Undergraduate study

What to expect on your first visit

Hull History Centre opening Times
Monday and Wednesday 09.30-19.45
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 09.30-17.30
Saturday, 09.00-16.30

Although you are already a registered student of the university, when you use the archives service for the first time, you will need to complete a registration form to use Hull History Centre .  You will also need to show your student card as proof of ID.

Our main responsibility is to preserve the records in our care, so that they will be available for research not just today but in centuries to come. You can help us by following a few simple rules:

When you arrive at the Archives

  • sign the reader’s register on the enquiry desk when you arrive
  • show a valid County Archives Readers Network (CARN) reader's ticket 
  • please turn off your mobile phone before entering the search room
  • only use a pencil, not a pen  whilst in the searchroom 
  • do not bring food or drink into the searchroom, there is a refreshment area in the arcade where you can get a hot drink and a snack
  • leave costs, bags and all personal belongings in one of the secure lockers provided near the arcade.
  • documents should be treated with the utmost care, do not lean on them or apply unnecessary pressure and do not take any documents out of the searchroom.
  • please do take care to keep files and bundles of documents in the order in which they were given to you. If you wish to have an item copied, please ask a member of staff for a marker slip to identify the specific page(s).
  • if you are reading a volume please use one of the cushions or book rests to support it, we also have special document weights to use with rolled maps and plans.

 

The use of laptops and digital cameras is allowed. However there is a charge for using a digital camera and you will be asked to complete a copyright form.

Lastly, please respect other users and members of staff and try to keep noise to a minimum. The searchroom is a place of quiet research, and the nature of the documents often requires intense concentration. It is unfair to disturb other researchers' working environment.

Printed catalogues and a variety of reference works are shelved in the Reading Room.  If you need to use any of our online guides or catalogues during your visit, we also have two dedicated pcs available. 

Documents are issued to you in limited numbers, for example you will be given one file or volume at a time, or three other items.  This is so that we can keep track of the material being consulted.  When you have finished with an item, please return it to the main desk and you will be issued with another.

If you need to request extra material during your visit, please complete a document request slip for each item and hand the slips in to a member of staff, who will retrieve the material from storage for you.  Document request slips are available at the desk and on the tables, together with a list of scheduled times for document retrieval.

There are usually at least two members of staff on duty each day in the Reading Room and we are here to help.