Publishing / Citing State archives

Publishing State archives

How to request permission to use State archives

Your request should be in writing and include full details of the archives and how you plan to use them.

A full description or ‘citation’ of the records will assist us in identifying the material you want to use and minimise delays in granting permission. Please see below under the section Citing State archives for more information.

There are three ways to request permission:

1. Email info@records.nsw.gov.au 
2. Fill in the online request form
3. Write to: 

Senior Archivist, Research and Publications
NSW State Archives
PO Box 516
Kingswood NSW 2747

How we provide permission

We will respond to your request in writing, attaching our standard terms and conditions. Any variations or additions to the standard terms for a particular request will be included in the letter of permission.

Fees for permission to use State archives

We may charge a fee if you intend to charge others for access to a copy of a State archive or include the material in advertising or a product for sale.

A note about fragile or damaged documents

Fragile and damaged material may not always be able to be copied if it is likely to cause further deterioration.

What is not covered by us

We can only provide permission to use copyright material where the State of New South Wales holds the copyright. The State of New South Wales does not necessarily own all the copyright or other intellectual property rights in records held as State archives.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have all the necessary consents from all the owners of copyright, moral rights, trade marks and other intellectual property rights in the materials you want to use in compliance with the Copyright Act 1968 (Commonwealth) and any other relevant legislation before using the material.

Permission from other public offices

You may also need to obtain permission from the relevant public office before publishing or distributing copies of State archives. This includes material such as the photographs from the former Aborigines Welfare Board.

We will inform you if the State archives you wish to use are covered by such a policy.

Citing State archives

How to find the information for a citation

When you reproduce or refer to State archives in a publication or paper, you should cite them accurately. This will help other researchers to use them in the future.

An archives citation is different from a reference to a publication like a book. Archives are maintained in the order in which they were created and kept.

The method of citation described here reflects change to NSW State Archives' cataloguing practice and is the same as the method suggested by the National Archives of Australia.

An archives citation identifies:

• the archives institution holding the record (NSW State Archives, in the case of NSW State archives)
• (optional) the agency that created the record
• the record series of which the record is part
• the record item itself, and
• (optional) a copy reference, such as a microfilm reel number, when you viewed the record using such a copy.

Please contact us if you need more information about citing State archives.

Frequently used record series

You can find the details you need for a citation in the catalogue if the record item is listed there. Alternatively use the details available in our published guides and the item lists in our reading room. Please ask one of the archivists for help if you are unfamiliar with these sources or if you need to consult another finding aid.

Abbreviated and expanded citations

An abbreviated citation provides the essential details for identifying a record item and is generally all that is required. Sometimes, however, it is helpful to give an expanded citation, for example in a full biography, or if you are using only footnotes and no bibliography, the first time you cite an item or an item from a particular series (see below).

Examples

Using the elements in a citation

Please note the standard punctuation used to separate the elements.

Element	Abbreviated citation	Expanded citation
Archives institution	NSWSA:	NSW State Archives:
	Note: 'NSWSA' may be used after a first citation or where it appears in a list of abbreviations used
Creating agency	Not used	Colonial Secretary;
		Supreme Court of NSW, Probate Division;
	Note: where the record series was created by more than one agency, cite the agency whose date range corresponds to the date of the record item being cited
Record series	Use series number only	Use series number, title and date range
	NRS 4354,	NRS 4354, Health building files [H files], 1935-91.
	NRS 897,	NRS 897, Main series of letters received, 1788-1825.
	NRS 12212,	NRS 12212, Registers of convicts applications to marry, 1825-51.
	NRS 15905,	NRS 15905, Nominal Roll of the First Railway Section, Australian Imperial Expeditionary Forces (AIF), 1917-20.
	NRS 13660,	NRS 13660, Probate packets.
	Note: a series number can have an NRS (New South Wales Records Series) prefix.
Record item	Use item number or control symbol only	Use item number or control symbol, item title or description, and item date or date range
	H.4037/1	H.4037/1 Bloomfield Hospital, Orange, water supply (Mins. 1-128), 1957-59
	[4/1836B pp 941-944] No 212	[4/1836B pp.941-944] No 212 Memorial re Thomas Connell, 7 August 1824,
	[4/4510 p 014-014a],	[4/4510 pp.014-014a] James Smith per Hooghley and Mary Murphy per Brittania, 14 Aug 1837,
	[1] p 044	[1] p.044 William Childs
	Series 4-152266	Series 4/152266 James Smith Hollisen - Date of Death 15/12/1927, Granted on 26/06/1928
Copy reference	COD, Fiche, Reel	Use COD, Reel, Fiche numbers
	Fiche 3083	Fiche 3083
	COD 13, Reel 713, Fiche 786	COD 13, Reel 713, Fiche 786
	Reel 3050	Reel 3050

Multiple items from the same series in an expanded citation

If you are citing several record items from the same series it is not necessary to repeat all the elements of an expanded citation. The following format is appropriate in these circumstances:

NSW State Archives: Colonial Secretary; NRS 897, Main series of letters received, 1788-1825.

• [4/1850 p.65] Petition for mitigation of sentence, 1817, Fiche 3175;
• [4/1836B pp 941-944] No 212 Memorial re Thomas Connell, 7 August 1824, Fiche 3083.

Donations of published material

We maintain a small reference library for use by staff and researchers. We would be most grateful if authors of publications that relate to our records donate a copy to the library.