Skip to main content
Archives and Special Collections
Winter 2017 Between Worlds, and Dante exhibitions in Palace Green

Virtual Search Room

A bond by Robert Ogle, lord of Ogle and Bothal, to John Bentley for merchandise, sealed in 1524 by Ogle and the mayor of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Eden Papers EDE B1/10)Bond by Robert Ogle, Lord of Ogle and Bothal, to John Bentley for merchandise, sealed in 1524 by Ogle and the mayor of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Eden Papers EDE B1/10).

Our virtual service is available to enable Durham University members and external researchers to consult our collections remotely, by booking in time with a member of staff and a digital visualiser. We offer Virtual Search Room appointments to view items housed at both Palace Green Library and Ushaw College Library. Virtual Search Room appointments at Palace Green are available once a fortnight on Wednesdays, between 9am and 4:30pm GMT. If you are interested in viewing material from Ushaw College Library, please contact us to ask about available dates.

Please use the online form to register an interest in this service.

  • This is a free service and available to all
  • You are able to book a one-hour sessions on a Wednesday. Please give us three working days’ notice. Currently we are only able to offer a single one-hour session per fortnight, though you can book follow-up appointments if needed
  • Items requested must be inaccessible elsewhere and not already online
  • An item's condition or format must be suitable for presentation in this way

How it works

A member of our Archives and Special Collections staff will operate a digital visualiser to live stream an overhead view of an item to your PC or laptop. All you will need is an email account, access to Microsoft Teams, an internet browser and, as the live stream has audio, a working speaker and a microphone. We can answer the odd question as necessary, just as we would in our Search Room in normal times but cannot offer detailed interpretation or contextualisation.

How much material to request

Virtual Search Room sessions might be best used to closely consult a very small number of documents or items or to browse a few files in order to narrow down a list of items to be copied. When we have received your form, we will review your request and then be in touch to confirm or advise further.