New Kent History and Library Center

The new Kent History and Library Centre in Maidstone, due to open in Spring next year, is progressing well. The external structure is almost complete and work is now focusing on the internal works.

The archive storage areas have been watertight for some time to enable them to dry out and shelving to house the 14km of archive material is currently being installed. New facilities will include a community history room, a library, a digital studio and a conservation suite.

Collections will be moved into the new centre between December this year and next February. Work to prepare the collections for the move is also progressing, with the main collections at the Centre for Kentish Studies (CKS) now repackaged and barcoded. The focus will now be on the smaller collections and also on those at East Kent Archive Centre and the out-store at Kings Hill.

When the moving project started there was a large backlog of uncatalogued material. This has gradually been listed and catalogued by staff to make it easier to move and to make it more accessible in the new building. Although this backlog won’t be entirely cleared, thousands of records have been added to the catalogues (there are now almost 600,000 records on the online catalogue). The collections are now better documented than they’ve ever been. A significant amount of images have also been added, around 6,000, covering the whole county.

The CKS and East Kent Archive Centre are expected to close in mid-November, just before the new building is handed back to KCC. There is currently a microfilm-only service at CKS which will operate through until the centre closes. This will enable more staff to work on preparation of the collections for the move. Almost all of the most popular material has been microfilmed, but CKS apologise for any inconvenience caused by the lack of access to original records.

Whilst closed, the updated online catalogue will continue to be available via the web pages, with additional information and images. Canterbury Cathedral Archives will also be open (until the end of January when it closes for essential repairs). Ancestry.com will be available free at all Kent libraries and the twelve local history collections in the main district libraries will continue to provide information on local and family history.

Keep an eye on www.kent.gov.uk/archives for updates relating to the new building.