Templer Study Centre

Covid-19 update

The National Army Museum is closed now that London has entered the highest tier of local restrictions. It’s with regret that we are temporarily closing our doors once more, but we look forward to welcoming you back as soon as the situation allows.

Appointments and ordering items

Access to the Templer Study Centre will be by appointment only, and strictly controlled to limit numbers at any given time. Appointments will only be accepted with a minimum of 10 working days' notice, for a maximum of 10 items.

Readers may request a day and time to visit during the opening hours listed above, but confirmation will depend on staff availability. Please do not assume your booking is confirmed and do not arrive at the Templer Study Centre unless you have received a confirmation email in reply.

Appointment requests and pre-orders must be submitted by email (info@nam.ac.uk) and must include:

• The reader's full name
• The reader's ticket number
• The list of requested items (including all accession numbers) which can be a maximum of 10 items
• If you wish to view your requested items in a specific order
• The date(s) you are hoping to visit, including an estimated arrival time
• Any access needs

Additional items cannot be ordered on the day.

Please note that the Templer Study Centre provides access to the National Army Museum's collections of photographs, archives, books and periodicals, all of which can be searched on our Online Inventory. To search for archives, photographs, maps and charts held by the National Army Museum, please use the Search Objects section. To search specifically for books and periodicals, please use the Search Books section.

All other collections are kept at our Collections Storage Facility. Find out more about how to access these collections.

We encourage readers to limit the duration of their visit to as short as possible so that we can provide access to as many readers as possible. Please make us aware if you know you will only need a short visit, so we can accommodate others where possible.

Registration of new readers

The Templer Study Centre is pleased to be able to register new readers and renew existing reader tickets that have expired during the first phase of reopening.

For new reader tickets to be issued, we require readers to:

• Complete and return by email (info@nam.ac.uk) our Templer Study Centre reader application form (also available in Word format)
• Scan copies of two forms of identification (listed below) and send by email (info@nam.ac.uk) in advance of your planned visit to the Templer Study Centre. These must include: one form of identification to prove your name and photograph, the other to prove your permanent address. If any of your documents are in a language other than English, you must bring an official translation. If any of your documents have expired, we are unable to process your application.

Readers must send both their completed reader application form and scanned documents at the same time by email (info@nam.ac.uk). We recommend that these be sent a minimum of 10 working days' in advance.

When you arrive at the Templer Study Centre for your appointment, staff will ask to see your original documents and instruct you to hold them up to the Perspex screens that have been installed at the reception desk. Staff will then conduct a visual check of your original documents and, if satisfactory, your reader ticket be issued and the collection items you have pre-ordered be issued for consultation.

Accepted forms of photographic identification include:

• Driving licence
• Passport
• National identity card
• Home Office residency permit, indefinite leave to remain or police registration document
• Army, Ministry of Defence, Police, Customs or NHS identification card
• Academic institution (eg university ID card)
• The National Archives or British Library reader pass
• National Concessionary Travel Pass with photograph (eg bus pass or Freedom Pass)

Accepted forms of permanent address include:

• Driving licence with address (where the address has been officially entered by the issuing authority)
• Passport with address (where the address has been officially entered by the issuing authority)
• National identity card with address (where the address has been officially entered by the issuing authority)
• Utility bill dated within the last 3 months
• Bank, building society or credit card statement dated within the last 3 months
• Pension or benefit statement (showing current receipt of benefits) dated within the last 3 months
• HM Revenue and Customs statement dated to the current year
• Council tax bill dated to the current year
• TV licence dated to the current year
• Insurance policy dated to the current year
• Firearms / Shotgun licence (where the address has been officially entered by the issuing authority)
• Pilot's / Boatmaster's licence (where the address has been officially entered by the issuing authority)

Rules of access and collection handling guidelines

All of the usual Templer Study Centre rules of access and collection handling guidelines remain in force. In addition, readers are expected to observe the following safety information for the duration of their visit.

Rules of access

On the day of the appointment, readers must bring their reader ticket and confirmation email with them.

Please limit the number of personal items that you bring to the Templer Study Centre. The only items that readers will be permitted to bring into the reading room are:

• One phone or camera
• One laptop or tablet. We request that you bring your devices fully charged and do not take charging cables and/or international adaptors into the reading room unless absolutely necessary.
• One notepad and one pencil. Please note that Templer Study Centre staff will not be able to provide stationery (eg pencils or pencil sharpeners) to readers.

Limited locker facilities will be available for small bags and coats only. If required, one locker will be allocated to readers for the duration of their visit. The National Army Museum's cloakroom will be closed, so please do not bring suitcases, large bags or scooters during your visit.

Our on-site computer terminals, microfilm readers and open-browsing shelves will be unavailable. The Auchinleck Room's browsing shelves are also temporarily unavailable.

