in a controlled environment, and with adequate help and support

• microform and other copies which are available for use in the record offices at Exeter, Barnstaple, and Plymouth and in the seven service points

• photocopies, photographs, and microform copies of documents for sale to searchers (insofar as the creation of these is consistent with the physical and legal integrity of the documents and the interests of their owners)

• lists and indices in paper, microfiche, or electronic form, which are available in the record offices and service points and through the National Register of Archives (and any national on-line networks which may be developed in the future)

• replies to enquiries about records and their contents, whether received by post, telephone, of electronic mail

• guides, hand-lists, information leaflets, and other publications (either in paper form or as pages on the Internet), which direct enquirers to sources of information germane to their interests

• talks, lectures, group visits, training sessions, seminars, and other events which raise awareness of the importance of archives and improve understanding of their potential to increase our knowledge of our past

• exhibitions and displays of original documents or copies, which can bring archives to new audiences and draw the attention of existing users to sources of which they may have been unaware.