News
Our news feed contains information about new resources, newly catalogued or acquired archive collections, current and upcoming projects and events, and service developments.
Information about past work at the Modern Records Centre is included in our annual reports and information bulletins (available online from 1996/7 to 2016/7). Recordings of several past events are also available - the student-led Open Education Series, 2014-2016, and the schools project Archives Alive, 2016.
Reopening to external researchers
The Modern Records Centre will be reopening to all researchers by appointment only on Monday 28th June.
Our opening hours from 28th June will be:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: 9am - 5pm
Friday: 9am - 4pm
Sessions are bookable for mornings (9.00-1.00) and/or afternoons (1.00-5.00/4.00 on Friday).
What new measures are in place due to Covid-19?
A maximum of five researchers can now be accommodated in the searchroom.
All researchers are now required to book a place and order documents a minimum of 24 hours before your visit (though more notice is preferred). This allows us to ensure that a desk space is available and that the documents can be produced in advance.
In line with government and university guidance, visitors will need to wear face coverings whilst in the building.
Desk spaces will be cleaned by staff between visitors.
Hand sanitiser is available at the searchroom entrance.
A one way system is in place at the entrance.
We strongly encourage all visitors to complete a Lateral Flow Test and obtain a negative result prior to attendance. We also kindly request that all researchers have their temperature checked in the Main Library foyer prior to their visit to the MRC. The temperature scanner is located on the ground floor entrance to the Main Library.
Additional information about using the Modern Records Centre is available elsewhere on our website.
New digitised collection!
We're finally ready to share our lockdown digitisation project with you!
Dame Eileen Younghusband (1902-1981) was a key figure in the development of social work during the 20th century. Her archives are held at the Modern Records Centre and include a wealth of sources relating to both her professional and personal life.
Eileen Younghusband’s diaries, written between 1917-1930, cover a transitional period in her life, beginning with her wartime childhood in an upper middle class home at Wimbledon and ending as she started her career as a tutor at the London School of Economics. They cover her ambivalent relationship with post-war ‘High Society’, growing interest in politics and issues of social justice, first steps towards social work (through the Whitechapel Care Committee and Bermondsey Princess Club) and education at the LSE, as well as the routine of daily life (particularly with regard to shopping, socialising and travelling).
All twenty two volumes of the diaries have been digitised and transcribed in full. A selection of other sources, including photograph albums from the First World War and immediate post-First World War period, have also been digitised.
Partial re-opening
The Modern Records Centre will be re-opening from 16 March to University of Warwick researchers only.
We will remain closed to external researchers until further notice.
We are currently operating with reduced staff and reduced capacity, and there are therefore some changes to how our service operates.
We will be open on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays between 9.30-12.30 and 1.30-4.30. We will not be open on Mondays or Fridays.
We will require researchers to:
- Book a space at least one full working day (minimum of 24 hours) before the visit
- Order all documents required at least one full working day (minimum of 24 hours) before the visit, giving the document reference codes. A maximum of 6 boxes or 15 individual items will be produced per person per day
- Wear face coverings whilst in the building and observe the general guidelines for Covid-19 which apply to all buildings on the campus
- Be aware of the changes in opening hours and the lunchtime closure period
More detailed information about visiting the Modern Records Centre and changes to our service under the current pandemic conditions is available elsewhere on our website.