I’ve found an entry on the online catalogue and now I want to visit Doncaster Archives to see the item. What is the procedure?

For more information about our opening hours, access arrangements, readers' tickets, and for details of our services and facilities, please check our website. When contacting us to make an appointment, it is helpful to provide a list of the reference numbers of the records you would like to consult.

Why can’t I see images of the documents in the catalogue?

The catalogue, at present, only contains descriptions for the documents in our archive and not digitised images from the collection. However, digitised images of some of the items amongst our collections will be added over time.

Why can’t I find what I'm looking for?

If you want to search for an exact phrase (so the words appear adjacent to each other in the text), e.g. John Smith, enter the text with double quotation marks, thus "John Smith".

Searching the database will only find the exact words used in the catalogue, so if you haven't found what you wanted it's often best to try other related terms.

People's names and place names may also vary in spelling and so you may need to try searching for alternative spellings in order to find all relevant records. When making a personal name search, you are advised to search only on surname.

You can also search for part of a word followed, or preceded, by a 'wildcard' asterisk to broaden your search: e.g. Indi* will retrieve records which include the words India, Indian, Indies.

How can I find out more information about an entry displayed in the 'search results' hitlist?

To view a full record description, click on any part of the record. If you then want to browse the record in its hierarchical context (i.e. how it relates to other records in the collection), click on Finding Number. Use the back button on your browser to return to the search results overview.

How do I sort the records in the 'search results' hitlist?

You can sort the list of results according to the field of your choice by clicking on the column heading. By default, records are presented in Finding Number order. However, you can also sort records by Title or by Date.