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Toolkit : Photographs & Visual Materials

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How to store, provide access to and make the most of your artistic, graphic and other visual collections.

What is a visual collection?

Collections can contain many and varied art forms using different mediums such as photographic prints, glass plate and film negatives, etchings and prints, paintings, cartoons and sketches, postcards, greetings cards, posters and more.

These materials may be housed together or separately as part of collections donated by individuals or organisations. Their size, medium and format mean that they may prove hard to store and maintain and will need special care and consideration if they form part of a local studies collection.

Storage

General advice:

All visual material is susceptible to damage. As with all single sheet materials, they can be placed in an appropriate sized inert polyester envelope which provides a certain amount of protection from handling. You can also use permanent markers to write catalogue numbers on the cover rather than the item itself.

Does the item need to be accessed easily? Perhaps not, if it has been digitised. In that case you can purchase inert polyester in ready-made envelopes, open either one or two sides, plus you can buy cheaper rolls which can be sealed using a specially designed machine, or just with the use of double-sided tape. These can then be stored in an appropriately sized box.

If you need public access, you can consider placing images in files, albums or hang covers from bars which can then be stored in filing cabinets.

Photographic material

Dating from the mid-19th century, photographs and negatives are an unstable medium and can degrade quickly if not stored in adequate conditions. Use acid-free envelopes to keep them as inert as possible; remove any card backings or mounts if you can. Keep them away from light, avoid damp conditions and store at as cool a temperature as possible. Keep an eye on the relative humidity too; a high RH level can be particularly damaging. The same will be true for film and glass plate negatives; the latter being very prone to damage (glass can crack easily). Do not fold or roll photographs and use acid free card and tissue for additional protection if necessary.

Photographic material is particularly susceptible to marking. Never use anything other than soft pencil (5B is best) to write on the back. Handle with gloves whenever possible and by the corners of the images when you cannot, as once a fingerprint is placed on the image, it cannot be removed from the original.

Printed material

Postcards can date from the late 19th century but prints can be a great deal older, although many prints date from the 18th century. Both mediums are more robust than photographic material, but the card and paper they are made of can still degrade over time. Store in acid-free boxes. Postcards can be stored in 4-pocket acid-free envelopes to save space. Prints can vary in size; always store flat wherever possible. It is advisable never to fold or roll prints. Modern items may include posters and greetings cards. Again, store in acid free conditions and, if possible, do not fold or roll posters as this will weaken them and make them more prone to damage.

Artworks

Watercolours require less specialist storage than oil works which may be better placed in your local museum or art gallery. Again, store in acid free boxes; use acid free tissue for additional protection if necessary. Flat storage works best. Do not fold or roll items; this will cause stress on the material and lead to further deterioration. Remove any backing which may react with the works or cause difficulty in storing the items correctly, including frames, mounts and metal clips etc.

Long-term preservation of materials

Consider the best place for visual items to be stored. The medium used to create many of them will be unstable in nature and they may be best placed in a specialist repository. If you have created a digital surrogate you can think about depositing the originals in your local archive or museum if they have dedicated storage facilities  such as a climate controlled strong room, or in a regional repository, such as Hampshire Archives & Local Studies which is home to the Wessex Film and Sound Archive https://www.hants.gov.uk/librariesandarchives/archives/wessex-film-sound and contains the specialist storage facilities required for film.

Conservation suppliers:

Access (aka cataloguing and metadata)

Often such items provide rare and possibly unique images of local people, places and events. This means that they should be catalogued individually; these details are often lost when cataloguing at collection level. Specialist software such as MODES (the Museum Object Data Entry System) or CALM can be used to create individual templates for visual material types such as photographs, whilst Lancashire’s Red Rose Collections used an image management system to digitize and catalogue images whilst providing online access.

If you do not have access to specialist cataloguing software, you can use as little as an Excel Spreadsheet. Google Form or Microsoft Form allow you to set up a cataloguing form and then inputs the data into a linked spreadsheet which can be used as a finding aid. This can then be used to upload to an online platform at a later date.

It is essential to catalogue items in your collection to make them:

  • Accessible for customers
  • Locate the items easily
  • Each piece of information should be in a separate field, so it can be easily manipulated at a later date.
  • Follows the eighteen internationally respected Dublin Core principles so that information can be easily used in different projects and systems at a later date.
  • An essential component of the cataloguing process is to be consistent with your data inputting to ensure that you create a robust, high quality finding aid. Certain data, such as place name, the way you enter a person’s name and locality type should be specified at the start of the process and strictly adhered to. After all, rubbish in, rubbish out – the quality of the finding aid will only be as good as the data that is put into it.
  • Photographs may have also been catalogued in previous years. These can be harnessed, though you have to be aware that they may have been catalogued in different ways.

Sample set of fields:

Key information includes:

Type of object – for example postcard, photograph or print

Unique ID number – each item should have its own catalogue entry number. This is usually prefixed by the date it entered the collection (accession date) but not always; do whatever works best for you

Brief description – to include a description of the contents of the image and anything within it that is unusual or draws your attention. This can include costume, architecture, internal fittings or fixtures etc. Details of people in the image and the context surrounding it, for instance it may be a wedding or a stone laying ceremony.

Title (optional) – if you decide that your brief description should be longer than a line of text.

Long description (optional) – if the image is fascinating, you may wish to write a paragraph or two on the item. This can then be reused for marketing purposes.

Date – of the medium itself and of the contents of the image, for example this could be a modern copy of an old photograph; both dates will be needed to give an accurate record of the item. If an exact date cannot be determined even an approximate one is preferable to leaving this field blank

Keywords : Location – record the place the item relates to.

Keyword: Subject term – This can include a ‘locality type’ such as church or school. You can start with a basic list of terms which can then be built up as you go along if you do not currently hold any.

