Spring Meeting of the Political Parties and Parliamentary
Archives Group UK (PPPAG)
London School of Economics
19 April 2007
Present:
Sue Donnelly [SD] (London School of Economics: LSE)
Stephen Ellison [SE] (Parliamentary Archives: PA)
J Graham Jones [GJ] (Welsh Political Archive: WPA)
Jeremy Mcllwaine [JM] (Conservative Party Archives: CPA)
Jo Robson [JR] (Labour History Archive and Study Centre: LHASC)
Stephen Scarth [SS] (Public Record Office of Northern Ireland: PRONI)
Nigel Cochrane [NC] (University of Essex: UE)
Maria Castrillo [MC] (National Library of Scotland: NLS)
- Apologies:
None - all members attended
- Chair
It was agreed that SD act as chair of the meeting with JR as minute taker.
- Minutes of the last meeting:
Minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as correct.
- Matters Arising:
All matters arising were already on the agenda
- Party Funding Review
JR reported on the response from Sir Hayden Philips to the group’s letter regarding the funding of political archives. The response replied in the negative stating the issue was outside of his reviews remit however the group still regarded this as a positive first step. A discussion was held as to any further opportunities that could be taken but at the moment there appeared to be none.
- FOI/DP:
NLS: Since MC began in Feb 2007 there have been no issues
PA: 50-60 requests to the House but none to archives. Some possible issues surrounding collections deposited under old terms and the fact that PA is a public body and whether FOI is then applicable.
PRONI: 20-25 requests per month usually for official files rather than private collections. Anticipated that when eCATNI goes live it will generate requests.
WPA: After an initial flurry of requests after the Act was passed there has been little interest. 2006 saw a conference held on the subject which included academics discussing their use of the Act.
UE: Nothing to report
LSE: Still ongoing regarding the personal papers deposit discussed at previous meeting. SD has looked at different sources including TNA web-site and has drafted an agreement. SD would be willing to share the template agreement once the agreement has been signed
CPA & LHASC: Both reported no requests
6. Specialist Repositories Group [SRG]
The SRG group is hoping to raise awareness of its affiliate groups among the wider Society of Archivists at this years Society of Archivists [SoA] conference in Belfast 28-31 August. Each affiliated group has been asked to provide a leaflet to add to the conference pack. A discussion took place and it was agreed to be a good idea to produce a general PPPAG leaflet for use at SoA conference and other events. SD will approach SRG to see if they are able to finance. JM to take text from web-site and edit this as a starting point and send out text for comment. Possible formats were discussed and a three fold leaflet was decided on. JM also asked that possible images can be sent to him asap.
Post meeting note: SD has been in discussion with SRG who have agreed to let PPPAG draw down £200 to fund the production of the groups leaflet
- Reports from Institutions
CPA
Visitor Figures
The Conservative Party Archive has had its busiest quarter since detailed statistics were first recorded in 1998, with record numbers of readers, enquiries and files produced. This is partly but not solely due to the new requirement for Oxford History undergraduates to base their dissertations on primary sources for the first time.
Conservative Party
Conservative Campaign Headquarters (formerly Conservative Central Office) moved premises for the 2nd time in 3 years at the beginning of the year. JM visited CCHQ on 21st December to raise the profile of the Archive amongst staff and encourage the transfer of records to the Bodleian rather than risk the destruction which might otherwise occur as the result of the move.
Accessions
Regular transfers continue from CCHQ. JM has also been liasing with a private depositor, Mrs Shirley Matthews, OBE, for the deposit of her papers. She was a Conservative Party Agent from 1966, later having responsibility for the youth wing of the Party at the time of the expulsion of extreme right-wing elements in the late 1980s, and organised all of John Major’s general election campaigns.
Poster Digitisation
The project to digitise the CPA’s holdings of Conservative Party election posters is nearing completion, with only a handful left to scan. The next step will be to make the images available via the website.
House of Commons Exhibition
In collaboration with the Jo Robson at the People’s History Museum and Sue Donnelly at the LSE, the CPA is planning to put together a cross-Party display of archival material from the Conservative, Liberal and Labour Parties at the House of Commons. The provisional theme will be the General Election landslides of 1906, 1945 and 1979, provided the material is there to support this. Once the feasibility of this theme has been confirmed, JM will approach the History of Parliament Trust to agree a date (hopefully Spring 2008).
Party Conference
JM is planning to take a stall at the 2007 Conservative Party Conference to promote the CPA.
PA
Cataloguing
The Archives is in its second year of its two-year project for cataloguing previously un-catalogued material
Electronic Documents and Records Management (EDRM)
For many years the Archives have participated in parliamentary working groups about EDRM. Practical steps are now being taken to test the proof of concept in a Commons Select Committee using a live application and “sandpits” have been arranged for selected software suppliers to demonstrate the potential of EDRM to different parts of the business of Parliament. These are important developments for the Archives with a core interest in corporate management of electronic records and the digital preservation of archives. Work has begun on scoping a strategy for digital preservation.
