After more than a year of closure, the National Records of Scotland (www.nrscotland.gov.uk) has announced that it intends to offer a limited on-site service from April 26th and May 4th respiectively. The following is the announcement:
Search rooms at National Records of Scotland (NRS) will reopen on a limited basis from 26th April, in line with Scottish Government guidance.
The Historical Search Room will reopen on Monday 26th April, with priority given to users requiring access to our archives to complete academic research.
The ScotlandsPeople Centre will reopen on Tuesday 4th May, with priority given to users who have a business need to access modern day statutory records.
Spaces to both search rooms will be limited and available by appointment only.
Appointments will be available for 4 hour slots from 10am with staggered arrivals and departures.
Paul Lowe, Chief Executive and Keeper of the Records of Scotland said:
“We are delighted to welcome customers back to our search rooms, and we hope that this news will be particularly welcomed by those eager to progress research that has been affected by the pandemic.
“Our commitment is to the safety and wellbeing of customers and staff. To ensure the search rooms have the necessary entry and exit routes and the required ventilation, we have moved the Historical Search Room to the Reid room in General Register House.
“We have also developed a safe visit agreement which includes a range of measures to ensure the safety of our customers and staff.
“In the coming months, in line with Scottish Government guidance, we look forward to further expanding our onsite provision of services.
“For those who are unable to access on-site services at this time, our online research services continue to be available including the ScotlandsPeople service, which assists with researching family, local and social history. During the pandemic we have continued to expand the range of online material available, including our newly released kirk session records which alone contain thousands of volumes detailing key events in local communities across the country from 1559 to 1900.”
(Original announcement at https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/news/2021/on-site-services-to-reopen)
Further note on the ScotlandsPeople Centre:
The Dundas Search Room in ScotlandsPeople Centre will reopen on Tuesday 4th May. Initial access will be given to those with a business need to access modern day statutory records, for example professional genealogists. Those who meet the criteria for the initial phase of access to the ScotlandsPeople Search Room, should contact customerservices@scotlandspeople.gov.uk for further information.
(Source: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/about-us/service-status)
COMMENT: I called the Burns Monument Centre in Kilmarnock to seek an update, but it has no plans to re-open just yet. I have placed a request for a booking in Edinburgh, but would advise clients that this is likely to be a slow getting back to normal, so one step at a time! But it's great to see things finally moving again after a difficult year.
Chris
Just out, Sharing Your Family History Online is on sale at https://bit.ly/SharingFamHist. Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scottish2 is also out, as are Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Irish1 and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at http://bit.ly/ChrisPaton-Scotland1. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.
when will the heritage centre in hawick be open for us to research family history on peoples scotland there please?
ReplyDeleteI've been told by a colleague that Hawick Heritage Hub is potentially scheduled to re-open on 17th May. Nothing on their site to confirm this yet.
ReplyDeleteChris