Visiting the Archives

Sindh Archives welcome everyone, whether you are a professional researcher, writer, educationalist or student. The website is intended to provide basic information about our collection and available facilities. Much of Sindh Archives collection has not been digitized and is only available in physical form. To use this material, you will have to visit one of our locations. This section provides all the practical information you need to organize a visit.

Hours:
Sindh Archives is open Monday-Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Parking
Parking is available in the basement of the new Archives building for about 50 vehicles. Bus parking is not available inside but have to park it outside the Archives.

Types of Visitors and their Reasons to pop in?
Very few populace approached us in past but from last couple of months, frequency of visitors has improved a bit. The reasons of their visits are diverse. Here are a few examples:

Educationalist and Students:
Educationalist employ the Sindh Archives to develop primary-source, document-based lesson plans and to help bring history alive for their students. Many students use the archives for research projects. While researchers to conduct research at Sindh Archives.

Historians:
Visitors come to Sindh Archives to see historical documents and discover how they reflect our history. We also offer tours for groups. Exhibits are often on display as well.

Land Researchers:
Government institutions have used map settle land-boundary disputes.
Archaeologists:
Maps that were created years back are being utilized today by archaeologists to help locate the remains of buildings and to plan excavations.

Architects:
Many of the designs used by the Government to build forts, post offices, lighthouse, and offices across the country are housed in Sindh Archives. As a result, architectural historians and preservationists look at these records when exploring different building styles and in helping city planners save important historic buildings.

Museum Curators:
Museum curators develop displays based on research or fascinating discoveries from Sindh Archives. Even hobbyists find the Archives useful.

Writers:
Biographers, novelists, and movie and television screenwriters sometimes enlist the help of Archives to make their books, shows more accurate and enjoyable.

Use of Archives

Admission:
Admission to Sindh Archives is always free.
Orientation
On your first visit, please ask a staff member to give you our 10-minute orientation / tour. This will help you understand the arrangement of materials. If at any time you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Registration
Most of the documents are available to everyone, although some of the material is subject to clauses due to matters of privacy. If you wish to use such documents, you must make a special application in each case.

Visitors using original records in the Manuscript Reading Room will be asked to complete a registration form using our online services or by reaching Sindh Archives, before beginning their research. This form is available at the Research room desk, and when completed, is given to the Special secretary for approval.

Onsite Research:

1. Preparing for your visit
When planning a visit, please contact the Archives staff to discuss your needs and to make an appointment. Please take the time to read the Regulations when you arrive or ask for a copy in advance. If you are still unclear, ask a member of the Archives staff for clarification. By signing the Archives Visitor form you are agreeing to uphold our rules.

To make the most efficient use of your time, please ,contact us in advance, There are a number of things you can do to streamline your visit. Many of the searches are time consuming and our resources are limited, so kindly state specific questions and your reasons for your demand. This enables us to concentrate on the most important issues related to each case.

Members of the public who wish to consult archives may arrange to have the required material reserved for them in advance of their visit to the Reading Room. Readers requesting material in advance should contact us provided they fulfill the following obligations:

They order the documents three working days in advance of their visit and intend visiting the Reading Room within the three following working days;
They quote in their email the precise reference of the documents they wish to consult;
They provide a return email address.

2. Requesting Materials
Requests for materials from the holdings are usually processed within a short time. Essential reference books are permanently available in the Reading Room. Archival holdings are requested using the printed form available on the desks in the Reading Room.

3. Photocopying:
On demand Photocopy of published material is allowed. For copies of unpublished material approval from the Special Secretary Archives is necessarily required. If you would like to make copies of documents, please advise the staff so that we can explain our procedures. For photocopying and for special services, such as digital scanning and photographic printing, are available upon request. In some cases, materials are available for viewing, but are not able to be copied. The copies of rare manuscripts will not be provided.

Small Quantity: A limited number of copies can be ordered and produced in a few minutes on most days of the week with the exception of Fridays. No photocopies are made on Fridays, and orders have to be made.
Bulk Orders: The same holds for bulk orders which amount to more than 10 copies. The photocopying ordering form should be duly filled and the necessary bookmarks placed to indicate clearly the parts of the documents to be copied.

