17 March 2020: TNA closed until further notice & Free access to Digitised Records

If you wish to search Discovery for digital downloads only then:

- click the advanced search link;
- In the 'Held by' section, select "Search the National Archives';
- click on the 'Only show records available for download' option.

Then whatever you search for is restricted to digitised records.

Lee

 

Fingers crossed it gets sorted soon

 

Is there any update on this?

I have looked at the discovery website almost every day with no change spotted.

Gus

 

No, their Twitter account has only confirmed that the announcement was not an April fool.

Publicly funded bodies have different definitions for 'very soon' depending on whether they are insisting on your action or promising to act themselves.

 

In the latter case often timed to coincide with the start of the next Infernal ice hockey season

 

TNA are giving free access to their digital archives during Covid

Free access to digital records - The National Archives

 

They have just announced that the records can now be accessed but it is subject to registration and a limit on the number of downloads.

See here: Free access to digital records - The National Archives

 

Forgive me if this is a duplicate:

Free access to digital records
Wednesday 22 April 2020

We are making digital records available on our website free of charge for as long as our Kew site is closed to visitors.

Registered users will be able to order and download up to 10 items at no cost, to a maximum of 50 items over 30 days. The limits are there to try and help manage the demand for content and ensure the availability of our digital services for everyone.

To access the service and download for free, users will be required to:

• Register/sign in to their Discovery account before adding items to their basket (maximum ten items per basket)
• Abide by the terms of our fair use policy
• Complete the order process to receive a download link, which will remain active for 30 days. (The link will also be saved in ‘Your orders’ in your account for 30 days) ...

 

Duplicate - see


17 March 2020: TNA closed until further notice & Free access to Digitised Records

 

The only useful things I found were Combat Gallantry awards :-I

 

I got a couple of post-war AIR diaries for theatres I'm interested in, but, ultimately, the great majority of the WO files I want to see have not been digitised.

 

Still not even a putative date for re-opening, but a hell of a lot of bad omens.

Don't they still owe us a few weeks of 'old limits' copying?

This article suggests 'September at the earliest':
Archives to reopen ‘September at the earliest’ | Who Do You Think You Are Magazine

Here are their thoughts (I highlight the 'lowlights' in bold):

Source:
Making plans for re-opening - The National Archives

Making plans for re-opening
Below are some principles and operational factors that an archive service should take into account when planning for its re-opening. As highlighted in several of the principles, the current situation changes quickly and this webpage will be updated regularly to reflect the latest developments. If you have any feedback, we’d be happy to hear from you at asd@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Principles for plans to re-open

1. It is a positive and necessary step for archive services to plan to re-open access for their staff, volunteers and communities. This will offer access to unique resources for legal, business, research and community needs.
2. Reopening should take a risk-managed approach, recognising individual archive service situations. The institutional and sector context will have an impact on each archive’s plans and The National Archives is available to advise and support local decision making.
3. This risk management should take account of public health guidance and conservation needs, and not put staff, volunteers, users or other site visitors at risk.
4. Re-opening will be a phased process to allow for effective management of risk, and plans should anticipate the possibility of having to adapt or withdraw access again, should public health and government guidance require it.
5. Planning should take into account the preparation time for new procedures, workflows and spaces.
6. Collections should be continually safeguarded during a phased re-opening process, recognising that organisational context and risks will shift during that process.
7. The situation is changing fast and detailed advice will also change over time, so any plans should be flexible and take account of updated guidance and context. Once in delivery, revised arrangements should be reviewed regularly, in consultation with The National Archives where appropriate.
8. Altered provision for staff, visitors and volunteers will affect groups and individuals differently. Conducting Equality Impact Assessments for these changes will be helpful to ensure an overview of the effect on each service’s community.

As services plan for a potential re-opening in line with social distancing guidance, we anticipate that this will mean reduced opening hours and increased restrictions on access (e.g. introducing the pre-booking of documents and seating) for many archive services which are able to re-open. We also recognise that services may experience a continuing reduction in staff resources or need to support the priorities of their own organisation, which could have an impact on their ability to carry out the full range of core functions.

The priorities and practicalities on re-opening will differ for each archive and this will not affect their Accreditation or Place of Deposit status for the duration of the emergency. We would expect services to keep new arrangements under review and to plan to increase activity when it is safe and possible to do so. Further guidance may be given about expectations for the medium term when services have some experience of delivering under these new conditions and we can collectively establish good practice assumptions. If you have concerns about the application of specific elements of the Public Records Act or the Archive Service Accreditation standard, please get in touch.

Operational factors affecting plans to re-open

• The availability and acceptability of using scarce resources (eg PPE, sanitiser, Perspex) if these are needed more urgently by public health bodies
• The possible ongoing fluctuations in staffing levels as a result of shielding, isolating, re-deployment and caring responsibilities
• The specific layout of buildings and pinch points for anyone (staff, volunteers, users, contractors) needing on-site access
• Shortfall in revenue for the archive or funding organisation

Resources for planning a service’s re-opening
The checklist below suggests areas for consideration in planning your reopening, in the context of the principles and operational factors listed above. Not every point will be relevant for all archive services. This list is not detailed in every area but links to existing guidance produced by other bodies in case these are useful for reference. The links and the areas for consideration will be updated as further guidance arises.

Planning for re-opening checklist (DOC, 0.08MB)

You may also find the following template useful for collating information about risks and their countermeasures.

Risk management template (XLS, 0.03MB)

Emerging operational planning at The National Archives
Below we have shared The National Archives’ own emerging operational planning to illustrate the approach we are taking. However, individual archive services should be guided by the specifics of their own location, scale and shared facilities.

We are:

• aiming to start small and grow the service over time – this would include working with small numbers of staff in the first instance, and similarly the lowest possible numbers of public once ready
• aware that it is going to be staff intensive even for small numbers of the public and are thinking about how much budget will be required for support services such as additional cleaning
• focusing on the separation of people and the minimal use of PPE where possible
• making sure we know the maximum of numbers of staff and readers in all our spaces – not just reading rooms- and setting up a booking system so that we can control when they come and for how long. Advance document ordering will be essential
• keeping in mind that behaviours are changing and people are getting used to social distancing. For example, we are expecting that people will tend to only get into a lift one at a time and we will use signs to support and reinforce this behaviour
• aware that cleaning will need to take place regularly – in between each document delivery for example – and PPE will be primarily for document services staff who handle documents
• planning to quarantine documents between uses, potentially for a number of days
• likely to invest in a mix of some Perspex screens, cheaper ‘sneeze guards’ and pre-printed matts to act as barrier at enquiry desks etc. We may also use other barriers such as low tables to ensure distancing takes place
• thinking about use of the building and are considering initiating one-way systems, clear barriers on staircases, one-way stairs and separate staff entrances
• conscious that good signage is important
• thinking about the ratio of staff to members of the public and factoring in that this will vary depending on the functions, size and location of different parts of the building. We expect there to be a very small number of members of the public, at least initially.
• going to test the flows, use of spaces and systems when they are up and running. We will film the process and use this footage as educational tools for staff and customers

 

The equality impact assessment sounds like it will knacker most of us middle-aged white blokes. We might have to attend in pairs and hold hands...

 

Diane
Which ones do you need? I think I downloaded the lot years ago, and still have them.

You would have to wade through them to find individual citations as the TNA reference does not relate to a downloaded file - let me know by PM and I can send them across.

Regards
Andy