Report: House of Commons Library Virtual Tour 4th April 2024

The tour of the House of Commons Library took place on 4^th April at lunchtime and was conducted by Amina Gual with thanks to Valerie Bearne for organising.

The library looks over the Thames and is based in an interesting part of Parliament on the Principal floor which is a prime spot. There has been a royal palace on the site since the 11^th Century. The current House of Commons Library was completed 1852 in the 19^th Century on the site of the old palace of Westminster which was burnt down in 1834. It is 170 years old but there was always a royal palace on the site.

Parliament didn’t always have a library, the library originated from early 19^th century with the first librarian Benjamin Spiller. The library was originally in St Stephens’s Hall and following the fire a design a competition was run for a new palace of Westminster. Charles Barry won the bid and was the successful architect. The Interior of the library is very gothic with the fabric of the building laid out to how the architect and designer, Augustus Pugin, envisaged.

Starting with the Reference Room there are some interesting artefacts including bolt clippers used to cut chains off from suffragettes who attached themselves to the buildings. This is part of the Women in Parliament display in the room.

Looking back to 100 years at photos, the Commons library is not dissimilar from today’s library. The library is classed as a heritage site meaning much of the fabric and fittings cannot be changed. All furniture tables and chairs are in keeping with the original design with the ceiling demonstrating intricacies of design in addition to the chandeliers and carpets.

The Reference Room was not part of the original library in 1852. There are now an additional three rooms. Space is at a premium nowadays in Parliament. The Reference Room is a small reference library with usual things one would expect to find including photocopiers, workspace and books. Old bound volumes of minutes of Parliament predating digital copies exist. Originally at the time of the British Empire this room was a Map room with a large globe in the centre. Maps at this time were incredibly important. Some members come in and work at the tables but primarily staff. The room hosts occasional functions. The display of Women’s history is not originally part of the library.

There are galleries which were added in the 19^th century to the original design and more galleries were added in the 1950s.

The Oriel Room derived its name from the Oriel window which is a large bay window in the room, quite grand and suspended mid-way. The window overlooks the Thames and House of Commons terrace. This room is a main section room for the Commons Library and is staffed between team of 10-12 answering personal enquiries. The majority of the work is undertaken online and deals with enquiries from Members of Parliament, their staff and house staff by e-mail, occasionally by telephone. Other teams are based in the Outbuildings near St James’ park. There are 8 Specialist teams – specialist researchers on policy matters, stats etc.

Some of the main work undertaken is to prepare briefing papers to look at topics prior to debate – E.g., Post Office Horizon System Bill. The documents provide a background and look at the bill to inform the debate. These are impartial and are produced before bills or any piece of major legislation goes into the Commons.

The briefings are not just focussed on Parliament but world affairs such as Ukraine, Gaza etc. These are available to the public and are hosted on the main site which is a one stop shop for all library research.

The library offers a loan service with over 100,000 books in its collection though not all are on site. The collection is a specialist collection and has few fictional works.

Their budget is set by the House and the details are quite complicated and form part of the administrative vote (supply estimates) published as House of Commons papers.  Funding is from the “public purse”, so they are accountable for money spent.

The team are Generalists with a good amount of knowledge, however specific knowledge can be provided by the 8 specialist groups which include international affairs and defence, social policy (education, housing), Science and environment, economic and policy section. The team administer and triage their enquiries. If specialist input is required this is then allocated to a particular specialist for the relevant group. Priority is given to enquiries relating to business of the house and debates of the chamber. The team can receive 30,000+ enquiries per year however there is a lot of other work which happens behind the scenes which isn’t captured.  

An image of the House of Commons Library

Library teams produce regular mail outs of briefings for the week, of any member of staff or house staff can subscribe to. These mailouts detail what is published for the week.  For a back bench debate the team will proactively approach the relevant individuals. The team works closely with the devolved libraries and help answer enquires where possible and have a good relationships with other European Parliaments.

They have a library management system where material is loaned for people to borrow books with a generous loan period, if it’s not renewed and following a process of several stages of overdue notices and if the book is not returned the borrower will replace it although this does not happen very often.

There are other rooms within the library which are used.  ‘A’ Room has lots of books and provides IT for members of parliament some of whom have favourite spots.  In this room there are special green leather chairs which were originally used by the Speaker and Sergeant at arms when the Commons Chamber was temporarily relocated during the second world war.  There is also a ritual old fashioned safe which is still used by the team today.

There is still quite a demand for newspapers and magazines and the team still take in a selection of hard copy daily newspapers both regional and major. There are many online subscriptions free of charge to see these.  Hard copy holdings have been reduced with digital services replacing these, saving costs.

The lovely fixtures and fittings (including the shelving and furniture) are set in gothic 19^th century with a controlled environment and hasn’t changed.  Present are a lovely original metal stationery racks which are silver plated, heavy and are nothing like what exists today. The fireplace which is a very visible part of the room is no longer used.  It was interesting to learn about the House of Commons Journals which document minutes of the proceedings in the Chamber which are still used to this very day.

An original set of early House of Commons Journals is held by the Parliamentary Archives. The current set in the Library are re-prints of the early original volumes.  The originals were rescued from the fire and the collection includes volumes dating back to 1547.  One entry of note was 4^th January 1642 recording the time when Charles I entered Parliament with henchmen and was in conflict with Parliament confronting Speaker Lenthall.  These journals literally documented minutes of the day’s events and are recorded in a very matter of fact way.

The House of Commons Library is not a Parliamentary archive, however there is a Parliamentary archive team based in the House of Lords who are the official archivists for both Houses. This team is due to be amalgamated with the National Archives in 2024 so their function will move to them.

