³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Before getting in touch, please read more about accessing the archives below.

Please note that enquiries from the written press or broadcast media journalists should be directed to the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Media Centre in the first instance. Any press enquiries received by our office will be forwarded onto the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Media Centre, who will respond on behalf of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ.

Service Update

Our Reading Room will be closed for the Christmas / New Year break from week commencing 18th December 2023, and will re-open from week commencing 8th January 2024.

From January 2024, we will be carrying out an extensive audit of our collections which means that some of our services for our external users will change.

For enquiries received from November 2023 onwards, if you meet our access criteria for visiting we'll only be able to offer you access to files that have previously been opened for external research and we won't be able to review and clear new material for release. If you don't meet our access criteria for visiting then unfortunately we are currently not able to help with your enquiry.

• You can find out more information about the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's About the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ page.
• You can find out more details about ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ programmes on 

Accessing the Archives

Visits to the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Written Archives Centre are by prior appointment only, between 10am and 5pm, Wednesday to Friday. From January 2024 appointments will be available on Wednesdays and Thursdays. You can visit the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Written Archives Centre for research if you are:

• An academic in higher education undertaking accredited research.
• A writer commissioned to write a book or article.
• Undertaking research for a commercial project.

If you meet our criteria for visiting please email us at heritage@bbc.co.uk to provide some background on your research and the type of material you wish to view. For more information on our holdings and how to access our online catalogue descriptions, please see our Research and Services page.

We will look into your enquiry and let you know if we can arrange a visit. Please be aware that we receive a high volume of requests and our average time to allocate enquiries to an Archivist is approximately 6 to 8 weeks. Please contact us in advance to ensure that you have a confirmed appointment before committing to any travel plans.

If you do not meet our criteria for visiting, then unfortunately we are unable to answer your enquiry at this time.

Using the Reading Room

Our archives are unique original documents and in many cases they are fragile and could be easily damaged. In common with many Archives, we have some procedures in place to help protect our material. These involve leaving everything except essential items for making notes & conducting research outside the Reading Room. The Reading Room is a quiet area, so we ask our visitors to keep any noise to a minimum and turn any devices to silent mode.

More details on our Reading Room service can be found in our Information for Visiting Researchers guide. Please download our guide for full visitor details once your appointment has been confirmed.

There are limited spaces available in our Reading Room, and appointments are in high demand. Should you need to cancel or postpone your visit for any reason please let us know as soon as possible, even if this is the day of your visit, as we may be able to offer your Reading Room seat to someone on our waiting list.

Facilities

There are free lockers available in the Waiting Room for all personal items that cannot be taken into the Reading Room.

There is internet access available via the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ’s guest Wi-Fi network. Instructions on how to connect your device are available in the Reading Room.

There are no public catering facilities available at the Written Archives Centre. There are a range of supermarkets, pubs and a café within 5 minutes’ walk. You are welcome to use the Waiting Room to consume any food or drinks you bring with you.

The Reading Room is accessible to wheelchair users. If you have any access needs please let us know about them when arranging your appointment so we can ensure the right support is available.