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Author: Public Record Office Victoria

Open records in the state archives are available to PROV’s Reading Room visitors such as historians, writers, genealogists and students for the purposes of research. But organising a trip to our Reading Rooms is not always practical, and the expectation is that we will digitise and provide online access to as many records as we can.

Currently many historic records are digitised and available on our website, and visitors can request copies of open records not already online. In August we will be launching a new online system that will allow us to publish these ad hoc copies straight to our site. But just because we can publish all copies we make, does that mean we should?

We recognise that some kinds of frequently copied records may not be suitable to publish.

We want to hear your thoughts about online publishing of open public records that contain graphic, distressing or personal information of people both living and deceased.

Your feedback will help us establish guidelines around what we will publish and help us to better understand the needs and expectations of our users.

Fill in our survey here.