‘C’ Room is a little quieter than the other rooms and does not provide any IT, however from this room there are some spectacular views of Lambeth Palace and County Hall across the Thames.

‘C’ Room is quite special has engraved panels at the top with dates from 1377 representing the names of all the speakers of the House of Commons dating to the present Speaker Lindsay Hoyle. The names were engraved mid 20^th century.

Times the library open tend to be from the very beginning when the House is sitting at 9am to rise of the house (sitting period) and can vary each day. There is a separate night team who covers from 18:00 to closure.

Library staff are subject to general security vetting as are all parliamentary employees.

‘D’ Room is a quiet room not originally part of the House of Commons Library and was the original Speaker’s private library / apartment. This was gifted to House of Commons library in 1966. There is a panel designed to screen the library from what was the Speaker’s accommodation. The room contains many volumes of parliamentary papers and Busts, of which one is of Erskine May, a clerk who became a senior clerk whose name represents the Parliamentary Bible explaining conventions and presence of parliament.

A second Bust is present of Spencer Perceval an early 19^th Century Prime minister who was assassinated in parliament on 11^th May 1812 by John Bellingham, an individual who had a grievance against the government for his treatment a few years ago previously when he had been imprisoned in Russia for a trading debt.

In the room there was a phone from 1920 which works a little like a telephone intercom and used to communicate between Speaker’s private library and Speaker’s private apartments and different rooms.

There are no particular rules, however the statement of services which states what they can do, ethos and also limitations on services. They won’t undertake translation work and do not support members’ private interests.  All the work is to support members in their parliamentary duty.

Overall a very enjoyable tour of the library which overlooks some fantastic views and it is amazing to see the fixtures, furniture and look of the room remaining in place to preserve a key part of history from that period of time with the library still in operation today.

The Independent Library Association’s Annual Conference 2023

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Independent Library Association’s planned in-person Annual Conference and AGM did not take place at the Linen Hall Library in Belfast. Instead, the conference took place online on Friday 2^nd June 2023 and had positivity and success as its themes.

The keynote talk was by Samantha McCombe, the Librarian of the Linen Hall Library (image below) which was founded as the Belfast Reading Society in 1788. It is currently housed in a former linen warehouse from the Victorian era. Not only is it the oldest library in the city, but it is also the only remaining subscription library in Ireland. Samantha writes “Founding members established the society on radical and Enlightenment ideals. Over more than 200 years, the Library has retained its independence, maintaining the principle that its resources are owned by the community for the community.” The Linen Hall’s collection supports a public engagement programme, with exhibitions, talks, performances, and digitisation all playing a part in communicating the collections to their local and international communities.

Following the AGM, further talks took place in the afternoon with Darren Bevin from the Plymouth Proprietary Library (PPL) discussing his first year as Library Manager. The PPL moved into new premises in St Barnabas Terrace in Plymouth in 2018. No sooner has the library got settled when the COVID outbreak began, and lockdowns ensued. When Darren started work in 2022, things were beginning to return to normal and there was an opportunity to start planning ahead. The PPL needs to ensure the local community and beyond know of its existence and what it does. There is also the continual financial drive to recruit and retains members to this subscription library by providing a series of talks and events to attract new and existing users.

The final talk was by Siân Williams, Head of Special Collections & Librarian at the South Wales Miners’ Library. In 1973, the South Wales Miners’ Library was established as a research library and a centre for adult and community learning at Swansea University. As the Library prepares to move to a new location in Swansea city centre in 2024, Siân reflected on the process to create a new mission and vision for the Library fit for the next 50 years. The talk also considered some of the ways the Library is reassessing its role within the community and how the collections are used.

Although the conference allowed time for discussion and conversation, it was naturally not the same as meeting in person. It is very much hoped that the conference and AGM for 2024 that is planned to be held at the Morrab Library in Penzance on 31 May – 1 Jun will take place.

Virtual Visit to the Mills Archive with Archivist Nathanael Hodge on 18/08/22

Written by Sue Lee

I was one of 30 information professionals from health, school, further education, university and public libraries to museums and Historic England who attended the virtual visit. It was good to have the ¼ hour lead in time for people to put in the chat who, where and why they were attending. This virtual visit to the archive in Reading enabled people to attend from Guernsey, Cornwall and Devon to Dorset, Anglia and Lincolnshire.  

Part 1 History of milling with photos of items from our collections. 

Wakes and Lamb Millwrights 1900

Nathanael gave us a glimpse through time starting in the querns of the Stone Age and Iron Age, (a quern is a simple hand mill made to two stones). Mills developed with animal mills, horizontal water mills and then to the vertical water mills in Roman times. Windmills started as post windmills with the whole mill turning followed by the tower windmill with only the sails moving which appeared from the 13^th century. In 1786 the first steam mill appeared and steam took over powering the cloth industry. The social history of the miller in every village changed with the introduction of roller mills in the mid-19^th century using steel rollers and producing finer flour. Mills have reduced from 10,000 mills in the early 19^th century to the 50 large flour mills in Great Britain today. 

Part 2 Mills Archive, its origins and the work that we do. 

In the 1920s the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) surveyed the remaining windmills. People donated mill related material, correspondence and photos, which along with the survey sheets became a separate mill section. This then became the foundation collection for the Mills Archive founded in 2002.  

There is a small employed team supplemented by volunteers. The volunteers help with listing, cataloguing items, digitizing photographs and running the social media. Income is raised through grants, donations, Friends of Mill Archive, patrons and selling images. 