It is now compulsory in England to wear a face covering when visiting museums, libraries and public reading rooms. Readers are requested to bring and wear a face covering for the duration of their visit to the Templer Study Centre and when speaking to our staff. If you are exempt from wearing a face covering due to an age, health or disability reason, you may wish to show Templer Study Centre staff an exemption card, badge or homemade sign when you arrive. Exemption card templates can be found online.

Readers will be expected to have washed their hands prior to entering the Templer Study Centre and regularly throughout their visit. Hand sanitiser should not be used when in the Templer Study Centre.

On arrival at the National Army Museum, readers should let the Welcome Desk staff know that they are here for a pre-booked visit to the Templer Study Centre and show them the confirmation email. Readers will then be checked into the National Army Museum and directed to the Templer Study Centre.

Only one reader is allowed in the Templer Study Centre reception area at a time. If there is a queue at the door upon arrival, please maintain social distancing and remain outside the Templer Study Centre, at least 2 metres behind the next person, until you are able to move towards the reception desk.

When in the reception area, readers must stand on the green social distance markers in front of the Templer Study Centre reception desk, where they will receive further instructions on access.

Readers must follow social distancing rules, with at least a 2-metre distance observed at all times when in the Templer Study Centre and reading room.

Readers will be allocated a specific desk, which they will need to remain at when working throughout their research visit.

The items that you have requested to view will have been retrieved prior to your arrival. If you wish to view them in a specific order, please clearly outline this in the request email.

Once your reader card has been viewed, you have been signed in by Templer Study Centre staff and any additional belongings have been stored in your assigned locker, you will be requested to stand on the green social distance marker next to our transfer table. Staff will then place your first item on the transfer table.

Once the staff member has moved back to the reception desk, you may proceed to collect the item for viewing.

To return items once you have finished with them, place them back on the transfer table, and then move back to stand on the green social distance marker next to our transfer table. Staff will then retrieve the returned item and place the next item on the transfer table for you. This will be repeated until you have viewed all your requested items.

If readers are booked in for more than one day, please note that once a collection item has been accessed, we need to put items into quarantine for 72 hours. Readers will not be able to look at the same item again once it has been returned, and Templer Study Centre staff will not be able to hold items out for more than one visit.

If another reader is moving, retrieving or returning items, you are asked to remain at your seat until they have sat down or left the Templer Study Centre.

We ask readers to only remain in the reading room for as long as it takes to conduct their collections-based research, and not linger to complete writing or other personal work.

Readers are expected to complete their work by 3.05pm and to have promptly left the Templer Study Centre by 3.15pm. Please note that the National Army Museum closes to the public at 3.30pm.

Regular and thorough cleaning of all areas is being undertaken throughout the day, and collections items will be quarantined between users to ensure safe handing for the public and staff.

Collection handling guidelines

To ensure the safety of our collections, readers and staff, readers are expected to observe the following additional safety information when handling items.

Gloves are not permitted to be worn while handling collection items as gloves can cause damage.

Hand sanitiser should not be used immediately before handling collections as the alcohol in it can cause damage.

Readers are requested not move the safety screens between assigned desks.

Readers must only use the weights that have been left on their assigned desk and one book rest for the duration of their visit. Once finished, readers are requested to leave any used weights and book rests on their assigned desk. Readers can ask a member of staff for further weights and/or book rests if need.

Readers are requested to only use the maps table for consulting outsize material.

Readers should avoid touching door handles.

Digital access to collections

Before attempting to book a visit to the Templer Study Centre, we encourage the public to read our FAQs and website research advice to check if those assist in answering your research enquiry. Also, visit our Online Collection, as many items have been digitised and can be viewed online rather than in person. The Online Collection also often provides more details about items than the Inventory.

To better assist remote researchers and readers who are unable to visit the Templer Study Centre in person, we are making every effort to provide enhanced digital access where possible. Please complete and return by email (info@nam.ac.uk) the Templer Study Centre reprographics order form (also available in Word format) and we can advise on availability.

Please note that:

• Requests up to ten pages are free
• We charge a £5 admin fee and £1 per page on reproduction requests between 10 and 50 pages
• We are currently unable to process requests over 50 pages due to limited staff availability
• Oral Histories which have already been digitised will be provided remotely for free while they cannot be accessed in the Templer Study Centre
• Some collections are unable to be digitised for various reasons such as conservation or copyright restrictions
• All reprographics orders are for personal, non-commercial research purposes only. If you wish to reuse these images in any capacity (either in print or digitally), you will need to apply for a picture licence. For more information, please consult our Picture Library guidance.

If you have any further enquiries about accessing the collections during the first phase of reopening, please submit them by email to info@nam.ac.uk.

Data protection and Track and Trace

We will be recording the times that readers enter and leave the Templer Study Centre in order to reduce the risk of a local outbreak of coronavirus.

In line with guidance issued by the Department for Health and Social Care, your contact details will be held securely for 21 days in order to support NHS Test and Trace. Please see our Privacy Policy for further details.