FAQs under COVID-19 Protection Framework

Please contact the office you wish to visit and discuss your needs in detail. Some bulk pre-ordering may be possible depending on demand. We need at least two days’ notice for all appointments.

Our staff will order items on your behalf. We have turned the ordering feature off to manage the volume of records being ordered while we are limited in how many staff can be onsite.

When making a booking, please include the references for all the records you wish to consult. If requesting items on the day, please maintain social distancing of at least two metres with staff. Orders can be processed, but no advice will be given to researchers.

Yes, our Online Registration form is open. You will still need to present ID in person when visiting the reading room to verify the registration and accept our reading room guidelines.

Please note, you cannot register in person at Red.

You will need a valid My Vaccine Pass to visit our reading rooms during our usual opening hours. If you do not have a My Vaccine Pass you can make an appointment to view archives by arrangement.

At red and orange, we are not taking group bookings.

If multiple people from your organisation or government agency wish to visit, they each need to make a booking request. This is so we can ensure adequate physical distance between people in the reading room

If you have forgotten an item or need more records to continue with your research, limited retrievals will be taking place each day.

We will do our best to retrieve these within 60 minutes, however, some retrievals might take a bit longer.

Please talk to staff in the reading room (while respecting social distancing) if you need to order more records while onsite.

To meet social distancing requirements we will have reduced capacity in our reading rooms across the country.

Available seating will be marked out.

To ensure the health and safety of everyone who is using our reading rooms, please be respectful of others’ space and follow the instructions of our staff.

Less people will be able to visit our reading rooms than usual due to capacity limits. We are asking people to:

• Stay home if you or anyone in your bubble is unwell.

• All researchers must use the NZ COVID tracker app to scan in or sign the register at reception.

• Face-coverings / masks must be worn by researchers at Red and Orange.

• Follow the physical distancing rules for indoor spaces.

• Use the hand sanitiser provided.

• Bring your own pencil and devices.

If you refuse to wear a mask, present a valid vaccination pass or sign in, Archives New Zealand staff reserve the right to ask you to leave. This is for the safety of our staff and visitors. See above for how we are managing group bookings.

You will be required to scan or manually sign in when arriving on site.

Every site will have QR codes visible at your point of entry and within the reading room. Alternative options will also be provided.

We are currently unable to arrange viewing of preservation restricted items, such as negatives, film or slides.

At Red, research advice is not being provided to researchers. If you are at the beginning of a new research project or need general assistance, please use the ask an archivist form and one of our team will get back to you. and one of our team will get back to you.

At Orange, our staff will endeavour to provide research assistance as far as possible while adhering to the 1m distancing limits.

You can use your own camera or phone to copy records as per the Reading Room guidelines.

At Red, we are unable to take cash in our reading rooms at this time, however, we can accept payment online.

You will be emailed a secure online payment link to complete to confirm a reading room copying request. Please note that due to increased demand, we may not be able to meet our standard turnaround time for digitisation.

At Red, our archivists will not be available in the reading room to provide assistance or advice on the day. We recommend that if you need some guidance, please use the ask an archivist form and one of our team will get back to you. and one of our team will get back to you.

At Orange, our staff will endeavour to provide assistance as far as possible while adhering to 1m distancing limits.

Archivist on duty will be monitoring the room to ensure social distancing measures are observed and to ensure our reading room guidelines are adhered to.

For those visiting by appointment without a My Vaccine Pass, our archivists will not be available to provide assistance or advice on the day.

Researchers are encouraged to complete their research visit in one session.

If you need to leave for a large part of the day, you may be asked to book another appointment to return on another day.

If you are leaving for lunch break that’s fine, but coming and going throughout the day impacts our team’s knowledge of who is in the building, which is important for emergency management.

Please let our staff know if you are leaving and intend to return.

No.

All appointments are to be made in advance of visiting, so we can carry out contact tracing, and ensure safe numbers in the reading rooms. Only those with a confirmed booking will be allowed in the reading room each day.

In the first instance, please call the office you intended to visit to cancel the booking as soon as possible so that your timeslot can be given to someone else. New requests will have to be logged via the booking form.

Contact details for each office can be found here.

Yes, we encourage you to bring your own pencil with you.

No. Kiosks will not be available in our reading rooms. WiFi is available in our reading rooms and we encourage you to use your own device to search Collections search.

At Orange, there will be a reduced number available in our other offices due to social distancing measures.

Use of the kiosks may be prioritised for those accessing Māori Land Court Minute Books and those who are familiar with our systems, as assistance from archivists will not be provided in person.

Please use the ask an archivist form to submit your request for digitisation.

Yes, lockers will be available as usual.

No. We are not able to hold oversized bags or coats currently. Please use the lockers available or leave these in your car if you have one.

Yes, all our public restrooms are available.