Lists of formats are available on the web-site but staff are always happy to advise so please contact us either by telephone or e-mail before visiting.

Internet Research

Computers are available for customers’ researching local or family history via the Internet and booking is essential. We have available a number CD ROMs and we also have links to Ancestry.com from our computers which gives customers access to 1851 to 1901 census. Computers are available to book for 1 hour 30 minutes per session. Charges are only made for prints taken from the computer. Ancestry.com is an external website that gives access to the 1851-1901 censuses for the whole country and to a variety of other records for which there is a subscription charge.

Important Information for Users of Original Documents

Because these documents are irreplaceable, we have to take extra care when serving them. We can only serve them when we have a member of staff available to supervise them. Please make an appointment to consult original documents, so that we can check whether there is a member of staff available.

We cannot usually serve original documents between 1.00pm and 3.00pm. We can only serve documents on a Saturday if we have booked an extra member of staff. Please give as much notice as possible for this. Please phone 0121 558 2561 to make an appointment. Staff will not always be able to make an appointment there and then, but we will phone you back as soon as possible.

We ask you to give at least 24 hours notice of the documents you wish to view notice of the documents you wish to view, but it is advisable to make your appointments as far in advance as possible. Some of our less popular documents are stored offsite and require two weeks notice. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

• Contact, location and transport details.