Keyword: Names – Individuals and companies.

Depositor – details of the person/organisation for provenance purposes, though avoid including personal details on public catalogues

Date of entry into the collection and the date of the catalogue entry

Creator/Production data – for instance, the name of the photographer or artist who created the item

Dimensions and condition of the item – useful when considering the fragility or difficulty of moving the item

Current storage location – this data is essential so that you can find the item quickly and easily

Rights data – has this image been checked for copyright? Are there any restrictions regarding its use? For more information about copyright, see the Copyright section of the toolkit.

Digitisation – has the item been digitised? If so, provide details of the whereabouts of the surrogate

Digitising collections

Visual materials are an amazing resource that can help to promote your local studies collection. A digitisation project can help you access the value of the collection. It can also help create surrogates that will extend the life of the original item, particularly if it is fragile as it will be handled less frequently and will allow it to be kept under stable conditions for extended periods. Scanners are useful for digitisation work, but a good quality SLR camera on a fixed stand is an alternative. Digitisation projects are a good candidate for Crowdsourcing to gain funds to buy digital equipment (see the Crowdsourcing section of the toolkit), HLF Funding and for bid funding.

During the digitisation process, try to alter the settings as little as possible. In this way you can attempt to keep the essence of the original image alive in the digital version, only manipulating any further copies you may produce (see ‘storage of digital items’ for further details). The only permitted changes are the “white and black” levels .

There are many scanners on the market, though the Epson Perfection V800 Film and Photo Scanner often comes out as a recommended choice. Though only an A4 scanner, it works well with slides and negatives and large images can be scanned in section and then “stitched” together with software.

Quality of digital images

To make the most of images for varied uses, it is best to digitise to as high a resolution as possible. If you can do this, it is also possible (where appropriate adhering to copyright law) to make income from your visual collections through the provision of high-resolution copies. Scanning at 1200dpi is a good choice as is maintaining the resolution of images captured by an SLR camera. Many projects suggest using 600dpi as a standard for prints, but higher specifications for negatives. However, you do need to ensure that your scanner can make images up to your selected quality as some scanners only “guess” for higher quality scans.

Storage of these images can be an issue long-term, so think carefully about which images you store and where. Save digital images in an industry standard format. TIFFs are ideal as they retain the pixels throughout the life of the image however many times it is viewed, unlike JPEGs. You can create additional low-resolution jpgs specifically for online use as and when you need them. For online use via social media, low resolution images are fine; even images around 520 pixels wide work well.

Think about the use of your images online. Be aware that they may get re-used and copied for free. You may want to watermark your images; if they are re-used and copied this gives you provenance and a way to promote your collection further. You can do this by adding text via Paint or free online tools such as watermark.ws. Do not use the copyright symbol unless you are explicitly the copyright holder. Instead, use the name of your organisation or ‘Courtesy of…’ to avoid confusion.

Storage of digital images

There are many ways to store digital images, but you will need to keep up with technological changes over time to ensure that your images will remain accessible in the long-term. You might be able to use your organisation’s current storage facility, although this may not be possible if you are creating many high-resolution images that will take up a lot of space. Instead, you could use external hard drives. Three copies should be made, with a working copy and two backups. At least one of the backups should be stored in a different building.

More recently, cloud storage is possible via external organisations. Think carefully about the long-term security of this and take advice if you need it. Your organisation may be developing their own cloud-based systems which would be ideal.

Keep your main store of digital images as a stand-alone digital collection; a ‘digital image repository’. You can then copy and alter/enhance any of these images as you need them, storing these additional copies separately or deleting them after use as appropriate.

Sample guidelines

A sample set of digitisation guidelines, adapted for volunteers, can be found here:Download

Promotion of collections

Once digitised, visual materials can be used to showcase your Local Studies collection; for example Swindon Local Studies have placed digital copies of many of their photographs on Flikr

c1881?: St. Mary's Church, Rodbourne Cheney, Swindon

Images also make great content for social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Beware of copyright issues regarding the publication of images online – see the Copyright section of the toolkit for more information.

Images are also hugely important for exhibitions and presentations (these are generally exempt from copyright if used for educational purposes).

Harnessing the power of volunteers

Volunteers will prove invaluable to help you build up your finding aid catalogue and to digitise your collections but be aware that cataloguing is a particular skill that some volunteers may have trouble mastering and may need additional support. Areas that volunteers find especially problematic is the use of subject terms. Use a limited number of terms whilst asking other staff to add those as part of the checking process.

Projects

Here are a selection of presentations from the LSG South 2014 Study Day on Digitisation, together with the report from Local Studies Librarian

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Other interesting projects that include images:

Know your place West of England includes the KYPWilts Postcards Project:

Click to access wiltshire-postcard-project-evaluation-report.pdf

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Toolkit: Ephemera

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the minor transient documents of everyday life

Maurice Rickards, founder of the Ephemera Society.

Ephemera can give a real insight into what everyday life was like within a given period often in a very visual way, so it is useful both to the serious researcher and those with no particular interest in a subject but are attracted to it by its design and then want to find out more about the subject or period of time. It can add to what is known about a subject or be the only record that an event has taken place, and therefore be invaluable.

What is ephemera?

Ephemera is a term usually used to describe single paper items, produced for example to promote a one-time only event or created for a limited time period, with the eventual intention of  being thrown away once the time period has passed. In most collections, ephemera dates from the nineteenth century onward, although earlier examples can be found particularly in special collections.

There are many different types of ephemera but they usually fall within three main categories:

  • Items produced for a practical purpose, for example; bus or rail timetables, tickets, theatre or musical programmes;
  • Promotional material, for example; business flyers, posters for specific events and postcards
  • Miscellaneous material, for example; greetings cards or special editions of newspapers etc.

