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Research at the Noord-Hollands Archief

Access to the resources and reading rooms of the Noord-Hollands Archief is free. When you visit, you can register at the reception desk. You will receive a visitor number that you can use for requesting archives and which you can use for a next visit.

Our chatservice is available on Monday 09.00-12.30, Thuesday and Thursday 09.00-16.00, Wednesday and Friday 09.00-12.30 and 19.00-22.00. You can also reach us by e-mail: inlichtingen@noord-hollandsarchief.nl.

Exploring our collections

The majority of our archive collections is kept in a safe archive storage area. Only staff can access this area. An overview of our collections can be found under 'archievenoverzicht' (overview of archive collections) on our website and on the computers in our reading rooms. The online finding aids describe how the original documents can be requested from the storage area. Items from our library collection can also be requested digitally.

All books, photocopies, microfiches and microfilms in the cabinets in the reading room are self-service and can be accessed at any time.

Public and  protected information

Our archives and collections are mostly available for the public to consult. However, in some cases restrictions to access apply, for example in cases where data protection applies. The 'archievenoverzicht' will tell you if an archive is publically available to consult or not. If you would like to access non-publically available archives you can send us a request beforehand by email.

Where can I do my research?

The reading room of the Noord-Hollands Archief is situated at Jansstraat 40. Some archives are kept in an external depot and cannot be accessed directly, but need to be requested beforehand. In the 'archievenoverzicht' on our website under ‘kenmerken’ you will find where an archive or document is kept and how to request it. Before consulting archives kept at this external depot, please contact info@noord-hollandsarchief.nl. For more information about consulting archives please click here (in Dutch). Resources for family research, such as registers of inhabitants and registers of births, marriages and deaths can mostly be found online. A part of our library collection is also easily accessible from self-service cabinets in the reading room.

Part of our image collection is available through the ‘beeldbank’ on our website. You can download digital copies of most images in the image library for free.

Queries

If you have any questions on how to conduct your research, please visit the information desk. Our staff are happy to guide you through the resources available in the reading room and can assist in using the technology (computers, microfilm/fiche readers, photocopier) available. They can help you start your research, but will not be able to do research on your behalf.

Free WiFi

Access to WiFi is availabe in the reading room for free. You can find login details at the information desk.