4. Reproduction of Maps and Photographic Material
No on-site facilities exist for the reproduction of large-scale maps and photographs. In the case of maps, a special appointment and permission has to be granted for copies to be made. In the case of photos, reproductions made by hired photographers are usually approved, following an application guaranteeing certain conditions is presented.

5. Research room rules
Before the visitors consult records in the Research/Reading Room, they must agree to abide by the Rules for stated below:

  1. The Research/Reading Room is open to visitors holding approval issued by the Special Secretary Archives. Visitors are admitted to the Research/Reading Room only for the purpose of reading archives, finding aids or reference works.
  2. Visitors must sign the Attendance Book in the entrance hall on the ground floor each day.
  3. Visitors must observe silence except when consulting a member of staff.
  4. Visitors must not remove archives from the Research/Reading Room and are responsible for the safety of the archives produced to them until they are returned to the Supervisor.
  5. No personal belongings, except material for taking notes and personal computers, may be brought into the Research/Reading Room. Sindh Archives will not accept responsibility for visitors’ property.
  6. Nothing liable to cause damage to archives may be brought into, consumed or used in the Research/Reading Room. This includes food, drink, sweets (including cough sweets and chewing gum), newspapers, ball point pens, felt tip pens, fountain pens, ink, fluorescent or other markers, erasers, correction fluids or adhesives of any kind, sharp instruments including pencil sharpeners or staplers, all of which must be left out side reading rooms.
  7. Archives are fragile and must be treated with respect:
    1. Use book cushions whenever possible;
    2. Do not place clothing on the reading tables;
    3. Do not lean on, or place anything on, documents
    4. Do not mark, crease or fold documents
    5. Do not lick or moisten fingers before turning pages
    6. Do not place records or boxes on the floor
    7. Do not disorder or rearrange loose documents or remove tags from files
    8. Do not attempt to reorder documents yourself
    9. Do not turn the pages of documents with a pencil in the hand
    10. Please bring to the attention of the Supervisor documents that are disordered, damaged, defective or misfiled
    11. Please bring any problem to the attention of the Supervisor.
  8. Pencils only may be used for taking notes. Pencils and sharpeners are available at the desk in the Research/Reading Room. Pencils must not be sharpened at the reading tables and personal pencil sharpeners are forbidden.
  9. Archival materials must be used in the Archives Reading Room. Since they are unique or rare, they must be handled with great care. In some cases, the staff will provide you with gloves to wear. It is important that researchers maintain the order of items in a folder and the folders within a box.
  10. Taping devices and other electronic equipment may be used by arrangement with the Research/Reading Room staff, subject to space and table power sockets and without disturbance to others.
  11. The use of photographic equipment is prohibited except where special permission has been obtained from the Reading Room Supervisor in advance.
  12. The use of copying and tracing devices, as well as personal radios and stereos, is prohibited.
  13. The officer in charge has the authority to decid
  14. Whether a document or a group of documents is sufficiently robust to be handled and whether a document which is too fragile to be consulted, ought to be withheld.
    1. Whether photocopies can be made from volumes which in his/her opinion are too fragile to withstand the process.
    2. Whether a microfilm or other surrogate should be used rather than the original.
    3. Finding aids and reference books should be replaced on their shelves when no longer required. Please use the cushions provided when in use.
  15. Archives must not be published or reproduced without the written consent of the Special Secretary Archives.
  16. Permission to Visitors are granted subjected to compliance with the Rules. Failure to observe the rules, visitor may deprive of the privilege. Theft or concealment of archives and willful damage to archives are criminal offences may result legal action.

Note :
These Regulations exist to protect the records held here from damage or theft. Remember that in order to survive, these records must be handled with care as they are often irreplaceable. Please have consideration for future researchers like yourself.

Remote Research:
If you are looking for specific information or you are not able to visit the Archives, we will try to help you remotely. Visit contact us for information and suggestions on helping us to assist you. You can also drop us an email at our email address (Our email is mentioned on top of this page.)