Political and religious ephemera can also be found in collections along with rarer items including mourning cards, advertisements for estate sales, posters of executions, beer mats and bookmarks.

As it was produced to be thrown away, the paper chosen for ephemera is often of poor quality and over time becomes quite fragile.  Designs can vary from only basic text to the highly decorative with beautiful illustrations.

Ephemera gives us a flavour of the cultural and social past, in an authentic way. It may be the only tangible evidence that an event took place or that a business existed. In addition to traditional users of local history collections and people with a special interest, ephemera may also be useful to those with interest in the arts, including students of graphic design and fashion.

Despite being an invaluable resource, we also need to be aware of its potential issues. For example, in a poster advertising a play, the year may be missing, the same printing blocks or design may have been used for multiple annual events or the content may be biased towards a specific point of view.

Collecting ephemera today

Because its purpose is short lived, ephemera is often discarded before a librarian or archivist knows about it. For example, current flyers pushed through the door may end up straight in the recycling bin in many households and older items found clearing a house after a bereavement may be discarded as being out of date or just “rubbish”.

In addition to the more usual pieces of ephemera, an awareness of local fringe organisations, even extreme political groups and campaigning groups that may produce literature, reflecting an aspect of the community often unrepresented elsewhere should not be forgotten. This is where new subjects such as the history of LGBTQ people often first appears in documents. The library can sometimes go on mailing lists for this kind of material. Cataloguing these items can be complicated, including finding a terminology that the groups themselves favour, but this barrier should be overcome.

Talking to colleagues, customers and the community about the value of ephemera items should be done at every opportunity so it can be saved for future generations to enjoy and use.

Organising and cataloguing ephemera

Ephemera is often one or two pages long and is usually filed with other material of interest on the same subject within subject files in filing cabinets. Alternative ways of organising material include using Dewey Classification numbers or an in-house designed classification system. In some libraries, booklets and pamphlets that don’t fall into the periodical category may also be referred to as ephemera and are filed in subject files whilst other libraries may have a separate section for pamphlets and booklets, or file them within the main sequence of books. (The disadvantage of this is that they can easily be damaged or lost) so be aware that the standard definition may be expanded. In some cases, for example, postcards, the precedent may be that they are filed with photographs and illustrations.

You may also find that some larger ephemera for example, posters or estate sale particulars are stored in vertical map tanks or on a horizontal shelf so it is always worth bearing this in mind when accessioning items to give clear references to enable their quick location for staff.

As always, it’s useful to follow the precedent of the collection but bear the conservation requirements of the item and the customer in mind when deciding where to place it and how to catalogue it.

In public library collections, particularly those over 100 years old you may find that a card index is still the traditional way of accessing most of the ephemera held. However, many libraries have stopped using card indexes and have started adding material to online databases or catalogues. If this is the case then ideally, accessioning older items retrospectively to replace the card index would be recommended but this may be a long-term aspiration and only possible with the help of volunteers. Adding ephemera to online databases or the library catalogue improves the visibility of the items especially if good key word indexing is adopted, to ensure the items are available to all who may be interested in the content, period of production or design. Though it is always best to catalogue each item of ephemera, time restraints may make this difficult for larger collections in which case it would be worth considering cataloguing groups of items, for example, as has been done with this collection of menus.

Preservation of ephemera

As a piece of ephemera is often a single piece of paper, it can also be easily lost, misfiled or stolen and so extra care needs to be given when working with it or giving it to a customer to view. In the latter situation, if in a closed building, such as an archive, where the weighing in and out of documents is usual practice and items belonging to a customer, for example, coats and bags, are locked away this may not be so much of an issue. However, for public libraries some system does need to be in place to ensure that items within a folder are recorded. A simple signing in and out sheet might be adequate; where items are counted out in front of a customer and then counted back in on return.

As previously mentioned, the quality of the paper used to produce ephemera is often poor and so many pieces are quite fragile and may need specialist conservation. Handling such items can damage it further and so in these cases the use of cotton gloves isn’t recommended as you aren’t able to feel the paper you may inadvertently tear or damage the item further.

Much can be done to preserve these items even if the budget is tight; including, making sure that they are in individual acid-free pockets (for example, Melinex archival polyester) and if necessary, supported with conservation grade mount board (for example, Microchamber). These can then be placed in a boxboard pamphlet or archive box.

If items are stored vertically within a drawer then they should have “breathing space” so they are not tightly constrained. If something is particularly fragile then the item may be placed in a separate box within the sequence or in a separate sequence. (Amend the existing index card or online entry to show the new location)

For fragile, useful, commercially valuable or popular items (if copyright allows) a digital copy can also be made and kept alongside the original. Usually the surrogate copy is adequate for most customers. If the digital image is safely named and stored it can be used if a copy is later required for a customer, for use on a wall mounted display or if you decide to digitise the collection in the future.

In certain circumstances you may have a group of similar items, for example, a series of play bills that you feel would be best preserved together. A special conservation grade album or box with pockets to insert the individual items might be the best way to do this. This enables them to be seen more easily as a collection, but also gives them a greater level of protection from general handling.

If you are working within an organisation with a separate archive facility, it may be possible for them to advise you on how best to store the item or make a box or album for you. Similarly, a conservation resources supplier can provide readymade resources, or a bespoke box.

Some specialist collections have pull out drawer units offering the ability to lay related pieces of ephemera together to offer an instant display of material on a given subject. This would be the ideal way to store ephemera and is an aspiration for many with such collections.

The Ephemera Society http://www.ephemera-society.org.uk/ promotes the conservation and preservation of ephemera and they maintain a useful website.

Collections of ephemera

Most library collections will have some ephemera, and this will usually be incorporated into the main local studies collection. However, special collections of ephemera exist in libraries all over the country. Examples include:

Many local historians and other individuals also collect ephemera so it is useful to find out who may have a collection in your community as they may be able to help you with your enquiries, lend material for exhibitions or talk about their collections as part of your library events programme.  

