Jobs could be axed at Kew’s National Archives because of a surge in users wanting to look at documents online, it emerged this week.

Bosses at the archives announced they were considering closing the Kew reading room to users on Mondays, effectively cutting the service down from six to five days a week.

The move has been suggested to help reduce running costs and bolster finances in response to the growth in demand from online customers, who now account for more than 90 per cent of the centre’s usage.

A spokeswoman for the archives said it was too early to speculate how many people might be affected but explained: “We won’t need as many staff to cover those five days - it will impact on staff in some way.

“We are doing everything we can to avoid any compulsory redundancies.”

In addition to reading room opening hour changes a proposal to charge visitors to park in the site’s car park has also been put forward.

Chief executive at the archives, Natalie Ceeney said: “We believe this approach will keep the National Archives world-class and will continue to secure access to our unique collection for generations to come.”

Staff and trade unions were informed of the details on Monday and will now enter into consultation over the next couple of months.

A meeting in which the public can voice their opinions over the proposed changes is being held on Saturday, July 11, at 10am in the Talks Room, First Floor Reading Room.

Bosses expect the changes will be implemented from early September 2009.

The first public consultation discussion took place yesterday.

What do you think of the proposed changes? Have your say at rttimes.co.uk