Who are we and what we do
What is PRONI?
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) is the official archive for Northern Ireland. It is a government organisation which operates as part of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
(DCAL) within the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS)What does PRONI do?
PRONI aims to:- identify and preserve records of historical significance;
- make these records easily available to the public for their information, education and enjoyment;
- encourage the wider use of archives amongst all sectors of the community;
- meet legal requirements for public access to information, such as Freedom of Information and Data Protection legislation;
- liaise with government departments and the wider public sector regarding the management of their current records and transfer of historical records to PRONI;
- promote best practice in archival and records management;
- input into archival policy making and the improvement of archival services in Northern Ireland and the UK.
As part of its remit, PRONI provides a variety of services to members of the public (for example research and document copying facilities) and Government departments and public bodies (for example advice and guidance on records management).
How does PRONI operate?
PRONI employs around 90 staff. The workforce is made up of a diverse team of people, including archivists, conservators, records managers, IT professionals, management, administrative and support staff. PRONI is divided into a number of functional areas:
How does PRONI operate?
PRONI employs around 90 staff. The workforce is made up of a diverse team of people, including archivists, conservators, records managers, IT professionals, management, administrative and support staff. PRONI is divided into a number of functional areas:- Senior Management and Divisional Support Services
Responsible for the strategic management of PRONI, staff, finances, IT, premises etc. - Public Services
Responsible for ‘front-of-house’ services, education and outreach, responding to enquiries from members of the public etc. - Records Management, Cataloguing and Access
Responsible for reviewing records to assess their historical significance, compiling catalogues to make access to the records easier, responding to requests to view ‘closed archives’, dealing with Freedom of Information queries relating to historical records etc. - Preservation and Collection Management
Responsible for the storage, retrieval, preservation and conservation of all PRONI documents.
How is PRONI improving archive services for our customers?
PRONI has two flagship projects currently underway:- Electronic catalogue (eCATNI) project
We are in the process of copying all the information in our paper catalogues into a digital, searchable database. This will make accessing information quicker and easier and allow our users to carry out a lot of their preliminary research off-site. When complete, the eCatalogue will be available here in PRONI and subsequently online. - New accommodation project
The volume of documents PRONI holds is constantly increasing and visitor numbers continue to rise. PRONI has effectively out-grown its current accommodation.
We are currently undertaking a project that will provide a new purpose built archive facility in Belfast. The new premises are scheduled for completion in August 2010 and will open to the public in April/May 2011.
