2011 Closure - Report

5th December 2011

Unlike last years closure week when considerable effort was spent on sorting and moving collections in the storage areas this year we have focused on the public areas and made cahgnes that we could not undertake without causing huge disruption to our users.

So what have we achieved?

Library area: we have moved the shelving around to provide more space and improved labelling to better signpost material on the shelves. We have brought the catalogue, subject, biographical and Hull Daily Mail indexes by the map cabinets. We have added more historical maps into Map Cabinet No 2 and will be bringing more maps down into the searchroom when the additional cabinets we have ordered arrive! The City Council minutes have been moved into the searchroom. We have also moved the display cabinets closer to the entrance so more people are aware of the items on display.

Microfilm area: we have removed the machines that were beyond repair and moved the microfilm and microfiche machines and the cabinets containing microfiche are placed together. 

Family History area: we have created a dedicated Family History area that contains a selection of family hsitory books, the Monumental Inscriptions for Hull and the surrounding areas, census indexes, parish registers and York marriage bonds.We have also been able to bring down the East Riding Electoral registers (from 1950s on) onto public access.

University Archives: a number of students studying the Applied History module took a break from their studies and helped us re-pack a couple of collections to make them more accessible to staff and easy to find specific documents in the collection. We have also continued our ongoing programme of updating and re-printing our catalogues so that they are presented in a consistent style across the History Centre.