The archive uses AtoM archival software. There is an online catalogue and a separate Mills database with a page per mill and a mills map. Material can be viewed in person in the reading room. Public engagement is important and a weekly eNewsletter is produced using articles and stories from the collection.  

The collections include photographs, architect drawings, books, journals, magazines, paintings, sketches, business archives, surveys, drawings, diaries and correspondence. The Mills Archive has developed a policy with a hierarchy of what to collect. The collection isn’t static and more recently renewable energy windmills are being added. 

Part 3 One particular collection 

Archivist Nathanael Hodge examining a damaged item from the Rex Wailes collection

Nathanael talked through the Rex Wailes collection as an example of acquisition, cataloguing and digitization. Rex Wailes carried out surveys across the world and on his death his collection was left stored in sheds. The collection was rescued in car loads, cleaned and dried. In 2019 the collection amounted to 110 boxes which needed listing, sorting, cleaning, conserving, repairing, cataloguing and digitization. Black mould and water damage was a problem. The archive is raising a grant for a professional conservator to repair 100 items from the collection. 

Q & A session 

The biggest challenge facing the archive is the 1688 building the archive occupies with temperature and humidity fluctuations. Black out blinds and dehumidifiers are used. When items have been catalogued, they are now stored off site in archival storage hangars. This enabled the Mills Archive to achieve Accreditation 6 years ago. 

The connections the archive has with other archives include projects with the Historic England Archive, Science Museum and the University of Kent. They have also done some training with the Berkshire Record Office and Museum of English Rural Life. 

Nathanael most enjoys putting the weekly eNewsletter together and hearing the feedback about it. 

My interest in joining the session was in digitization and archive engagement, others were interested in archives, history or criteria 3 of CILIP professional registration. Nathanael’s presentation was fascinating and gave a real insight into the archival work undertaken at the Mills Archive. 

For more information, check out the Mills Archive website here: https://new.millsarchive.org/

Pilchards and the Printed Word: Exeter-born Sir Thomas Bodley and the Bodleian Library.

On 2^nd March 1545, Thomas Bodley was born at what is now 229 High Street on the corner with Gandy Street in Exeter city centre. The property had recently been leased to his father John Bodley by the Dean and Chapter of Exeter Cathedral and although the house has been rebuilt more than once since this period, a wall plague marks the spot. Sir Thomas Bodley is best remembered today for rescuing the Bodleian Library in Oxford which was later renamed after him.  

Thomas’s father was a wealthy Protestant merchant and at a young age Thomas was taken to Geneva to evade religious persecution. Upon returning to England, he studied at Oxford University and matriculated at Magdalen College. Thomas was subsequently a fellow at Merton College before becoming a diplomat in the court of Queen Elizabeth. 

After retiring from public life in 1597, he decided to “set up my staff at the library door in Oxon; being thoroughly persuaded … I could not busy myself to better purposes, than by reducing that place (which then in every part lay ruined and waste) to the public use of students.” The library had not always been in this condition. Humphry, Duke of Gloucester (and younger brother of King Henry V) had given the University his priceless collection of over 280 manuscripts. This resulted in the construction of a library which opened in 1488. However the library only lasted 60 years; it suffered during the Reformation with all the books removed (to purge any trace of Catholicism) and some burnt. The University was not a wealthy institution and did not have the resources to build up a new collection.  

On the other hand, Thomas Bodley (above) had married Ann Ball, the rich widow of a merchant from Totnes who had made his fortune in the pilchard business. As a result, Thomas could spend a significant amount of money on the library and brought in books from many places, including roughly eighty volumes sold to him by the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. He was not an admirer of what he called “baggage books” including almanacs, plays, and other “unworthy matters”. Fortunately, they were still accepted into the library and included such items as Shakespeare’s First Folio. He did, however, insist upon acquiring books in non-European languages, including Asian and Hebrew. The library was refurbished to house a collection of approximately 2,500 books and opened to readers on 8^th November 1602. 

In 1610, Thomas Bodley also set up the precursor to today’s legal deposit agreements when he arranged for the Stationers’ Company of London to send the Bodleian a copy of every new book printed. He was knighted on 18^th April 1604 and upon his death in 1613 a large portion of his fortune was left to the library. He is buried in the chapel of Merton College. 

Five National Trust Libraries in the South West.

Introduction 

The National Trust’s collection of books contains over 400,000 titles spread over 160 historic houses and properties. This blog briefly explores five of the finest National Trust libraries in the south-west region.  

The Trust’s library catalogue is online, and researchers who wish to read or examine books in the various libraries are welcome (advance notice required). 

More details and a link to the catalogue can be found here. 

Tyntesfield, Wraxall, Bristol, North Somerset, BS48 1NX. 

Tyntesfield is a Gothic Revival house developed under the ownership of William Gibbs, whose fortune came from the guano trade and who purchased the comparatively ordinary Georgian property in 1843. The principal rooms were embellished with gilded panelling and wood carvings and the house was extended to include gables and turrets to become the property seen today, complete with a Gothic Chapel built in the 1870s. 

On entering the house, the library is the first room visited and has a visually stunning high ceiling plus carpets and some furnishings by the nineteenth-century interior designer John Crace. Its prominence reflects the importance the library had to the bookish family.  

Despite the gold-tooling on the spines of many books, they are works that would have been used on a daily basis. The collection includes an extensive theology section and works by key Victorian thinkers including Augustus Pugin, John Ruskin, and On the Origin of Species (1860) by Charles Darwin, plus Owen Jones’ Grammar of Ornament (1856), a key work on decorative art. In total, there are around 10,000 volumes on display making it one of the largest collections belonging to the National Trust. 

