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The National Archives has launched a new search facility to provide easier access to our records.

'Beta' launch

The Discovery service has been released in 'beta', or test, form, and we are keen to get your feedback on how it can be improved.

The new service enables you to filter search results by subject, date and series origin, as well as introducing map-based searching.

Millions of individual document descriptions have been tagged using a list of more than 100 subject categories ranging from crime to shipping, nationality to tithes. The new system helps you to easily navigate your way through our collection and pinpoint the document you are looking for among the millions held at The National Archives.

Development plans

We are working to further enhance the service with features including advanced and saved searches, prominent person and place recognition, user sign-in and the integration of paid-for services such as DocumentsOnline and the bookshop. As these are developed, they will be released on our Labs site, for you to try out and tell us what you think. 

User involvement

We want to get feedback on the new system from current users of the Catalogue as well as first-time users, and will be holding a series of workshops over coming months.

The current Catalogue was has been in use since 1998 and the number of entries has doubled during the past decade to hold more than 11 million catalogue descriptions. The switch to the new system will be gradual but a 'future-proof' design means it will be better able to adapt over time as more and more documents are added to the collection. This is your chance to help influence the development of this exciting new project.

Try the new system and give us your feedback.

The Discovery service is accessible via the The National Archives Labs testing site and our Records homepage.