Further reading

Alice Lock ‘Some Thoughts on Ephemera: Use of ephemera as a record of small fringe organisations and minority groups”, Local Studies Librarian, Vol 31, 2012, p 9-11Download

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Watch the recording: Sharing Content with Peoples’ Collection Wales

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Last month CILIP Wales, CILIP LSG and CILIP MDG organised a successful webinar exploring how public library, archives and community group collections can be shared online with Peoples’ Collection Wales. We heard how this growing platform supports Welsh Government education and health initiatives, as well as recording the rich cultural heritage of Wales. 

The recording is now available for viewing via the MDG YouTube channel:

Although targeted at public librarians working in Wales, the principles of digitising, describing and sharing metadata covered in the webinar are relevant to all working with local studies collections.

Toolkit: Book stock

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What should you collect?

Building up a collection which preserves the history of the area and gives people tools to understand our past is one of the most satisfying aspects of the local studies librarian’s job and is one by which many future generations will judge us. It is an art, rather than a science.

The Collections Development Policy should guide all of your choices on what you should and should not include in your collection, however a good policy should be clear, but not rigid and inflexible and should be subject to regular review.  

The main sections of a Policy are outlined in the Collection Development section of the toolkit, but in order to construct an excellent policy and, as a consequence, develop an excellent collection, you will need to consider a number of aspects and find the right balance for your collection:

  • Comprehensiveness – should the aim be to collect all books and pamphlets relating to the geographical area or should their quality, literacy, bias etc be considered? This will probably vary as large city collections will be dealing with a larger number of publications than smaller or more rural libraries.
  • Subject collections – as well as books relating directly to the geographical area readers may need more general historical studies to give students a chance to place the development of their area into a wider context.
  • Local history and family history manuals and journals – readers will benefit from a selection of books on how to study local and family history and use old documents while journals will help keep them up to date with new ideas.
  • Local authors – should works by local authors (fiction and non-fiction) be collected? If limits are to be set on local authors clear criteria should be established. Important collections of material relating to authors of national reputation should be well promoted.
  • Creative works set in the area – most local studies libraries would want to include these books.
  • Locally printed items – many libraries hold locally printed books, mainly early printed works, private press books and other special categories.  (The librarian may need to report relevant items for inclusion in national catalogues such as the English Short Title Catalogue)
  • Some libraries have inherited collections which are particularly strong in one subject area, for example dialect poetry, should these areas be built on?
  • Some libraries will include special collections which may not immediately seem of direct relevance, for example the books of a local naturalist. These collections may need to be promoted more widely.
  • Neighbouring authorities – coordinating collection policies with neighbouring authorities, perhaps especially in the metropolitan counties, might be useful. However, there are cases where there should be overlap and sometimes subtle ones. For example, school children in Slough are given projects on the history of Windsor so general local history books would be suitable, but local historians in Windsor would be very unlikely to use Slough’s collection to study their local area.
  • Books as an artefact – books are objects as well as information sources, so you should bear in mind the provenance of particular copies. An extreme example can be found in Islington:

Click to access 20200421ortonhalliwelldefacedbookcoversilhc.pdf

The defaced Islington Public Library Service Book Covers, 1959-62

Branch collections

In large geographical areas there may be a need for extensive reference collections in branches and mobile libraries, perhaps including non-book items. Local studies staff need to monitor these collections and may need to create materials for them. Branch collections should only include duplicates – originals or only copies, should go to the centralised collection.

Book selection

Personal contact with local groups and users of the library is an important way of alerting staff to relevant new publications. In a large rural county staff in the general library service should be trained to look out for material.

Social media posts by local groups, especially local history and family history societies, academic institutions and their staff and local newspapers will promote new relevant publications.

Relevant journals and local newspapers are invaluable sources of information about new books. Local history and academic journals will include book reviews and can be very helpful in alerting librarians to new subject areas for study which may in turn lead to a need to search out material to fill gaps in stock. Journal articles relevant to the library’s geographical area should also be added to the collection.

Local and national online bibliographies, such as the Devon Bibliography should be searched.

Current material such as local authority reports, publications by local businesses and other voluntary and official organisations and locally published journals and newsletters should be collected.  (These will usually be the most difficult items to track down and acquire).

Acquiring book stock

There must be some way to acquire books and pamphlets from small organisations such as churches and community groups, as well as individual authors, who cannot be added to the local authority payment system. Staff may also need to buy material from fairs and book dealers.

Much local material will have very short print runs so it is important to react quickly to the opportunity to purchase stock. It is important to receive intelligence from branch staff who will often have contacts in their local communities.

Multiple copies of heavily used titles will be required for current and future use and for use in branches.

Second hand book dealers’ lists and Abebooks can be searched to fill gaps in the collection. Bookfinder.com is also excellent at searching large number of dealers, including the Abebooks network and Amazon.

Offering of material between libraries should be practiced and surrogate copies of rare material relevant to other areas should be made available.

Local and regional publishing societies should be supported by subscription as generously as possible as they generally produce significant material of high quality.

Donations from authors – a sign of a successful local studies service is that it becomes an essential tool for local history authors. If prompted, many of which will be delighted to present copies to the library on completion of their project (as well as an acknowledgement in their work).

Other Donations – responsibilities to the donor should be made clear. It should be established that the donation is a gift (or permanent loan?), how it will be used, catalogued and cared for, whether the librarian retains the right to discard it, are there any rights, e.g. copyright, attached to it.

Journals

Local historical and archaeological societies often have their own journals packed with decades and sometimes centuries of articles on obscure aspects of the history of your area. Most collections will have copies of these publications on their shelves, but it is important that the library continues corporate membership of such societies so that new editions volumes can be added to the collections.