Greenway, Galmpton, near Brixham, Devon, TQ5 0ES. 

The Greenway House in south Devon that is visible today was built in the eighteenth-century with many additions and modernisations in the succeeding centuries. It was acquired by the novelist Agatha Christie in 1938. Greenway had been advertised for sale in Country Life for £6,000 and in her autobiography she writes: 

“One day we saw that a house was up for sale that I had known when I was young … So we went over to Greenway, and very beautiful the house and grounds were. A white Georgian house of about 1780 or 90, with woods sweeping down to the Dart below, and a lot of fine shrubs and trees – the ideal house, a dream house.” 

She had not lived there long before the property was requisitioned by the War Department, first for child evacuees and then the U.S Navy, before she was able to return in 1945. Following the deaths of Agatha and her second husband in 1976 and 1978 respectively, the property was inhabited by their descendants and then acquired by the National Trust in 2000. Whilst the gardens were open to the public that year, visitors would have to wait until 2009 to view the house following structural work that amounted to £5 million. 

Once the house was ready, work began on conserving and cataloguing the extensive book collection at Greenway. The project (now completed) began in July 2010 and involved recording the details of over 4,000 books that were part of Agatha Christie’s personal collection but also included titles belonging to her close family. Once the books were in a stable condition, a thorough record was made of each one, including provenance. The collection includes storybooks from her childhood and others that would inform her detective fiction including books on poisons and legal cases. 

Many of the books in the collection are now housed in the lower bookcases that line the walls of the library. These were installed by Agatha in 1938 and contain works that reveal the interests of various family members. They range in subject from antiques to gardens and from local history to Buddhism. The collection also contains the Greenway editions of Agatha’s books. They are situated underneath a frieze that encircles the four walls made up of murals by the U.S. Navy painted during the second world war (pictured above). They chart a journey to Greenway from Key West in Florida at the commencement of the war.   

The library has a comfortable feel with cosy sofas and collections of ceramics and mementos. The room could easily have been the nostalgic inspiration for the setting of her Miss Marple story: The Body in the Library (1942) written whilst living in London as the war raged: 

“The library was a room very typical of its owners. It was large and shabby and untidy. It had big sagging arm-chairs, and pipes and books and estate papers laid out on the big table. There were one or two good old family portraits on the walls, and some bad Victorian water-colours, and some would-be-funny hunting scenes. There was a big vase of Michaelmas daisies in the corner. The whole room was dim and mellow and casual. It spoke of long occupation and familiar use and of links with tradition.”  

Saltram, Plympton, Plymouth, Devon. PL7 1UH. 

The name of this estate, also in south Devon, comes from the salt taken from the nearby Plym estuary. Fortunes were built on this resulting in the Georgian mansion house that can be visited today following its takeover by the National Trust in 1957.  

The library at Saltram was once a dining room and a drawing room. Whilst on a grander scale to Greenway, it holds a similar number of 5,000 books that belonged to the family and, like Greenway, were regularly consulted. The oldest book housed in the library is the Nuremberg Chronicle published in 1493. It charts the history of the world aided by 1,800 illustrations. Saltram’s copy was originally held in a Bavarian monastery and a 1501 catalogue of the monastery library records this very copy held in the chained collection.  

Many of the books were acquired during the lifetime of John Parker III, 1^st Earl of Morley (1772-1840) and reflected his own interests such as La Venerie (1564), a French manual on hunting. He had the library extended to house a growing collection and to reflect the fashion for libraries as large and informal social spaces for cards, games and music as well as reading. As libraries became more popular, so did library furniture that was both practical and aesthetically pleasing. Saltram houses ‘Campbell’s Newly invented Library Steps’ that can be neatly stored in a table (pictured above in the corner of the room).  

On a visit in September 2021, the upper floors to Saltram were closed as conservation work was being carried out on the collections including the books, as some had evidence of mould and silverfish. Book conservation demonstrations were also taking place on the ground floor (pictured above).   

Saltram House was one of the settings for a film adaption of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility starring Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant. The library holds a second edition of Austen’s most popular novel Pride and Prejudice (1813 – pictured above). Correspondence of the period reveals the popularity of this work with John Parker III claiming he resembles the book’s hero Mr Darcy, whilst a friend believes her mother is very much like the overbearing Mrs Bennet. 

Kingston Lacy, Wimborne Minster, Dorset, BH21 4EA.  

Kingston Lacy was built in 1663-5 for Sir Ralph Bankes, a courtier under King Charles II, after their seat at Corfe Castle was destroyed in the Civil War. Kingston Lacy was then the residence of the Bankes family for the next three hundred years and, following a major redesign, became significantly grander and majestic in the nineteenth century.  The National Trust took over the property in 1982, the largest bequest it had ever accepted at this time.  

The library is a survivor from the eighteenth-century and has the keys to Corfe Castle over the fireplace dating back to the Civil War. Though the house is better known for its collection of paintings by Van Dyck, Titian, Rubens and Brueghel, the library has one of the National Trust’s largest early book collections. It includes approximately 1,450 pre-1801 volumes and reflects the history and the interests of the family over the centuries including rare works on anatomy and cookery. One of the earliest is a copy of the works of Euripides from 1593 whilst, much later, a copy of The Mayor of Casterbridge is inscribed ‘Mrs. Bankes, Kingston Lacy. Thomas Hardy, 23 Sept, 1926.’ When the Trust took over the property, they trained a team to preserve the contents including this priceless collection of books. 

