Who controls your data
The data controller is Derbyshire County Council, except when you register to use original archives in our search room, when the data controller is the Archives and Records Association (ARA ). As a data processor, our access to the data controlled by ARA is very limited.
Information we collect and why
Search room access
If you want to use the archives in the search room, you'll need to give your name and contact details, including home address. We collect this on behalf of the Archives and Records Association (ARA) so we can issue you with an Archives Card. This card forms part of a nationwide scheme for access to original archive sources and you will need to show us evidence of your identity to register. If you don't have any with you, we can let you have a temporary access card. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have suspended the issuing of new Archives Cards, so for now we can only give you a temporary card.
If you apply under a legal exemption to use archives that are ordinarily kept closed under the Data Protection Act, we'll keep the application form, which includes your name and address.
In all these cases, the information is needed to fulfil a contract for the provision of access to the archives. If you register for an Archives Card, your contract is with ARA. In all other cases, it is with us. If you do not want to give your details, you can access other public areas, but not the search room.
Archives and local studies enquiries
If you contact Derbyshire Record Office with an enquiry relating to the documents we look after, we'll keep the enquiry, our reply and your contact details. This helps us fulfil our Public Task to make proper arrangements for the documents in our care, set out in Section 224 of the Local Government Act 1972.
Central government guidance explains that ‘proper arrangements’ should include provision for preservation of the documents and public access to them.
Keeping your details also helps us provide good customer service.
Our visitor books
If you visit Derbyshire Record Office, you'll be asked to fill in the visitor book, giving your name, postcode and vehicle registration. We use the information with your consent, to compile statistics about how many people visit us, and how far they travel to get here. It also helps us administer the car park. We do not allow anyone to leaf through the book to see who is in the building, but if you prefer to preserve privacy by only giving your initials, that’s fine.
If you're only going to be in our public areas, you do not have to fill in the visitor book.
To enter controlled areas (for example, if you are a maintenance contractor) you must complete the visitor book, so we can account for you in the event of a building evacuation. We have a legal obligation to have adequate fire safety measures under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
How long we keep your information
We use the retention schedules, especially the one for leisure and culture. Generally, this means we keep your data for 6 years from the end of the financial year. However, we keep things for shorter periods:
- if you register as a temporary user, we will only keep your registration details for 3 years
- when the visitor book is full, we can destroy it straight away, as suggested by the corporate property retention schedule
Requests to reproduce or publish items in archive collections are treated differently from other enquiries. We file them permanently, for effective collections management. This is on a public task basis, as described in the donors and depositors privacy notice.
Sharing your information
Apart from ARA, we do not share your information with anyone else. We do not ordinarily share your information unless the law says we must, for instance, if the police ask for your information while they're investigating a crime.
We can also make an exception in our legitimate interests. For instance, if we ever need to take legal action against you, we'll pass your details to our legal services department.
Keeping your information safe
We keep your registration details under lock and key, and lock away the visitor book any time it is out of our sight. We are committed to protecting personal data and have data policies and procedures in place to ensure that it is safeguarded.
Your rights and who to contact about them
You can find out more about your rights as a data subject but here are the main things you need to know:
- if you want a copy of your own information, please ask us
- if you want your name to be deleted from our visitor book, please ask us
- if you want to complain about how we handle your personal data you can contact the data protection officer:
- you have the right to contact the Information Commissioner
Find out other ways of getting in touch with us.