Portcullis
Work on upgrading the public interface to the online catalogue “Portcullis” (in CALM) is nearly completed. This has involved integration with the website and use of a common header bar.
Outreach
There was continued progress with several key outreach projects for Parliament including preparations for exhibitions in 2007 to mark the 200th anniversary of Parliamentary Abolition of the Slave Trade and the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union with Scotland in collaboration the Scottish Parliament. The first phase in an interactive website about the slave trade is online. The Act of Union exhibition would be mounted in the Royal Gallery of the House of Lords in the summer and move to the Scottish Parliament in September.
Digitisation
Work has continued on developing a strategy for the digitisation of originals to support preservation and access. A digital camera facility is being installed in place of an aging microfilm camera.
LHASC
One-Site
Jan 2006 PHM found out that HLF application for money to support One Site Project had been successful with a Stage One award of £7.06 million. The project will see the Pump House site on Bridge Street, Manchester renovated and expanded to consolidate all services on one site incorporating new galleries and education spaces. Also the archive will move from its current location at 103 Princess Street to the Pump House to a new searchroom and storage configured to BS5454 standard.
Currently all staff are working up stage 2 design with consultants and it will be submitted to the HLF for stage 2 approval on 30 April. If accepted we hope to hear back by the end Sep 2007. In parallel we are submitting a bid to North West Development Agency for 2mill.
Assuming we get confirmation from HLF that stage 2 has been accepted the PH site will close autumn 2007. During the closure period the museum will develop an outreach programme & there will be some gallery space at the Museum of Science and Industry and a second small gallery is planned for 103 Princess Street.
The archives will remain open until it is necessary to close for the move of documents etc. It is hoped that with additional staff at 103 Princess Street the archive will be able to resume opening on a Monday, however this is as yet unconfirmed.
Student Visits
December 2006 to March 2007 7 educational groups amounting to 79 visitors including A level teachers on and in-set day and a group of 6th formers from Widnes who had a session introducing archives and how to use them which went down well. Hoping to extend Education aspect of archives and run some set sessions more frequently.
'Treasures of the North' reception at House of Commons
28 February: A special reception for Members of Parliament and the House of Lords representing the North East, North West and Yorkshire on 28 February 2007, organised by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) Partnership. The showcase event was set up to be an opportunity for northern museums, libraries and archives to promote and celebrate their achievements in preserving the wealth of culture and history in the region. LHASC contributed by displaying the first page of the Parliamentary Labour Party Minutes 12 Feb 1906.
Changing Exhibition:
The Exhibition Grand Trunk Road by well-known photographer Tim Smith, working with oral historian Irna Qureshi. It explored the Grand Trunk Road – the longest, oldest and most famous highway in the Asian sub-continent – through a series of photographs and oral history interviews taken in Spring 2006 along the route from the Indian capital, Delhi, to the Afghan border in north west Pakistan. The exhibition will be moving to Bradford for display.
The new exhibition ‘Battle for the Ballot’ uses the museum's unique collections to tell the incredible story of the ordinary working class individuals and movements that contributed to the growth of British democracy over the last two centuries.
Come and find out who fought for you to have the right to vote and discover why they were willing to struggle, risk their liberty and even their lives to achieve democracy in Britain. Original film clips and oral histories will help to bring this important story to life. We have Billy Bragg opening the new exhibition on Friday 27 April and it will run until the 30 September.
Online Exhibition:
JR is working with Co-op & WCML to produce an on-line exhibition for AAM which incorporates items from each collection titled ‘Kitchen table to conference table’ looking at the role of women in society and how it has changed. Hoped to be launched Nov 2007.
New Accessions:
Bits and Bobs including the transfer of the Lord Douglas Houghton papers from storage at JRUL to LHASC and cataloguing has commenced on these papers.
Papers of the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MP’s has been brought up from London and is now available, in the same delivery came additional Houghton papers, papers for the Michael Foot collection, the NJCWWO and CPGB collections.
PRONI
Accessions & Cataloguing:
As reported in the last meeting, PRONI are still talking to the Ulster Unionist Council about additional papers for the 1980s and 1990s. The UUC have agreed in principle to deposit these papers, and new access terms have been agreed in principle, but these are still to be actioned. The aspiration is that papers older than thirty years will be open to the public.
The papers of the National Party politician, Cahir Healy (1877-1970), MP for Fermanagh and Tyrone, are to be made completely open. Up until now these were held under restricted access.
