Archive Department
The Librarian of the College of Arms, currently Peter O'Donoghue, York Herald, oversees the Archive Department. This department is responsible for the preservation, ordering, and cataloguing of the archive and library, and the accession of new acquisitions. The department's Archivist, Dr Lynsey Darby, also arranges the many loans of College manuscripts to major exhibitions in the United Kingdom and overseas.
Recent loans of this kind have been made to the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tower of London, and the National Maritime Museum, in London. The department also maintains a small students' room for academic or scholarly research. To contact the Archive Department please contact the Officer in Waiting in the first instance.
Conservation Department
The College of Arms maintains a respected Conservation Department, headed by Christopher Harvey, which is dedicated to the conservation and preservation of the College's large archive of manuscripts and its library of printed books.
Working closely with the Archive Department, and overseen by Clive Cheesman, Richmond Herald, the conservators perform all necessary repairs on volumes in the College's custody, including rebinding, and undertake other collections-management tasks.
Much of the Department's conservation work is generously funded by donations via the College of Arms Trust.