Lanhydrock, Bodmin, Cornwall, PL30 4AB.  

According to Simon Jenkins in England’s Thousand Best Houses, Lanhydrock is the National Trust’s most visited house in England. Though the property was built in the seventeenth century, a fire in 1881 destroyed most of the house. Lanhydrock was rebuilt in high-Victorian style within the shell of the old building and passed to the National Trust in 1953. Only the Long Gallery survived the fire (along with most of the books) and currently serves as the Library (pictured below). 

Lanhydrock has the National Trust’s oldest large library and contains many books that belonged to Hannibal Gamon (1582-c1651), the son of a London Goldsmith with links to the West Country. He came to Cornwall in 1619 as Rector of St Mawgan. His collection contains evidence of provenance and was probably housed in Lanhydrock by 1681. One of these books received national coverage in 2015 by aiding Henry VIII and his lawyers win an annulment from Catherine of Aragon and subsequently break with Rome thus “changing the course of English history”. The book by the theologian and philosopher William of Ockman was damaged in the 1881 fire but importantly retained the fly leaf which links it to an inventory of Henry VIII’s books. It contains a revealing section, marked by Henry’s secretaries, that translates as “When it is permitted to withdraw from obedience to the pope”. 

With thanks to Megan Tonkins for the photo of the bookcase at Tyntesfield. 

Further Reading 

Jenkins, Simon. England’s Thousand Best Houses. Penguin, 2009. 

Purcell, Mark. The Country House Library. Yale UP, 2017. 

Ann Yearsley: The Bristol Poet and Library Owner. By Darren Bevin

The English poet Ann Yearsley (neé Cromartie) died 215 years ago in May 1806. She was one of only a few working-class women of the time to gain distinction as a writer. Born in the 1750s, she was educated by her brother at home in Clifton and, according to one source, had access to books from a circulating library (Bristol’s first circulating library opened in 1728) though it is more likely that she received books borrowed from her mother’s employer. In 1774 Ann married John Yearsley, an unsuccessful farm labourer. Ten years later in 1784, at the end of a brutal winter, she was found by a benevolent gentleman destitute in a stable in Clifton with her husband, four surviving children (she was pregnant with her sixth) and a mother dying of starvation. After the birth of her sixth child, she took up the trade of milkwoman, selling milk door to door in Bristol, an occupation to which she has hereafter been synonymous.

Ann Yearsley by Wilson Lowry, after unknown artist. Line engraving, 1787. NPG D8852.
@ National Portrait Gallery, London

Around this time she came to the attention of the poet, playright, bluestocking and philanthropist Hannah More who observed Yearsley’s literary capability and arranged for her work to be published by subscription. Yearsley’s first collection, Poems on Several Occasions (1785) contained poems exploring themes of death, night, solitude, friendship and religion, and it brought her swift success. The collection includes ‘Clifton Hill’ written in January 1785, exactly a year after she was discovered destitute, and begins:

                                “In this lone hour, when angry storms descend,

                                And the chill’d soul deplores her distant friend;

                                When all her sprightly fires inactive lie,

                                And gloomy objects fill the mental eye;”

This poem references locations in and around Yearsley’s native Bristol, including the Hotwells, the River Avon, and the Clifton Church graveyard where her mother was recently buried. The speaker of ‘Clifton Hill’ then uses these places as the basis to describe working-class hardships.

The success of this collection was tainted. Hannah More kept control over Yearsley’s access to the proceeds which led to an acrimonious fallout. Yearsley retained greater control over future publications including Poems on Various Subjects (1787) and occasional poetic pieces over the next decade. An early abolitionist, she published her celebrated piece ‘A Poem on the Inhumanity of the Slave-Trade’ in 1788 as the campaign for the abolition of the slave trade was at its’ height. The main action of the poem takes place in an unspecified colonial location, but begins and ends in Bristol, both Yearsley’s birthplace and a focus of the slave trade:

                                “BRISTOL, thine heart hath throbb’d to glory. – Slaves,

                                E’en Christian slaves, have shook their chains, and gaz’d

                                With wonder and amazement on thee.”

The poem appeared relatively early in the poetic campaign against the slave trade. It depicts an enslaved African taking violent action against a British planter and invites the reader to sympathise with the African, a stance that would surely have shocked many contemporary readers.

Despite broadening her literary scope to write a novel and a play as well as further poetry, Yearsley sought further means of supporting herself financially. In 1793 she opened a circulating library in the Colonnade (see image below) situated in the well-appointed and fashionable location of Hotwells in Bristol. A catalogue exists of the books contained in the library with stringent rules regarding damage to borrowed books: “If any Book is wrote in, or the Leaf of a Book is torn or damaged, while in the Custody of a Subscriber, that Book, or if it should belong to a Set, that Set of Books to be paid for at the Price fixed in the Catalogue.”. The catalogue reveals a range of 666 books including history, travel, novels, plays and poetry, and fittingly ends with three volumes of Yearsley’s own poems. In common with other circulating libraries of the time, Yearsley’s library would have doubled as a stationer’s shop and also sold such items as medicines and perfumes.

The Colonnade at Hotwells, Bristol in 1788 by the Swiss artist Samuel Hieronymus Grimm (1733-1794)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colonnade,_Hotwells,_Bristol.jpg

During this time she published a historical novel The Royal Captives in 1795 and a final volume of poems The Rural Lyre in 1796 before withdrawing from the literary scene. A beloved son died in 1799 followed by her husband in 1803. Ann Yearsley herself died at Melksham near Trowbridge, Wiltshire in May 1806, though her grave can be found in Birdcage Walk, Clifton.

