Changes Coming to PROV

On the 9th of August the Public Records Office of Victoria will launch their new search and online ordering system which we are told will make ordering and managing your record and copy requests a whole lot easier. This system will replace their current catalogue 'Access the Collection'.

According to a statement made by the PROV, the upgrade will allow you to:

• View thumbnails as you search making digital records easier to find and download. 
• Select records as you search. 
• Order digital copies directly from the item page without needing to fill out a separate form.  
• Access your own personal Dashboard which will display your past and future orders, pick up and viewing times and links to copies. 

Your last two years of history will be maintained so that once the upgrade launches, you’ll be able to login as normal with your email address.

The statement also adds the following :
 
Researchers please note some changes to our services in the lead up to launch: 

• Ordering of records for North Melbourne will be suspended from the 26th of July until the new system comes online on the 9th of August.  
• And the North Melbourne Reading Room will be closed from 2 August to 7 August  to allow for the changeover. 

We appreciate your patience as we bring you our brand new system!  

Other benefits of the new system

• You can view the contents of a whole box (previously called a unit) directly from an individual item page, so you can see other records of a similar time or type on one screen.
• If the record you want to view has already been ordered by someone else, it can be added to your 'waitlist' so you will be notified as soon as it's available again. 
• Copy orders will remain in your Downloads section so that you can re-download your digital copy any time. 
• Looking for an old order? The Dashboard search bar will make this easier allowing you to quickly reference or re-order records you've previously ordered. 
• New collection items including digitised inquests from 1926 to 1937, existing passenger list indexes will include digitised records, 25,000 new photographs including Melbourne Harbour Trust and Education Department Publications Branch (digitised with the support of the Ross Trust).
• The majority of the Reading Room microfilm digitised by Ancestry will also be available online. 

Remember:

• You can order up to 24 records at any one time, 8 will be delivered per day, we will hold those records for you for 5 days but you can extend that hold (unless someone has placed a reserve order) via your Dashboard. 

Note: The catalogue terminology "unit" has changed to "box" and "consignment" to "record groupings" to make the collection more accessible to new researchers.

I have always found the PROV website easy to search and use, but most of my access is done remotely as I live some distance away and rarely have the time to visit one of their reading rooms.  As a result, I am really looking forward to exploring the changes they are making and look forward to the launch.