Additional Brookborough Papers were received relating to the 2nd Viscount, Captain John Brooke, Unionist MP for Lisniskea in 1968-1972, minister of state under the O’Neill government and Government Chief Whip under Faulkner. Brooke followed Faulkner when he left the Ulster Unionist Party to found the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland (UPNI)
Two Orange Lodges minute books for Bangor (100th anniversary) and Whiterock Temperance received.
Electronic Catalogue:
Data capture complete
DS Calm module developed
Intended launch late 2007
Potential for a joint launch with the re-vamped web-site
New Accommodation:
Tenders have been submitted and the winner will be announced in the summer of 2007
NLS
Staffing:
Maria Castrillo started at the NLS on February 5th. She is now responsible for the modern political collections, labour history, trade union records, business records and emigration papers.
Acquisition of material:
The main Scottish political parties were approached in writing at the beginning of March in order to establish more formal contacts with a view to clarify access conditions to the records deposited in the Library. So far no replies have been received, possibly because they are focused on the May election and because the contact names may have changed. Once the new government is in place, all political parties will be approached again.
Listing and Cataloguing:
A new cataloguing system for manuscripts is being created as a result of the acquisition of the John Murray Archive. It will be probably in place in the summer and the whole division should benefit from it.
The papers of A.D. Cochrane, Conservative MP for Dunbarton and East Fife and former governor of Burma, are being listed.
Small collections of papers of members of the International Brigades who fought in the Spanish Civil War have also been listed.
Recent Accessions and possible acquisitions:
Papers of Robert B. Wilkie, Scottish Nationalist and political activist in the 1930s-1950s.
Papers of Tam Dalyell, MP.
Papers of Bob Orr, gay activist in Edinburgh who set up several book shops in the city.
Further papers of Trevor Clark will be probably donated in May.
The Scottish Socialist Party is likely to deposit its historical records at the NLS. Further contacts will follow after the May election.
Other initiatives:
Contacts with Education and Interpretative Services at NLS have started in order to organise education workshops whose main focus will be the modern political collections and trade union records.
WPA
2007 Centenary Year
2007 is the centenary year for both the National Library of Wales and the National Museum who were both given their charter by Edward VII on 19 March 1907. Celebration events have been planned including a major exhibition in the Gregory Gallery from Apr-Nov and three books are to be published during the year.
Website
The new National Library of Wales website was launched three weeks ago by Rhodri Morgan. There are six pages devoted to the Welsh Political Archive.
Cataloguing
The new cataloguing system VIRTUA went live at the end of January but only for printed items. There is a huge backlog of unrecorded books and journals.
Accessions
Few accessions received: extra group of papers of Lady White, and the archives of the Peace Shop Cardiff. WPA to collect material from the third election to the Welsh National Assembly which is to take place on 3 May, all constituencies have been contacted.
WPA Annual Lecture 2007
This year’s lecture is to be given by Mr David Jenkins former General Secretary of TUC Wales. The lecture is to be titled ‘Sleeping with the Enemy: Unions in Wales during the Thatcher Years!’
2006 lecture by Lord Crickhewell is now available on the NLW website.
2008 lecture will be given by Lord Elystan-Morgan
Newsletter
The next WPA newsletter (no.38) will be out in September 2007
UE
Accessions
In Feb 2007 the library received another batch of archival material from lord Rogers of Quarrybank relating to his involvement in the SDP. It is likely that this will be the last set of papers which will be acquired from Bill Rogers.
The librarian has recently been in touch with Tony Halmos former Deputy National Organiser of the SDP. Mr Halmos has offered us his papers dating from his time in the SDP. It is hoped that these will be acquired soon.
Cataloguing
A large project to catalogue all SDP and Taw Society publications has been finished. This has brought all the items together and are properly catalogued and are available on the library catalogue.
LSE
Acquisitions
Received further papers from Lord Ashdown, including final instalment of the diary from his time in Bosnia, Liberal Democrat policy papers and papers from the post 1989 Liberal Party.
Cataloguing
The finding aids for Richard Wainwright (Liberal MP), Tory Reform Group, Federal Trust and Alf Morris (Labour MP) have been completed and the Fabian Society handlist is now online following editing and indexing along with general election ephemera for 2001 and 2005.
Work is currently underway on papers of David Steel (Liberal), Merlyn Rees (Labour) and Geoffrey Finsberg (Conservative) – just to be fair to all the major parties. Work should begin on the Society of Labour Lawyers over the summer..
Steel and Wainwright Project
Work is now completed on the papers of Richard Wainwright and onto Steel. About to begin a round of publicity and are sending out briefing papers on our Labour, Liberal and European collections to academic departments throughout the country. Plans are also underway for a seminar on the Survival of Liberalism to take place in early 2008 in conjunction with the Wainwright family and the Liberal Democrat History Group.