Critical discussion of Yearsley’s writing has unsurprisingly been closely tied in with the events and circumstances of her life (as seen in Robert Southey’s 1831 biography) though modern critics are celebrated her achievements over gender and class discrimination, and are also giving her work, especially ‘A Poem on the Inhumanity of the Slave Trade’ the recognition it deserves.

Five Independent Libraries in the South West, by Darren Bevin

The independent Libraries Association [ https://www.independentlibraries.co.uk/ ] was founded over thirty years ago in 1989 and since then has aimed to “further the conservation, restoration and public awareness of a little known but significant section of our cultural heritage”.  There are currently thirty-six libraries who subscribe to the ILA and all are listed on their website. Many of them are subscription libraries and some provide other facilities such as a museum space, catering and adult education. They cover the United Kingdom and Ireland, and, together, possess over two million books inside many listed buildings.

The Financial Times has described them as “havens of books, conversation and cultural events with histories stretching back centuries”. As libraries are now slowly striving to return to some form of normality, here are five independent libraries that subscribe to the ILA and are situated in our south west region.

• Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution [ https://www.brlsi.org/ ]

The BRLSI was founded in 1824 and opened to members the following year. It provided a museum, library and reading room, lecture hall and botanical garden. The BRLSI moved to its present building in 1932 but fell rapidly into decline following the requisition of its’ building during World War Two. It was successfully relaunched in 1993.

The BRLSI’s antiquarian library contains over 7,000 volumes, notably the Jenyns and Broome natural history libraries. Other collections include local history, theology, travel and government. The Institution’s archives contain bound volumes of letters from eminent naturalists and scientists including Charles Darwin, Sir Joseph Hooker and Professor J.S. Henslow.

• Devon and Exeter Institution [ https://devonandexeterinstitution.org/ ]

The Institution occupies a medieval building, originally owned by Exeter Cathedral. In 1814 the Institution’s founding members took ownership and adapted the double-courtyard layout to create two Georgian rooms, each with a gallery and cupola. The building remains unchanged except for the installation of electric lights and gas-fired central heating.

The collection includes bound newspapers and periodicals, books, maps, prints, drawings, paintings, pamphlets and other ephemera from the early 19^th century. Other collections relate to the history and topography of the West Country from the 16^th century to the present day.

• Morrab Library [ https://morrablibrary.org.uk/ ]

The Morrab Library is the only independent library in Cornwall. It was built in 1841 as Morrab House and stands in three-and-a-half acres of the Morrab Gardens overlooking the sea. Since 1889 the house has been occupied by the Library as the tenant of the local authority.

The Library has more than 70,000 volumes including literature, history, biography, antiquities, religion, topography and travel. It has a Cornish collection including 3,000 books printed in the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th centuries, and a photographic archive. It also holds the Dawson Collection of bound volumes of prints and engravings of Napoleon and his times.

• Plymouth Proprietary Library [ http://www.theppl.org.uk/ ]

The Proprietary Library is one of Plymouth’s oldest historic institutions, founded in 1810. It was originally situated in the centre of the city but suffered severe bomb damage in World War Two. It moved to a mid-Victorian house on North Hill after the war before relocating to the old church in St Barnabas Terrace in 2018. 

The collection consists of 20,000 volumes ranging from 18^th century literature to contemporary fiction and non-fiction. It also houses biographies, diaries and letters, travel, maps, local history and the Windham Collection of Royal Naval historical papers.

• Tavistock Subscription Library [ https://tavistocksubscriptionlibrary.co.uk/ ]

The Tavistock Subscription Library was founded in 1799 and settled permanently in the 1830s into rooms alongside and above the Court Gate, the entry point into the court of Tavistock Abbey. In the 1960s the Library was threatened with closure and sold off many of its’ books but the remaining collection was saved and housed in a small reading room alongside Court Gate. Here the Library remains.

The holding is restricted to works by local authors or those pertaining to the town and Dartmoor. The collection includes poetry from the 17^th Century poet William Browne to the contemporary fifteen volumes of Gerry Woodcock’s Tavistock’s Yesterdays. 

To Retain or to Dispose: The Organisation of Records Management

CILIP South West member Dani Stubbs, student at the University of Sheffield, describes the core concerns of a records management policy.

In a Records office, deciding what to keep, why to keep it and how long for, can be a troublesome bother. Many decisions and procedures are documented in retention policies, which are often usefully summarised on public archival or record office webpages, for example the UK National Archives Website[1]. This post will cover some of the fundamental considerations for this topic.

Although tempting to collect, maintain and make accessible an ever-growing collection of records, practical decisions regarding retention or disposal need to be addressed. We don’t have to keep everything and we don’t have to collect everything; this is a common misunderstanding of the role of a records office. Maybe this is due to the frequent conflation of the roles of a records office and those of an archive. Whereas the former exists to store items that have temporary value before either being disposed of or transferred elsewhere, such as a national archive, an archive exists to store items that have an eternal value. Hence, we would not be looking to dispose of an archive item.

As well as adding to the continual clutter of files, making life much harder for visitors and staff to find what they are seeking, the cost of preservation will rocket, while the physical space in which to do so will diminish, if we are considering physical records. Then of course, digital records will have to be maintained by means of technological updates. A retention policy will outline how long records are to be kept for and the process and approval of disposal.

