Clients wishing to view archival records held at the State Records Office must submit requests in advance. Items will be retrieved during two designated periods during the day: one at 11.00am and one at 1.00pm. Any requests received after 1.00pm will be retrieved the following working day and will be available at 9.30am. No retrievals occur on weekends or public holidays.
There is a limit of five items per client per retrieval.
Search Room staff are able to accept requests in person or by telephone on (08) 9427 3600. Up to five items may be ordered per retrieval.
REQUESTS RECEIVED BY AVAILABLE BY
- Previous Day 9.30am
- 11.00am 12.00pm*
- 1.00pm 2.00pm*
* Times may vary depending on number of requests received
Clients may also make requests by forwarding the relevant item details by fax on (08) 9427 3638 or by email via sro@sro.wa.gov.au. Clients submitting requests by fax or email are requested to allow at least 48 hours for retrieval and are advised to phone through for confirmation of receipt of the request.
Retrievals from Intermediate Records Repository
Records held at the Intermediate Records Repository in Dianella (eg. most maps and plans, and consignment numbers greater than 5237) are retrieved on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. These records will be available at approximately 10.00am of the same morning. Please ensure that requests for such items are submitted by 4.30pm of the previous day.
NOTE: If you are unable to come in on the day for which you requested items, please ring staff on (08) 9427 3600 and we will arrange for them to be made available at another time.
Use of Archives in the Battye Library
Open access records, other than outsize items such as maps, plans and some outsize volumes, may be sent up to the Researchers' Room of the Battye Library for evening or weekend use upon request.
Requests for items for use in the Battye Library must be received by 1.00pm of the evening requested, or 1.00pm Friday for weekend use. Requests for microform records must be received by 4.15pm of the evening requested, or 4.15pm Friday for weekend use.
NOTE: Restricted access items may only be used in the State Records Office Search Room.
Call Slips
For each and every item requested a call slip must be completed and lodged with staff at the Search Room Enquiry Desk. Call slips should be filled out as completely as possible and include the following information: researcher's name and details (including Research Ticket number), Accession or Consignment number, item or file number, volume where appropriate, year, as well as the date the item is required.
In cases where requests are being phoned through or emailed the client will need to be able to provide the above details so that a call slip can be completed on their behalf.
"Hold" Items"
If you wish to have items kept for use on another day, please fill in a blue hold notice (available from the Enquiry Desk) and hand to staff with the records. They will be kept on reserve for the day nominated. Items cannot be held for more than two weeks at a time.
Care of Records
It is very important that documents are not unpinned from files. Besides possible loss or damage, the order of the documents may be changed which may alter the perceived meaning of the information.
Records are not to be marked or damaged under any circumstances and pencil only may be used for note taking.
A full list of the conditions of use for archival material can be found on our Conditions For The Use Of Archival Records page.
Returning Records
Please leave the yellow copies of the call slips with the records when returning them. This helps staff to identify the records and avoid misfiling them.
Please return records to the Enquiry Desk before leaving the Search Room.
Further Information
Details on the procedures for retrieving records are also provided in the Requesting Archives Information Sheet.
Staff are happy to discuss any problems with you and explain the procedures where necessary. Enquiry Desk staff can be contacted by telephone on (08) 9427 3600, via email at sro@sro.wa.gov.au or in person.