About Southwark Archives

Adding your records to our collections

If you have material that you'd like to donate to the archives, please contact us. One of our archivists will determine whether it would be a suitable addition to our collections or better suited to another institution.

• Why do you want my records?

  Because your records tell a unique and important story! Archival records tell the stories of the borough and all its communities – we keep these records safe so people can learn from them.

  When we don’t hold records about a community, those stories aren’t there to learn from – and that means we aren’t doing as good a job as we could.

  Working with record owners like you, we can make sure that people in the future can learn from all of the borough’s priceless, irreplaceable stories.

• Why should I put my records in the Southwark Archives collections?

  Placing your records in our collections as a donation or deposit helps make sure that it can tell its stories forever.

  A donation is a gift to us. A deposit is a long-term loan to us for a set period.

  We will carefully arrange and make a catalogue for the records you give us. We plan to make our catalogues available online as soon as we can.

  A catalogue is a list that explains what is in a collection of records. It helps people find the information they want easily.

  We store records in special containers, in conditions that aim to keep them usable for as long as possible. We will make your records available in our supervised searchroom, to make sure they are not damaged, lost, or stolen. If you put your records into our collection, we will answer questions people have about them for you.

• What if I want to visit, or view, or take back my records?

  We always welcome donors, depositors, and their families to visit and use our collections. Please contact us – by telephone, post, or email – before you come to visit. This is very important if you want to see your records. Knowing when you want to visit lets us make sure your records are in the searchroom when you visit.

  If you want to take back a deposit, you will need to give us notice. Our deposit agreement will tell you when and how to do that.

• What kinds of things do you want?

  We take records and reference items that fit the rules laid out in our collecting policy. Almost all the time, we can only take records and reference items connected to Southwark. We pass offers of artwork and objects to our colleagues in Southwark’s museum service.

  We can take records in a variety of formats - photos, audio-visual recordings, paper, and computer files. We really want to fill gaps in our current collections. Our collecting policy has more information about what these gaps are.

  We have a duty to look after the records we take in for as long as we can. If we can’t do that – or if there is somewhere else that could look after your records better – we may not take them. If that’s the case, we will let you know, and help you get in touch with a more appropriate place.

• What should I do if I’m interested in offering records to Southwark Archives?

  Thank you very much! Please read over the rest of these questions and answers – they give you important information about what decisions you need to make.

  Then please contact us, or fill out our transfer form and send it back to us by email or post. We will then get back to you about official paperwork and picking up or taking in your records.

  If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know. We’re happy to talk over decisions with you.

• What information do you need from me and what will you do with it?

  We need your name, address, and contact details – like phone number and email address – for our records. They help us prove we hold your records legally. It’s especially important we have up-to-date contact details about people who deposit records – we need to contact them to renew their loans. Please let us know if your contact details change.

  We will hold your contact information securely. We will not give it to other people unless you tell us to, or the law says we have to. We will identify you as the person who donated or deposited your records unless you tell us not to.

  We also need to know as much as we can about your records:

  • what they are and how much there is
  • who created them and why
  • when they were created or the dates they cover
  • background information about their creator

  We use that information in our catalogue – it helps people understand your records and find specific information they need.

• What decisions do I need to make when I put records into the Southwark Archives collections?

  There are several important decisions that you will need to make:

  • whether you are making a donation or a deposit
  • whether you want to close any of your records - and for how long, if so
  • what you want us to do with items we don’t want
  • whether or not we can loan your records to other people
  • what – if anything – you want us to do about material in your copyright

  There is more information about these decisions below.

• What is the difference between a donation and a deposit?

  If you make a donation, you make us their legal owner – you cannot get them back later. We prefer to get donations from individuals because they are simpler to do.

  If you make a deposit, you still legally own the records – you are just loaning them to us. You may ask us for them back, either for a time or forever. Some organisations may need to deposit records instead, and we are happy to find terms that suit both sides.

  Unless you tell us otherwise, our deposit period is 10 years. After that, we will contact you to renew the loan. If we can't make contact with you, we may think that you don't want the records anymore.

  If you have questions, please contact us. We are happy to talk about both options with you, and help you decide which is best. If you want to keep an original family heirloom, please let us know – we are happy to make copies for our collection instead.

• What if information in my records is personal or upsetting?

  We are happy to talk to you about records that have personal or possibly upsetting information inside. We can make these records closed for a period of time that we agree on.

  The law says that we have to close some kinds of records to protect the privacy of people mentioned in them. Some kinds of records are closed for 100 years.

  Please remember that nobody can use records that are closed.

• What if I don't want someone specific to see my records?

  We have to provide equal access for all users to as many of our collections as we can. All of the records in Southwark Archives are available for anyone to view, unless they are:

  • too fragile to use
  • not fully sorted yet
  • closed

  If you want people to view your records only with your permission, please tell us that. We will ask everyone who is interested in your records to contact you first.

• Will you keep all of my records?

  Not necessarily. We have limited amounts of space, and we keep records for as long as we can, so we have to be very choosy. Items that tell a story the best, are unique, and are not fragile are the ones we are most likely to keep.

  Our collecting and appraisal policies have more information on how we make decisions on what to keep and why. You can also talk to the archivist if you have questions.

  We ask you what you want us to do with material we don’t want to keep when you offer records to us. If you tell us what you want us to do, we will do that. If you do not, we will do what our policies and standard terms say we will do. We call these our standard actions.

• What are your standard actions?

  Our policies and standard terms say that we will

  • destroy unwanted items from donations
  • return unwanted items from deposits
  • not close your records unless the law says we need to
  • make copies of fragile records for people to use
  • use your records for our own outreach – like talks or blog posts
• What is copyright, and why is it important?

  Copyright allows someone who makes a creative work the right to say when and how it can be used – including how much someone needs to pay to use a work.

  UK copyright usually runs for the creator’s lifetime plus 70 years – it can pass down to someone else when the creator dies. If you or a family member created your records, you may own copyright in them. You don’t automatically give up copyright when you donate or deposit records.

  Copyright is important because anyone who wants to use copyrighted records in our collection needs to get permission from the copyright owner first. We get many requests every year from users to reproduce items. We will contact you with details of researchers who want to use your records, and ask you to get in touch with them.

• What if I don’t want to deal with copyright requests to use my records?

  If you don’t want to approve copyright requests yourself, you have four options:

  1. transfer your copyright to us – you give it to us for a small sum
  2. give us permission to approve some or all use requests for you
  3. allow anyone to use your records under a Creative Commons licence
  4. give up your copyright – anyone can use your records without permission

  Please remember that if you transfer your copyright to us or give it up, you can’t take it back later. If you want to take back permission for us to act for you, you will need to tell us that in writing.

  If you need more information about these choices, please get in touch with us. We’ll do our best to help explain them.

• I have questions that aren’t answered here. Can you help?

  The policies and procedures you can find on our website might help answer your questions. If they don’t answer your questions, please call, write, or email us. We’ll do our best to help.

  Someone I know has interesting material and might throw it away. What should I do?

  Thank you very much for caring about Southwark’s stories! We rely on people like you to let us know about records that may get thrown away. If you know of someone with interesting material, please let them know about these questions and answers. We’re happy to talk to them about their options.  

  We understand that some people may find it difficult to deal with us directly. We’re happy to accept records from you on someone else’s behalf, but we need to have proof that you are acting for them. A written, signed note from the owner of the records telling us that they want you to act for them is fine. If you have questions about this, please get in touch.

Page last updated: 15 September 2023