Public Record Office (Hansard, 18 July 1996)

§ Mr. Streeter

The question concerns a specific operational matter on which the chief executive of the Public Record Office is best placed to provide an answer. I have accordingly asked the chief executive to reply direct.

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Letter from Duncan Simpson to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated 18 July 1996:

In the absence on leave of the Chief Executive, I have been asked by the Lord Chancellor's Parliamentary Secretary to reply for the Public Record Office to your question about the steps taken to protect from (a) fire and (b) other damage manuscripts and other records at the Public Record Office.

(a) Protection from fire

At Kew the two buildings have advanced fire protection systems. Fire detection is provided in offices and plant areas by smoke, heat and beam detectors, and manual call points. Detection in document storage areas is provided by an early smoke detection system. All systems are connected to a central computerised control centre, from which the fire services can be summoned. Document storage areas are divided into fire compartments by walls of two hour fire resistance; doors in these walls are held open on fusible links so that they will close automatically in case of fire.

At Chancery Lane fire detection is through a manual alarm system linked to a central control centre. Document storage areas are divided into fire compartments by fire resistant walls and doors.

At both sites the document storage areas are also served by hose reels and extinguishers and are subject to regular round the clock patrols.

We are currently transferring the Chancery Lane documents to Kew so that all will be protected by the highest modern standards.

b) Protection from other damage

The Office has established and promotes a preservation policy. This sets out the obligations of the Office, the staff and the readers protect the documents it its care.

It also has a preservation strategy and programme which includes:

Security

—invigilation of the reading rooms by security staff and, at Kew, by CCTV cameras

—round the clock security patrols of the buildings, with CCTV monitoring at Kew

—registering document users

—computerised tracking of document requisitions and movements

—prosecuting those who are caught damaging documents

Storing and protecting material

—monitoring the environmental conditions in which documents are stored: at Kew documents are stored to the requirements of BS 5454 Recommendations for the storage and exhibition of archival material

—regular cleaning of document storage areas

—protecting documents against damage in transit or by fire or water by boxing them

—providing protective equipment in the reading rooms, for example book supports, melinex sheets through which to trace maps, and cotton gloves for use while handling material such as photographic negatives or prints

—following recommended standards for the exhibiton of documents

Training

—training staff and readers in the care and handling of documents

—producing leaflets to promote understanding of the physical nature of documents

—holding workshops for staff and readers on preservation and conservation issues

Conservation

—the Office has trained staff to conserve documents

Disaster control

—the Office has a disaster control plan which includes staff training and periodic trial exercises

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Providing surrogates

—The Office is undertaking a programme of copying heavily used classes of documents, mainly on microfilm, in order to enable readers to access the information without subjecting the originals to wear and tear

I shall be happy to provide further information about any of these subjects if you require.