Traditionally, local studies collections have indexed these articles, however much of this work is now being done by the Societies themselves. For more information on this subject see: That gem of local studies just starting to be found by Google: local history society journal backruns.

Lending collections

Lending collections of popular and useful books should be created when duplicates are available, both for users of the local studies collection and for the library service in general. The local studies librarian will need to have some input into both aspects so that stock levels remain satisfactory.

e-books

If available, titles should also be purchased for your local authority’s e-book collection. You can also follow Rochdale’s example and look to digitise key works from your book stock and placing those online.

Protection of the book collection

The local studies library will hold rare and unique material, which may be fragile, and has a responsibility to protect it from theft and damage for future generations. For more information on book conservations and storage, see the Conservation section of the Toolkit.

While libraries will not wish to introduce barriers which discourage users some security measures to consider include –

  • registering users
  • filling out slips for books on closed access
  • weighing bundles of documents in and out
  • providing a bag store
  • tagging items
  • restricting users to pencils only and using book cushions for very old or fragile items
  • providing surrogates for fragile items (including facsimile books)

It is vital to have comprehensive supervision of the reading room

Use of technology such as tagging, CCTV, creating surrogates etc gives the opportunity to improve researchers’ experience by allowing more books to be kept on open access.

If books are removed for reprographic or exhibition purposes steps to ensure their security must be taken

Special care should be taken to avoid damage by photocopying etc. The use of a digital camera is almost always better for the book.

Major repairs and binding should be done by specialist conservators. See Conservation section of the Toolkit.

Disposal of unwanted book stock

The decision to dispose of local studies material should never be taken lightly. It should be recognised that preparing and documenting material for disposal involves time and expense.

There are very useful guidelines for the disposal of rare books on the Bibliographical Society website.

Before an item is disposed of by gift or sale various checks are necessary

  • Does the library have the authority or ethical right to sell the item?
  • Is it a genuine duplicate not a variant edition, specially annotated, the only copy with all its illustrations intact etc?
  • Will the disposal do reputational damage to the library?
  • Should it be offered to another library or rare books collection? As well as neighbouring authorities, the National Library of Scotland, National Library of Wales and National Library of Ireland and the National Archive’s library team may welcome material not held in their collection. The same can be true for other Special Collections, for example the National Aerospace Library collects material on all aspects of aviation. Details of specialist collections can be found in Karen Attar (ed), Directory of Rare Book and Special Collections in the UK and Republic of Ireland, Facet Publishing, whilst a list of professional and learned society libraries can be found here.
  • If the decision is taken to sell the best possible price should be obtained and the income should benefit the library.

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Toolkit: Oral history

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Definition

Oral history is the recording of people’s memories, attitudes, feelings and opinions and enables the listener to have some understanding of that person and their experiences. It can cover their whole life, an aspect of that life, or a particular event significant for them or more generally well known.

What oral history offers

It enables people who might not otherwise be heard to recount aspects of their lives. Potentially everyone has a unique story to share, regardless of colour, race, religion, age, upbringing, career, economic circumstances and life experiences. Oral history may not be entirely accurate as memory is subjective and emotive but these aspects can also be a strength.

Oral history enables us to document details of everyday life and ensure the experiences, opinions and outlook of people in general are recorded. Gaps in historical evidence might be filled and alternative views of events put forward. Alternative, or poorly documented, ways of life could be better understood.

The Instititute of Historical Research has a comprehensive account of how oral history has developed over many years.

Wikipedia has an overview of oral history worldwide; USA dominated but with useful links to many articles and examples of projects.

How to produce worthwhile oral history

A good oral history interview will be conducted by an interviewer who has discussed the interview in general terms with their subject, put together a structured set of questions,  can be adaptable and is familiar with their recording equipment. They will also insure that the recording is preserved in a library, record office or museum, and that consent forms for its use are signed. The process can lead to the discovery and donation, or loan for copying, of documents, photographs and other records which can add value to the recorded interview.

A variety of recording devices can be used but heritage staff should use the best digital recorders their budget will allow, ideally with microphones and headphones, and not mobile phones. The latter have limitations, particularly poor quality internal microphones and limited file saving options.

How to create or enlarge an oral history collection

Firstly, be aware that every interview is time-consuming to prepare, conduct, summarise or transcribe, save and catalogue. So your initial decision is: am I planning one-off interviews or a larger scale project involving other colleagues, volunteers and often external funding.

Secondly, why am I planning to create or enlarge an oral history collection? It may be to capture eye witness memories from people who remember life before/during the Second World War, from a particular time period or of living in a particular place. Another reason may be that there are few books or records on a particular event, place, or type of community . Also, are specific outputs (eg exhibition or book) required as part of a wider OH project, in which case including specific questions on particular themes (eg childhood, work, leisure, food etc) may be needed.   

Thirdly, can my organisation fund this in-house or do I need to look for external funding for part or all of the cost, and if so, how much.

The Oral History Society has excellent advice on how to get started both on their website and through ideas in their Oral history journal.

Funding a project

The most obvious organisation to approach is the National Lottery Heritage Fund. They welcome projects which are oral history based and have published excellent guidelines on funding, scoping, planning, executing and archiving an oral history project. The Oral History Society has a list of other funders and with links to directories of grant making organisations.

Working out how much funding to ask for is made easier through the Society’s budgeting for oral history contractors pages, covering estimated charges for training sessions, workshops in schools, editing work, etc.

Training

Both staff and volunteers need training in this specialist field whether attempting just a few one-off interviews or a larger project.

The Oral History Society offer a range of  training courses in person or online from general courses for beginners through to specific courses on specialist subjects such as archiving, editing and GDPR.

The Institute of Historical Research (University of London) also offers training courses, seminars and other events on understanding, setting up and running oral history projects, including a three day annual oral history Spring School.   

