Securing Archives for Free, Public Access

Archives relating to Norfolk appear for sale on a regular basis. NorAH helps archival institutions to purchase documents on condition they are made freely available to the public and can be managed in accordance with established guidelines.

Archive institutions usually receive archives as donations, on long-term deposit, or from their parent organisation. However, private owners of archives sometimes decide to sell. Archive institutions maybe approached directly, but more often they are made aware of archives being sold at forthcoming auctions, on online auction sites such as eBay, or by specialist book sellers. When this happens, it is often the only chance to secure these archives relating to Norfolk’s history for public access.

If archives are being sold at auction, archive institutions get very little notice. NorAH is aware of this, and when necessary can make quick decisions about the level of support it can offer.

NorAH is realistic. It has limited means and on occasion the potential cost is too high, or is more than the document’s historical value. However, NorAH has been able to secure many archives for use by the public. Because of this, our collective knowledge about Norfolk’s past has improved.

Donations made to NorAH, either made directly, or by becoming a Norfolk Archive Supporter, allow NorAH to build up its reserves of unrestricted funds. The greater these are, the more likely NorAH is able to help when institutions approach it for support.

Featured image is by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay.