Hampshire archives

Making an enquiry, asking for research and ordering copies

Enquiries may be submitted by phone, via email, by letter or by using the online contact form. Submitted information is used to process your enquiry and for no other purpose. Details taken for general and booking enquiries will be kept for 3 years for audit and administrative purposes. If you ask for research or order copies of documents then your contact details will be stored for 6 years, also for audit and administrative purposes. The legal basis for our use of this information is that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.

Visiting Us

We ask regular visitors to sign up for the Archives Card scheme, which is administered by the Archives and Records Association. For details of how ARA will use your membership data, see the Archives Card privacy notice. 

At present (June 2021) we require visitors to book an appointment in advance by using our online contact form or via email. Submitted information is only used to process the booking, and for no other purpose. It will be kept for 3 years for audit purposes. The legal basis for our use of this information is that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. 

During periods when advance booking is not required, personal visitors to Hampshire Record Office are able to request documents by using our search room catalogue and document ordering terminals. User registration is required. Personal information submitted via the registration form helps us to keep our collections secure by providing a record of who has consulted documents. It is not shared with third parties and is retained for a maximum of ten years for security purposes. The legal basis for our use of this data is that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. 

Using copies of documents or audio-visual material that have been obtained from us

You can apply to use copies of documents in a publication, exhibition, presentation or display on a website. Data submitted on the application form will only be used to process your request and will not be shared with third parties. It will be retained indefinitely for administrative and legal purposes. The legal basis for our use of this information is that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.  If you order copies of audio-visual material from Wessex Film and Sound Archive, whether for commercial or non-commercial use, your submitted data will only be used to process your request for copies. It will not be shared with third parties. Your data will be retained for six years from the end of the current financial year for audit purposes. The legal basis for our use of this information is that it is necessary for the performance of a public interest task. 

Donating or depositing archival material with us

Personal information which is given to us by persons donating or depositing archival material will only be used to enable us to accession and manage the archives which have entrusted to our care. It will not be shared with third parties without permission. It will be retained for as long as the archives listed in the schedule remain in our custody so that we can contact the donor/depositor if necessary, and to provide a formal record of provenance. The legal basis for our use of this data is that it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.

Volunteering with us

If you volunteer with us you will be asked to fill in a registration form and to complete a medical declaration. The personal data you provide will be used to manage your work as a volunteer and to maintain contact with you. It will not be shared with third parties. Once you stop being a volunteer (or if you haven’t volunteered for a period of 12 months) your data will be retained for six years from the end of the current financial year for legal and audit purposes. The legal basis for our use of this information is that it is necessary for the performance of a public interest task. 

Further information

The above information is the specific privacy notice for this service. For more information about your rights in relation to your personal data, see the County Council’s general privacy notice.

You have some legal rights in respect of the personal information we collect from you. See our Data Protection page for further details.

You can contact the County Council’s Data Protection Officer by email [email protected].

If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, you should raise your concern with us in the first instance or directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office.