Equipment

Various organisations offer advice on choosing and using digital recorders, microphones, headphones etc including the USA’s Institute of Museum and Library Studies, Digital Omnium and the Oral History Society debates the merits of audio versus video too.

Practicalities of interviewing

Excellent advice on the whole interviewing process is available from the Oral History Society including ethical, legal and data protection issues.

Some practical tips:

  • Conduct the interview in a quiet place, somewhere your interviewee is comfortable, away from traffic noise and other internal noise [eg loud clocks, budgies etc!] but near a power supply
  • Place the recorder on a magazine or towel etc to reduce noise
  • Adjust sound levels and record/listen to some test conversation before
  • Ensure the interviewee doesn’t have anything which might cause distracting noise, such as sheets of paper, keys, cups etc
  • Mobile phones may affect recording even on silent; turn them off
  • Explain the purpose of interview, particularly any project background, how the recording will be used and that they’ll need to sign a copyright and clearance form afterwards for it to be used
  • Explain the nature of the interview – reassure them that it will be relaxed, informal, their words, and you will guide them
  • If a friend or relative is present, ask them to intervene as little as possible during the interview
  • Always begin the audio interview by identifying yourselves, the interviewee, and the date, using standard introductory words
  • Let them talk! Actively listen to and respect your interviewee
  • Use ‘open’ questions to encourage them to speak
  • Let them tell their story in their own way
  • Use your list of questions – but be flexible, allow the interview conversation to follow other directions to those predicted by your question sheet;   also ask other questions if and when they occur to you during the interview
  • Don’t interrupt;  your voice should be heard as little as possible
  • When they have finished answering a particular question, count to 10 before you carry on; they might be thinking and add something significant  
  • Acknowledge as quietly (ideally silently) as possible what the interviewee is saying; avoid saying ‘ok’ and ‘mmmm’ frequently unless the interviewee is partially sighted
  • Above all, relax and enjoy the experience!

Straight after the interview, ask the interviewee to complete and sign a copyright and  clearance form. Your interviewer(s) should also sign the same form or an additional copyright and clearance form. Without this the recording should not be added to your collection. Ideally complete two copies, leaving one with your subject.

Take a photograph of the interviewee if they consent and add this fact to the copyright and clearance form. This may be used later if any audio is added to a website. Similarly photograph any significant personal documents and items which might be relevant to, or have been mentioned in, the interview. Add details of these to the same form, or use a separate form (if preferred), for these.

Post interview work

  • Save the original .wav (archival) file on a backed up server or in two different physical locations (external hard drives, SD card or similar)
  • Make two .mp3 copies of the .wav file(s) which will be the working copies and should also be saved in two different locations (as above)
  • The .mp3 file can be edited to remove introductory sound tests etc; Audacity is a free, open source audio editing software; more functions are offered by these paid-for alternatives: Goldwave, Wavelab Elements or Sound Forge Audio Studio 12 
  • Send a thank you letter with a copy of the interview on CD
  • Back up and catalogue the digital master recordings (.wav files), .mp3 copies, timed summary plus copies of all printed documentation (particularly signed agreements)  
  • Consider depositing the digital master recordings (.wav files), .mp3 copies and printed documentation (particularly signed agreements) at an appropriate local record office too, if you don’t have the capacity for long term preservation
  • Produce a detailed summary of the recording, including the person’s details, date/location of interview and subjects covered with timings; make a note of any potentially offensive statements (see ‘Ethics’ below’); NB full text transcripts are very time-consuming to produce
  • Ethics: it is important not to change the meaning of the interviewee’s words or use recordings in a way which might embarrass them; don’t publish offensive, libellous or slanderous comments about a third party too; check what permissions the interviewee has given on the copyright and clearance form;  see the Oral History Society’s section on ethics
  • The copyright and clearance form, and any other signed forms produced, should be filed and ideally digitised

Exploiting Your OH Collections

Short audio clips can be made from much longer interviews, using software described in  ‘Post Interview Work’ above. These could be accompanied by a transcript, plus portrait photo, and organised thematically on your website. You can also make simple videos using software such as Movie Maker which enables you to add images to the audio to enhance the clip.

If part of a wider project think about creative responses with schools or in family learning activities, such as animation, or perhaps creative writing. It is worth working with, or employing creative practitioners, so consider including costs for this in any funding bids. [thank you to Terry Bracher for these ideas]

Bibliography

A comprehensive worldwide bibliography is available on the Oral History Society website which includes sections on Handbooks, Collections and Reflections on Theory and Practice, Periodicals and Key Studies Using oral history.                                                                                 

Selective list of books:

A. Bryson and S. McConville, The Routledge Guide to Interviewing: Oral history, Social Enquiry and Investigation, (Routledge, 2014)

N. MacKay et al, Community Oral history Toolkit, (Left Coast Press, 2013)

R. Perks and A. Thomson (eds), The Oral history Reader, (Routledge, 3rd ed. 2016)

D. Ritchie, Doing Oral history, (Oxford University Press, 3rd ed. 2015)

D. Ritchie, (ed), The Oxford Handbook of Oral history, (Oxford University Press, 2011)

P. Thompson, The Voice of the Past: Oral history, (Oxford University Press, 4th ed. 2016)

Periodical:

Oral History   (Oral History Society, [UK] vol. 1 no. 1 1969–)

Articles:

Stephen Caunce ‘Oral History in the 21st Century: Linking universities and communities’. Local Studies Librarian, Vol. 29, No. 1, p. 2-7 – Academic study of how oral history has developed.Download
Lesley Kirkwood, ‘Working Lives – the Warwickshire Experience’. Local Studies Librarian, Vol 30, 2011, p.22-29, Account of an oral history project in Warwickshire relating to experience of workDownload

Toolkits:

Email West Sussex Record Office for a free copy of their practical, comprehensive oral history guidance notes on how to set up, conduct, summarise and save oral history interviews, including example forms.

