THERE is a great deal of misinformation in the two letters about the City Archives (February 7). The fact is that councillors will be looking at an offer from the university.

No decisions have been taken and, if councillors decide to take it further, we will be consulting on all aspects of the proposal.

These are the key points.

Access for residents will be free. There will be free and full access for the council and its partners - with the added benefit of use of Borthwick material for exhibitions

It will be a partnership with a clear contract to ensure the council and its customers get what they need.

Ownership of the collections stays with the council and there will be a joint board to make sure customers have a say in how things operate.

The university's offer is not linked to a new modern records facility (we will have to provide this anyway) and the cost of that will not be £80,000.

Benefits would include a £6.3 million state-of-the-art facility offering greatly- improved care of the city's archival heritage and far more conservation resources. Two reading rooms are included, with seating for up to 50 people, 20 microfilm readers, and a study suite for groups.

The plans allow greatly-improved access to the city's collections with more opening hours and greater IT provision for virtual access, solving the serious current problems at the City Archive and the Borthwick in one go.

Improved management of the collections will tackle the backlog of cataloguing - making material much more accessible.

Councillor Alan Jones,

Executive member for leisure and heritage,

City of York Council,

Guildhall, York.

...THERE are still misunderstandings about the changes to the City Archives. If the archive were to move:

Access to the archives would be free to members of the public as it has been for the last 50 years at the Borthwick - the university would not charge "£15 an hour for access".

Hours of access would be greatly increased and would include weekends, lunch-times and two evenings a week.

Five qualified archivists would share responsibility for the archive. In addition, a full-time conservator would oversee the preservation and conservation of the City Archives. These resources are not available at present.

Many local people consult the City Archive and the numerous archives in the Borthwick in the course of their research and value both institutions and their staff very highly. They must be mystified by the appearance of a division when, for them, none exists.

Hilary Layton,

Press and Public Relations Officer, The University of York,

Heslington, York.

...FOLLOWING my representation to the shadow executive in opposition to the City Archive plans put forward by Charlie Croft, head of leisure, the proposals have now been called in for further scrutiny at a meeting tomorrow at 2pm in the Guildhall.

The shadow executive shared my grave concerns that, while Mr. Croft has sought all manner of learned and august opinions from national bodies on this subject, he has, until now, totally neglected to consult any of the local bodies in the city - preferring, no doubt, to seek their opinion on detail only after the major agreement to the move in principle has already been reached. That will then be too late.

I pleaded with the city fathers to not allow the "crown jewels" of this city's priceless heritage to be handed over to the unelected and unaccountable institution in a suburban village which the university represents.

In response to Mr Worsley's letter (February 6), the premises the City Archives now occupy (unsatisfactory as they are) have never been part of the Art Gallery itself. The premises to the right of the Exhibition Buildings were always occupied by the York School of Art. After the college's move to Tadcaster Road, the City Archives were rehoused there many years ago.

I have it on very good authority that, if the archives are ever ousted to Heslington, the space vacated is due to become a caf for the Art Gallery - not further display or storage space. Hardly a very valid use in return for "giving away" 800 years of York City history to the university.

Peter Stanhope,

Friends of the City Archives.

Grange Close, Skelton, York.

Updated: 11:23 Tuesday, February 12, 2002