Archives catalogue
Descriptions of our collections are searchable via our online archives catalogue, or via the Archives Hub, but as yet, the catalogue is not fully comprehensive.
If you are searching for an occasional paper, please email the Archivist.
For this content please visit our History of psychiatry resources page, under 'Primary sources'.
Faculty newsletters can be accessed by searching using the word 'newsletters'.
Special Interest Group (SIG) newsletters can be accessed by searching using the phrase 'special interest group'.
Digitising old newsletters
If you have paper copies of old newsletters which are not available online, we would be happy to digitise them and add them to the archives. Please contact the Archivist or Claire Hilton, Honorary Archivist and see 'Donations' on our About the archives page.
Terminology used in the catalogue
The RCPsych aims to conform to the International Council on Archives standards for its archive description and cataloguing.
- The reference number given for your document may appear unwieldy. ‘GB 2087’ is the National Archives Depository classification system number for the RCPsych Archives collection. You can ignore it if you are requesting documents from our archivist.
- The various letters and numbers in the reference are RCPsych catalogue codes e.g. ‘L’ means ‘Faculty’ and ‘7’ stands for ‘old age’.
- You will also come up with archival terms such as fonds, ‘groups of documents that share the same origin and that have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an agency, individual, or organisation.’ Other terms in the hierarchical classification system – series – sub-series – file – item – are more self-explanatory.
- Some archives are unavailable to researchers, closed for a specified period because they contain confidential (usually personal) information .