Are there any standards for public records offices? (General)

by rookancestrybest , United Kingdom, Thursday, October 04, 2012, 21:17 (4428 days ago)

I've been to a number of public records offices and they vary in quality. I am wondering if anyone knows whether there are any regulations governing the standards of the work their staff do? I've found some relating to how they keep documents but I am more concerned about the standard of assistance and advice from staff. I have had three experiences of unhelpful offices and some more positive ones elsewhere. Though none of the negative experiences were in Gloucestershire they were related to my looking for information for families who had moved from the F of D to other parts of the country. In one case I went to an office a considerable distance away from the city where I live, and found the door closed and the place inaccessible despite it having opening times. I did get an apology in that case as it should have been open, but though they said I could make an appointment to go back it is too far away to go there again (they didn't offer to find me the information I was seeking though!) Is there any kind of regulatory body?
I think people need to be aware that the Who Do You Think You Are? programmes on the ITV give the impression that staff will bend over backwards to help people to conduct family history research when in fact the reality is different.
I also experienced the curator of an art gallery making derisory comments about an artist when I don't think it was her place to do so.