Friday 13 November 2015

Reading Room changes at National Archives of Ireland

Researchers visiting the Reading Room of the National Archives of Ireland (NAI) in Bishop Street will find there have been a couple of changes of late.

The most obvious physical change is the new Duty Archivist office, complete with view of the Reading Room, which has landed in one corner. In this more accessible position, the Duty Archivist will deal with administrative control issues such as photography permissions and applications for access under data protection rules, and provide advice to professional/academic researchers on the NAI's archive collections and finding aids.

The Duty Archivist will be available during normal opening hours, except at lunchtime.

Meanwhile, the old 'microfilm room' has a new look and a new role.

Although it still houses microfilms of some classes of documents, a large proportion of its old collection has been moved to storage because their contents are freely accessible online. This has freed up an area for a dedicated space for the production and return of materials ordered by researchers. (Order forms will still be processed at the Reading Room's main desk.)