Visiting us

The search room is located on the second floor of Carmarthen Library.

By Train

The nearest mainline station is Carmarthen, which is just a 10-15 minute walk from the library.

By Bus

The latest bus and travel information, including a journey planner, can be found on the bus services page.

Parking

St Peter's Street Car Park is located across from the Library and Archives building. See the parking page for further details.

When you visit us you will need:

• Archives Card: A valid Archives Card is essential if you wish to view original documents in the search room. If you do not already have an Archives Card, please register for one in advance of your visit. The Archives Card is free of charge. You can complete most of the registration process yourself. Unfortunately, the old County Archives Research Network (CARN) tickets are no longer valid.
• Pencils: To help protect our documents we only allow pencils to be used in the search room.
• Notebook/loose paper; Notebooks or loose sheets of paper are permitted in the search room. Ring binders, folders and plastic wallets are not permitted.
• Laptop/Tablets: You are welcome to bring laptops and tablets for use in the search room.
• Camera: Digital cameras can be used, but we charge a fee and some collections are subject to restrictions.

There are lockers situated outside the search room for the storage of personal belongings such as coats, jackets, bags and briefcases as they cannot be taken into the search room. For further information please see our search room rules.

Mobile phones are permitted in the work room but must be switched to silent.

Our public search room is equipped for independent study with access to the Local Studies section in the library. The enquiry desk is available for document requests from the strongrooms under supervised viewing. In addition we have:

• Ample study tables including an area specifically for viewing maps and larger documents.
• Shelves and drawers filled with our indexes and catalogues.
• A range of family history, local history and relevant reference books to support your research.
• Free public Wi-Fi available throughout the building

We do our best to meet visitors' access requirements, so please do not hesitate to ask if there is anything we can do to assist during your visit.

• An induction hearing loop is fitted at the search room desk.
• The search room tables are height adjustable to accommodate wheelchairs
• Microfilm and fiche readers with large magnification are available in the
• Animals are not permitted in the building, however, service dogs are welcome.
• Children are welcome in all the public areas including the search room. You are welcome to bring books or toys to keep them entertained.

We offer visits for groups looking to find out more about Carmarthenshire Archives and its holdings. All visits are fully accessible, and include:

• An introduction to the service
• A tour of the building, including:
• An introduction to using the search room
• A look inside our Strongrooms to see where our documents are kept
• Time to explore a number of original documents relating to your local area or a topic of interest

We provide a range of workshops for school groups to explore the archives in an interactive and hands on way. The workshops are cross-curricula and cover subject areas such as local history, geography, science, numeracy and literacy.

To book a workshop or for further information, please contact us to arrange a date and discuss your visit. We recommend a pre-visit where you will meet one of our team who will talk you through the workshop and walk you through the building.