Helpful guidance is listed on the UK National Archives webpage: ‘Disposing of records’[2]. If we consider step 1, ‘Understand why you need to take action’, it is worthwhile noting that many digital platforms of storage do not automatically account for or allow deletion or disposal of records/information. Take the social media site Twitter: what is posted cannot be deleted. But there are beneficial reasons that we would look to dispose of information: with regular deletion, we would reduce the digital space consumed, we would enable a more efficient search process for users and we will also meet policies of compliance. Further, we could potentially eliminate duplicate records.

From Step 2 we learn to conduct an Information Audit, to find out exactly what the institution is hoarding. These can be classified as ‘information assets’. Having an awareness of the information assets held can help an institution to produce relevant Information Management policies, design appropriate systems of storage, organisation and retrieval, and be prepared to advertise, publicise or even make deals at a corporate level.

Having an awareness of the information assets alone is, however, unhelpful unless they are managed in the right way. In a records office, it is important to use the appropriate technological or management systems. We should consider how up-to-date the software and systems are, as this will determine the proportion of information assets we deposit and at what point we will upgrade or purchase new technology. Lastly, if we consider the activity of helping users to retrieve information, keeping track of the correct details of the records will allow for a much more efficient activity. Using the correct classification systems, bibliographic formatting, or organisational procedures can make the difference between a seamless search and a few days’ worth of clutching at straws, researching and frustration.

Step 3 tells us to consider the value of our assets. There are a few different types of value that we can recognise in the decisions to keep records. We may be required to keep records by law for a number of years. For example, for GDPR regulations. If there is an ongoing project, compounding ongoing value and use, then we would be required to keep the related records for perhaps longer than we would otherwise. If records have significant and relevant historical importance attached to them, then we would have justification to maintain the records. For example, a Higher Educational Institution might specifically collect items related to the historical importance of certain alumni or founders of the College or University. Within the archival management and collections policies, the continual collection of related items would be indicated. A final point of consideration would be whether or not the records are being used or will be accessed in the future. Keeping a track of usage statistics and information requests in many workplaces is now of importance, and is made somewhat easier by various software and analytical tools. Conversely, predicting the future usage of records can be somewhat of a grey area unless we can use statistics from previous years or utilise various external factors such as upcoming events, public holidays or trends.

Once we have made the decisions based on steps 1-3, we are ready for step 4, the disposal of records. The central considerations that The National Archives suggests are to decide on the trigger points for the disposal. In the most basic explanation, we could look at deciding on a time-period in which an information asset would qualify as being ‘ready for disposal’ or not, from the last time it was accessed, or retrieved. So, much like a library would calculate a weeding process for books that have not been checked out of the library in the past so many years, the appropriate decision may be to send these books to storage or donate them to charity. Having matched a certain timeframe, the records may then be disposed of or moved to an alternate location/system e.g. the National Archives.

Lastly, to match our Information Audit (listing the contents of the collection), we would want to keep an audit trail that would demonstrate and track the deletion or movement of information assets. We may find ourselves in a position where we need to justify the actions taken and having a clearly laid out and easily accessible track of this will aid this process.

This post has set out some basic, fundamental processes and considerations to follow in regards to the disposal or retention of records. If not for any other intention, the need to organise an information overload is more relevant than ever before and records management considerations are bound to show up in a multitude of workplaces.

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[1] See https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/.

[2] See The National Archives. (n.d.). Disposing of records. Retrieved December 29, 2020, from https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/manage-information/policy-process/disposal/

Fantastic Books and Where to Find Them: An Expedition to the Bristol Zoo Gardens Library, by Hannah Wood

Bristol Zoo Gardens Library

Having a keen interest in research-based libraries, I was intrigued to learn about a library at Bristol Zoo Gardens. I imagined it to be similar to the medical library in which I work; lots of books and journals around animal medicine and physiology. Blimey, was I in for an interesting surprise!

The day started off with a talk from Dr Daphne Kerhoas, an expert and lecturer in conservation science. I was pleasantly surprised to hear about how she and others collaborated with people to ensure the conservation and survival of wildlife around the world. She also spoke about the different courses the Zoo offers in partnership with the University of Bristol, University of Western England (UWE) and SGS College. Being a keen animal lover, I was almost tempted, as the courses all sounded fascinating. You can check them out here!

10/10 library meme

Next came a quick talk from the Librarian at the zoo, Siobhan Klaus. She briefly detailed the workings of the library, and its rather unusual and unique cataloguing system, developed by volunteers back in the very early days of the library’s beginnings. The library contains around 4500 books, and some 2500 journals around zoological topics. The library is frequently used by UWE students, who also have access to UWE Library’s holdings.

We also got the opportunity to visit the library. It was a very pleasant space, with nice bright colours and the odd fabulous library meme to engage users. The seating was comfortable and well-placed, and there was a great view of a rather chilled-out capybara outside. The unique cataloguing system was apparent, with bright orange markers to distinguish the sections. I also noticed a great quote from the brilliant Carl Sagan (I’m a huge fan), which seemed to sum up the vibe of the library rather nicely: ‘I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture, and our concern for the future, can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.’

 

Is now the time for an hawkward bird pun?

In the afternoon, after a lunch and a quick look at some tree kangaroos (yes they really do exist – it blew my mind) we had the great pleasure of attending a talk by the Education Manager, Dave Naish. He spoke about how he engages young adults and children under the age of 18, and encourages them to respect animals.