Manchester Histories Toolkit 2 Doing Your Oral history Project

Written by Dr Fiona Cosson this downloadable toolkit is a step-by-step guide to doing a successful oral history project. It covers all the key steps in the process of putting together your project, from planning and design, to interview skills, and organising your material and transcription.

Websites

GENERAL / NATIONAL

Oral History Society

The best place to start for advice and information on all aspects of oral history. As well as the many links in sections above, there are also special pages on networkers, consultants and trainers, family history, museums, higher education and academic studies using oral history and UK regions.

Oxford LibGuides: Oral history

Perhaps the most comprehensive overview of oral history resources and projects from across the UK and beyond published by the Bodleian Library.

The British Library has an active campaign to identify and help preserve oral history collections across the UK, however the 2023 cyber-attach has brough many of the following resources down. The Directory of UK Sound Collections, resulted from a BL survey in 2015, and has detailed information on 3,015 collections, from 488 collection holders, containing 1.9 million items. This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date survey of oral history, can be downloaded and includes links to online catalogues and websites.

The BL’s Save Our Sounds programme aims to preserve rare and unique sound recordings in the BL and in other collections through a Lottery funded project Unlocking Our Sound Heritage. Additional aims are to establish a national radio archive and to invest in new technology to enable the BL to receive music in digital formats.

The British Library’s own oral history material is one of the largest collections of oral history and life story interviews in the world and there is a specialist online catalogue.

LISTS of UK LIBRARIES and RECORD OFFICES

All UK record offices, many libraries and some museums hold oral history within their collections:

The National Archives’ comprehensive list of record offices and archive collections

UK Government public library finder

Libraries_in_the_United_Kingdom (Wikipedia)

Library.org searchable lists of UK academic and public libraries

SELECTIVE LOCAL oral history PROJECTS and WEBSITES

Bedfordshire_Womens_Land_Army

Birmingham Library Services

Various oral history projects on migrants from Ireland and Caribbean, and veterans of World War Two

Birmingham LGBT

Several heritage projects to research and archive the lives and experiences of LGBT people

Black Country oral histories

Records of over 300 oral history interviews in collections across Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton

Cornish Audio Visual Archive

Exmoor Oral history Archive

Over 200 hours of audio recordings featuring 78 people

Essex Record Office Sound and Video Archive

Lake District Holocaust Project

Poignant story of Jewish child holocaust survivors sent to Ambleside after World War Two

Lancashire Textile Project

A sound and photographic archive now at Lancaster University

Leeds: Historypin Connections  

Engaging with older adults at risk of social isolation, both individually and in groups, this partnership project between Leeds Library & Information Service, Norfolk Library & Information Service and Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums is funded by the Big Lottery Accelerating Ideas programme

LONDON

Bishopsgate Institute

The  Special Collections and Archives include personal histories and reflections from the 1940’s to the present, in two key areas: everyday lives of Londoners, and grass roots protest and campaigning for social, political and cultural change      

Hidden Histories

Oral histories about the wider East End (East Side) of London

Foundling Voices

Memories of separation, schooling, love, loss and rediscovery from people who grew up in the care of the Foundling Hospital between 1912 and 1954

Kings Cross Voices

An unusual oral history project, recording the memories of railway workers, police officers, market traders, activists, former sex trade workers, housewives, artists, students, publicans etc, between 2004 to 2008, before the area was redeveloped

Museum of London Oral history Collections

An overview of the Museum’s oral history collections with extracts from interviewees related to the ‘Windrush Generation’ of Afro-Caribbean migrants

Ports of Call

Walking trails about communities around the Royal Docks, with downloadable maps and oral history mp3 files

On the Record

An unusual collection of oral history projects with a social change agenda, most based in the East End: childhood food, childcare and parenting, a Hackney community centre, specialist hospitals, and Speakers’ Corner

Waltham Forest

Over 800 interviews and 52 sound clips from London’s oldest (1983) oral history group

Manchester

Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre

Over 200 OH interviews with ethnic minority residents including Afghan, African, Sikh, Bangladeshi, Caribbean, Chinese, , Indian, Kurdish, Pakistani and Somali people.

Milton Keynes All Change

oral history recordings, images and documents on the coming of railway towns Wolverton and New Bradwell

Norfolk: Historypin Connections

Engaging with older adults at risk of social isolation, both individually and in groups, this partnership project between Leeds Library & Information Service, Norfolk Library & Information Service and Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums is funded by the Big Lottery Accelerating Ideas programme

North_West_Sound_Archive

Sound recordings relocated to Manchester Central Library, Liverpool Central Library and Lancashire Archives

Nuneaton and Bedworth Working Lives

Work and industry in these towns, including audio clips

Reading: The Immigrants Project

Stories of people from all over the world who came to settle in Reading

Southwold Museum and Heritage Society

Example of how to embed audio clips across a local history website

Tyne & Wear: Historypin Connections

Engaging with older adults at risk of social isolation, both individually and in groups, this partnership project between Leeds Library & Information Service, Norfolk Library & Information Service and Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums is funded by the Big Lottery Accelerating Ideas programme

East Sussex Record Office [The Keep]

Keep Sounds is part of the British Library  Unlocking Our Sound Heritage and has blogs on the importance of OH, history of recording, and various topics such as the significance of libraries, Ashdown Forest, Brighton’s West Pier and even OH during the 2020 lockdown.

West Sussex CC Library Service

These projects were funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund:

Military Voices Past and Present

Audio extracts from Interviews with West Sussex veterans from World War One, World War Two and post 1945 wars and conflicts.

