New ‘Archives Card’ Scheme

From the 6th July 2020 the East Riding Archives service will be using the new Archives Card scheme. Readers will need to be registered to consult the archives in the research room.

The CARN (County Archives Research Network) reader’s ticket scheme expired on the 31st March 2020 and was replaced with the Archives Card. Please sign up to the new FREE system via www.archivescard.com before your next visit.

Established by the Archives and Records Association and sponsored by Ancestry, the Archives Card features an online platform that you can access from home, keeping your personal data secure whilst giving over 40 archive services access to a connected system.

The Archives Card scheme is also open to a wider group of archive services, including university archives. Please note that not all archives, or former CARN members, have signed up to the new Archives Card. A list of participating archive services can be found on the Archives Card Directory.

How do I sign up?

• Click onto www.archivescard.com to create your account using a valid email address and password. It takes five minutes and you only need to register once.
• The system will ask you to upload a passport-style photo of yourself (head and shoulders only). If you are unable to provide a photograph when you register, staff can take a photo of you on your next visit to the archive which will be uploaded onto the Archives Card system.
• When you next visit a participating archive, you will either be logged as a Day Reader or given an Archives Card.

How to receive your Archives Card

When you next visit us (or any other participating archive), you will need to bring two forms of ID:

• one with a signature, and
• one with an address

For a full list of accepted identity documents please see ‘What ID documents do I need to show?’

After we have seen the required ID, we can issue you with your own Archives Card which is valid for 5 years and can be used at over 40 archives around the country. All you need to do is present your Archives Card whenever you visit a participating archive.

If you have registered, but don’t have ID on you, we can alternatively log you as a Day Reader but you won’t receive your card on the visit.

If you forget your card, we can search for you on the Archives Card system and log your visit.

COVID-19: Please note that as we re-open the service, we may decide to log you as a Day Reader to minimise the handling of cards. You must register for an Archives Card before you visit the service.

If you have any questions about the Archives Card scheme please email us at archives.service@eastriding.gov.uk or contact the Archives and Records Association’s Archives Card Team directly at aracommercial@archives.co.uk