With that in mind, he showed us a tank of giant burrowing cockroaches. They are very slow-moving, and cannot fly or cause harm to humans, and so they made a very good introduction to handling creepy critters. For those who were willing, he gave us each a cockroach to look at. Mine was probably a female, as it didn’t have a very pronounced scoop on its head. It felt rather heavy (more so than I was expecting!) and up close it looked rather beautiful. Its outer shell had many different shades of red and brown, no doubt to help it stay camouflaged while it traverses through dead leaves and plant matter. It had lots of little spiky ridges on its legs (perhaps as an aid to grip?) and its long antennae seemed to be checking out the skin on my palm. I felt quite privileged to hold such a cool cockroach, and I certainly learned a few new interesting things along the way!

We also got the opportunity to see a rainbow boa, a very beautiful snake with iridescent scales. We were shown how to stroke it; with the back of our hands, following the scales to avoid any discomfort to the snake. It felt very smooth and rather cold, but that’s because we’re warm-blooded mammals, so it’s because I was warm, rather than it being cold.

After the talks, we could spend time wandering the enclosures, to see the animals up close. They all seemed very happy and very interested in their habitats; I saw a cute little bird checking out a pumpkin one of the keepers had left for it!

Always good to end a post with a picture of a penguin: have an ice day!

CILIP SW Visit to Bristol Zoological Gardens Library, Archive and Conservation Education Centre. Illustrated report by Susan Lee

 

A group of 11 of us met up for the visit organised by Valerie Bearne, Retired Members Liaison for CILIP SW. Siobhan Klaus, Librarian/Administrator took us over to the Conservation Education Centre. The Centre has two parts; education facilities for schools and college visits and a Higher Education Campus. I had expected facilities for school visits but not the higher education role of the zoo and therefore the large role that the library has for this. An unusual extra to the normal housekeeping introduction was what to do if an animal escaped!

Our first session of the day was an overview of conservation, the HE teaching programmes and field research with Dr Daphne Kerhoas, Lecturer in Conservation Science. We are used to the ever changing field of library and information and it was interesting to hear this is also happening for zoos. She explained that the approach to conservation is changing from the original focus on species conservation to ecosystem conservation. This includes reaching out to people to try and get them to change their habits. The zoo is now a more immersive experience with people entering the animal enclosures. Entering the ecosystem of the wildlife should encourage people to care more about wildlife. Bristol Zoo is involved in conservation research and projects across Britain and around the world. The projects try to address problems by involving the local population and finding solutions that help both them and the wildlife.

 

Bristol Zoo offers a range of Foundation, BSc and Masters conservation degrees in collaboration with the University of the West of England (UWE), the University of Bristol and the University of Gloucester and South Gloucestershire and Stroud College (SGS). The facilities include 2 lecture rooms seating 70 and 120, seminar and classrooms, library and laboratory. It is part of the Librarian/Administrator role to book the rooms for the courses. She also teaches in the level one module ‘Professional Work Skills’ and level two module ‘Research and Work Skills’. Lecturers also signpost students to her for help as she is the most accessible member of staff; the lecturers’ offices are further away and only accessible by bell.

The next session was with Siobhan Klaus, Librarian and Administrator. The present library is in the Conservation Education Centre built in 2015. It is staffed by one full time librarian, a volunteer one afternoon per week and 2 research students. The library has 4,500 books and 2,500 journals. The main users of the library are the 300 students, but staff, volunteers and visiting researchers also use the library. I found the cataloguing system intriguing. The books are catalogued by letters then a number eg. Ec-H-W number = Ecology – Habitat – Woodland + next number of when added. The large BBC Wildlife collection has been donated to the zoo. It had been catalogued using the ZSL (Zoological Society of London) classification, so some books have both labels. Some of the physical stock is purchased and owned by SGS whereas UWE purchases eCopies for their students. The librarian meets partner librarians 2/3 times a year. She also attends monthly department meetings and asks for suggestions for purchase.

 

The advantages that the librarian finds of working at the zoo library are that the collection is quirky, historic and important. The challenges are that it is a balancing act being the administrator for HE in addition to being a librarian, it is mainly lone working and the budget is small but academic texts are very expensive. The Bristol Zoo Archive is now stored at the Bristol Archives and some is in store at the Pavilion at the zoo. It is not catalogued apart from being grouped by a couple of PHD students. The next challenge is to catalogue and digitise the archive to make it accessible. Bristol Zoo is fundraising with Bristol Archives to achieve this.

 

The last session was with Dave Naish, Education Manager. In 1981 the Zoo Licensing Act specified conservation and education as requirements to be licensed as a zoo. In 2015 the Secretary of State’s Standards for Zoo Practice went further to include to stimulate pro-environmental behaviours. Bristol Zoo employs a psychologist on the team to advise on campaigns and projects to encourage behaviour change. The informal learning is supported by the rangers, volunteers and a variety of signage around the zoo to appeal to the different types of visitors eg explorers, facilitators, professional/hobbyists, etc. There are interactive exhibits round the zoo and the Zoo Olympic trail of 10 stations where children can compare themselves to animals.

 

40,000 children per year receive formal learning at the Conservation Education Centre. The themed classrooms, such as the rainforest classroom, are designed to feel completely different from school. A good learning experience should be relevant, accessible, engaging, hands-on, inspiring and memorable. Dave then demonstrated this using the handling of Madagascan hissing cockroaches, a boa snake and items seized by customs. The session was accessible to people whatever their learning style, eg visual, aural, physical, etc. The centre started adult evening classes 3 years ago to let people find out about behind the scenes. The classes have experts from different parts of the zoo eg vets taking sessions and also live animals at the classes, so increasing the connection of people to wildlife and conservation.

 

We then had a chance to explore the zoo and see the immersive experience in practice. We all enjoyed this very interesting and informative visit.