Wartime_West_Sussex 1939-45

200 audio clips of 24 people interviewed about their experiences of the Home Front in West Sussex

Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre Projects: The projects below received funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund:

  • Lacock: a Sense of Place – Interviews with local residents added to the online Lacock Community Archive
  • Wiltshire Black History – Interviews with people from the local African Caribbean from 2010 to date, based on two projects: SEEME (life stories) and Wiltshire Remembers the Windrush Generation; includes classroom resources
  • World War Two Arctic Convoy Project – Oral histories of veterans who served on the Arctic convoys between the UK, North America and Iceland between August 1941 and May 1945
  • Do You Remember… Reminiscence Sessions in Wiltshire Care Homes, A Pilot
Do you remember,,,, evaluationDownload

IRELAND and NORTHERN IRELAND

Oral History Society Northern Ireland Network

Oxford Lib Guide on Oral history in Ireland

Another Oxford Library Guides by the Bodleian

Oral history Network Ireland

SCOTLAND

Living Memory Association, Edinburgh

Reminiscence group established 1986, with interviews, podcasts, videos, and strong on music, photos and a Facebook page

University of Edinburgh School of Scottish Studies Sound Archive

Established in 1951 and contains thousands of recordings of songs, instrumental music, tales, verse, customs, beliefs, place-names, biographical information and local history. Strong on traditional life, farming, fishing, ship-building and other industries described in a range of dialects and accents in Gaelic, Scots and English

Glasgow Life

Various oral history projects across the City:

Scottish Oral history Centre

Established in 1951 at the University of Strathclyde, the Centre supports the use of oral history within the academic community and in the cognate areas such as archives and museums and aims to encourage best practice in oral history

Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o Riches (Gaelic language)

Set up to preserve, digitise, catalogue and make available online Gaelic and Scots recordings and nearly 50,000 are available online.

WALES

Oxford Lib Guide on Oral History in Wales

A guide to collections including Welsh recordings in institutions across the UK

Unlocking Wales’s Oral history Interviews

The National Library of Wales is collaborating with the British Library on the Unlocking Our Sound Heritage project. They are digitising and cataloguing some 5,000 sound recordings from across Wales to protect them for future generations.

St Fagans National Museum of History

Example: Women’s history; includes audio clips in Welsh

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Event: How to share Public Library digital collections with People’s Collection Wales

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Delivering culture and heritage to audiences online has become increasingly important in 2020.

CILIP Cymru Wales (CCW), CILIP Metadata & Discovery Group (MDG), CILIP Local Studies Group and People’s Collection Wales (PCW) invite librarians across Wales to an online PCW session, which will show librarians how to share digital content, re-purpose it via the Hwb and Living memory initiatives, and measure its impact – all via the PCW site. 

This webinar will be followed up with bespoke training to help libraries in Wales get their collections online.

Details

Join via Zoom on Friday 20 November, 12-1pm.

The session is free and open to all. Register via the event page.

Session outline

  • About us: People’s Collection Wales
  • An introduction to uploading digital content to PCW
  • An introduction to linking content from PCW to Hwb Learning and teaching for Wales
  • An introduction to linking content from PCW with the Living Memory initiative
  • An introduction to measuring digital impact
  • Discussion: what next?

At the end of this session participants will be able to:

  • Identify materials for uploading to PCW
  • Describe materials for upload to PCW
  • Identify opportunities to develop new resources for Hwb and Living Memory
  • Identify opportunities to promote and evaluate your users’ digital activities on PCW
  • Tailor subsequent training sessions around what you need to start sharing content via PCW.

The webinar will provide a useful oversight for all library and information professionals in Wales hoping to improve user engagement with digital collections. It will be particularly useful for public library and archives staff with local studies collections.

Presenters

People’s Collection Wales: Tom Pert, Gruffydd Jones, Rheinallt Ffoster-Jones Jessica Roberts

Facilitators: Amy Staniforth (CILIP Cymru Wales), Jane Daniels (CILIP Metadata & Discovery Group)

The Value of Local Studies for Digital Engagement

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We know the value and positive impact that local studies collections can have on people’s lives. Sharing and exploring together; understanding how the past has shaped a community, and the history of the places that matter to every one of us is proving, now more than ever, to be a comforting constant in an ever-changing world.

These amazing collections are being brought to the fore, and CILIP’s Local Studies Group have been looking at how local studies material is being used online https://lslibrarians.wordpress.com/2020/05/18/share-your-innovative-ideas-for-local-studies/

Here are the results!

If you know of any great online work that hasn’t been mentioned here, please let us know https://lslibrarians.wordpress.com/contact-us/

Film

  • Tower Hamlets has been digitising film collections and sharing via social media channels such as You Tube.
  • Hosting online screenings of films from Local Studies collections: Tower Hamlets is doing this via Facebook Live.
  • Creating film-shows using photographs from Local Studies collections alongside narration; such as the VE Day film show created by the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre.
  • Local Studies for reminiscence: the Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre has been trialling the use of photographs from its collection to create film shows specifically to help those with memory loss.

Covid-19 specific projects

There are many libraries and archives garnering the support of their current volunteers, engaging with the public and growing their volunteer base to help document life under lockdown. Examples include Suffolk Archives, Hull History Centre and Cheshire Archives & Local Studies.

Online Outreach

Tower Hamlets have established a number of socially-distanced local history walks, accessible via social media. They have also produced a set of online local history podcasts and continue to work on collections-led study material to support parents with the history curriculum. 

  • West Sussex Local Studies have posted interviews from their WWI project online.
  • Leicester, Leicestershire and Derbyshire have moved their Local History Café group online with a Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/662528980959073/
  • Members of the South West Local Studies Librarians Group took part in a joint social media outreach project for Local and Community History Month 2020 using an A to Z theme, plus hashtags such as #LocalFood, #LocalStories, #LocalBuildings, #LocalCelebrations. