Frequently Asked Questions
The National Trust repository and the Shared Repository Beta Service
1. What content is held in the National Trust's repository?
The repository contains research outputs by National Trust staff, such as journal articles, book chapters, conference papers, books, and research reports. We launched the repository in autumn 2023 and will continue to add new content.
2. Is everything available to download?
Where a full text copy of the item is held, it is available to read and download for your research. Sometimes publisher licence restrictions do not allow us to hold the full file; in those cases, an ‘Official URL’ link usually leads to the full item.
3. What kind of research does the National Trust do?
Our research provides us with the knowledge and evidence needed to protect and care for the nation’s heritage and to make it accessible to all. Our Strategic Framework for Research outlines our programme of research to directly support the National Trust’s strategic ambitions. Our priority research areas (2022 – 2027) are:
· Climate action: research will identify the best ways to help our places adapt to future climates, and to restore and create carbon-rich habitats.
· Everyone welcome: research will shape how we help people to connect with nature and culture, increase the number and diversity of our visitors, and address unequal access to nature, beauty and history.
· Looking after: research will help inform the decisions we take for conservation of the landscapes, buildings and objects in our care.
· Land and nature: research will help us understand what actions make the biggest difference to nature and create more joined up landscapes for wildlife. It will drive the best ways to revive and restore our woodlands, wildflower meadows and waterways.
· Curation and experiences: research will uncover hidden histories and help people connect to our places and enjoy their stories, so we can celebrate the glorious diversity of our heritage, culture, and natural environment.As an Independent Research Organisation (IRO), our staff take undertake research in many different ways, often as a core part of their role, and often in partnership with other research organisations.
4. Who can deposit content?
Items in the repository have at least one creator or contributor who is a member of National Trust staff.
Material not produced by or in association with National Trust staff is not eligible for inclusion.
5. What is the ‘relevance’ order of search results?
When sorted by relevance, results are displayed according to an algorithm taking account of the frequency and position of the search terms within each item and across all content. Your search term might occur in the files as well or instead of the displayed metadata.
Note you can change the display order to show search results by date of publication.
6. Can I re-use the items for my research?
Research outputs are made available in the Repository on terms agreed with the authors/depositors of the outputs. As a user you may use the items only if you abide by the licence or other terms under which it has been released, e.g. the terms of a specific Creative Commons Licence. Where no licence is displayed, unless indicated otherwise items made publicly available in the Repository are protected by copyright with all rights reserved.
Sometimes individual files have their own file-level licences, and these may be different for each file where there's more than one. Look for licence information at the record level and also at the file level. Licence information is only displayed where known.
7. What is the Shared Research Repository?
The National Trust repository is part of a collaborative service which brings together the research outputs of a number of Independent Research Organisations (IROs), i.e. non-Higher Education organisations in receipt of public funding for their research. The Shared Research Repository provides a window on the research produced by such organisations through a single point of access and discovery.
Each partner has its own repository which can be searched separately, but you can also explore the combined content of all partners by clicking on the green ‘Shared Research Repository’ bar at the top of each page. When a search is done at this level, results indicate the museum, gallery, archive or library responsible for that research.
8. What IROs are involved in the service and how is it managed?
The IROs are the British Museum, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), National Museums Scotland, National Trust and the British Library. The British Library hosts the shared service and is exploring options for extending the service.
9. What research outputs do the other repositories contain?
We are all UK cultural or heritage organisations – museums, galleries, archives, libraries and data institutions, and our research is often based around our collections. Items include “German music broadsheets, 1500 – 1550” (BL, book chapter); “Wild and Majestic: Romantic views of Scotland” (NMS, exhibition); “A revision of Scleria (Cyperaceae) in Madagascar” (RBG Kew, journal article); “Pudding Mill Lane (Crossrail XSK10)” (MOLA, archaeological dig dataset); “Dolphins at the British Museum: Zoomorphic Calusa Sinkers” (British Museum, journal article).
10. How can I get in touch about an item in the National Trust repository?
For general enquiries about the repository, use the contact form from the Repository’s home page. If you are the owner of the copyright or related rights in any of the material in the Repository and you believe that use of this material infringes your intellectual property or any other rights, or you believe that the material may be subject to a third party ownership or another legal claim, please contact us in writing as indicated in the Contact page.
To enquire about an item held in any of the other repositories, consult the Terms of Use at the bottom of each repository.
11. How can I find out more?
We would be delighted to tell you more about our repository and the shared service. For queries about the Shared Repository Service please use the contact form on the Contact page. For queries specifically relating to the National Trust repository, please send us an email to get in touch.