The Records Management Unit plays an important role in both assisting local authorities to manage their records for administrative purposes as well as selecting records for preservation as archives.

Cumbria Records Centre

The Records Management Unit is based at the Cumbria Records Centre in Carlisle where the majority of the records are stored.  This specially converted building provides secure, low-cost storage for the equivalent of 1000 office filing cabinets.

Sixty per cent of the records held at Cumbria Records Centre are semi-current administrative records of County Council departments.  These are no longer in frequent use but need to be retained for occasional reference.  The rest belong to district councils and other public bodies.

Records Management Unit Services

Secure, low-cost storage.

Arrangement, listing and appraisal of records by professional staff. Records are appraised for their long-term value so that those which have ceased to be useful can be securely destroyed and those which remain of use to departments, the Council and the public are preserved.

External records management services, providing advice about the management of records which remain in active use in departmental offices.

Access to and information from stored records.

Can the Public have access to Cumbria Records Centre?

Cumbria Records Centre itself is NOT open to the public.  As many of its records are semi-current administrative records they are only open to the depositing department of authority at present.  Even where they have been selected for preservation as archives they may be closed to the public for long periods, for example where they contain confidential, personal details.

Some records for which the Records Management Unit has responsibility are open to the public and can be ordered from catalogues in the public record offices in the usual way.  If the records are kept at the Cumbria Records Centre or an outstore then a minimum of 24 hours notice is required to make them available for reference in the public searchrooms.  Staff in the public offices will be able to offer advice.

Please read the general information about using the Cumbria Record Offices if planning a visit to any of our public offices.