Our reading rooms are equipped with desktop personal computers (PCs) running Microsoft Office 2003. These PCs are available for use by researchers at no charge.
You can use a reading room PC to:
Documents you create in Word or Excel will be accessible to you from any PC in the reading room you were visiting when you typed them. (see Conditions of use below).
Just as you can access your documents from any PC in any reading room, so too can other researchers. We suggest you protect your documents with a password. Others will still be able to read them but will not be able to amend them. As a further security measure only our staff can delete them.
You can attach your documents to an email message, obtain prints of them, or copy them to disk. The duty reference officer will advise you of any charges (see Charges below).
To control the number of documents stored on each PC we may delete documents which have not been amended for more than 30 days. If you want your documents kept for longer you must arrange this with a reference officer.
Use of PCs is free of charge. You are also entitled to a number of laser printouts free of charge. You will be charged for any printing you do beyond this quota – see Fact Sheet 51 – Copying charges.
A time limit of two hours per session per researcher applies if others are waiting.
Some material on the Internet is protected by copyright. When printing or downloading material from the Internet you should read and observe any copyright directions provided by the author of the material.
Reference staff are available to provide general assistance but do not provide detailed instructions in using Microsoft Office applications or the Internet.
The use of reading room PCs is on the understanding that you will observe the following conditions. Failure to observe these conditions may result in you being denied access to a PC.
You must not attempt to tamper with the hardware, software or PC settings.
Do not try to fix hardware or software problems yourself. If you encounter problems please ask for assistance.
Some PCs in each reading room are reserved for those wishing to use the Archives' database. You may only use these PCs to access other applications if you first obtain the permission of a reference officer.
Reading room PCs are provided solely for study, reference and research use associated with your work in the reading room. Use for recreational purposes is not permitted.
You must not knowingly access Internet sites containing violent, pornographic, racist or other offensive material. The Archives monitors use of the Internet and will terminate access by those visiting such sites.
As a courtesy to others, unless you have their consent do not read, amend or copy their documents or read their email messages.
To help secure the Archives' network from computer viruses we have disabled the external drives (including CD and USB drives) on the PCs.
You can only move documents created on a PC by attaching them to an email message, using an internet-based email service.
You are welcome to bring your own laptop computer into the reading room for the typing of your notes. Most desks in the reading room are equipped with power points for this purpose. Please leave the laptop carrying case in the locker with your other personal possessions that are not needed in the reading room.
Comments or other feedback can be sent to archives@naa.gov.au
updated January 2008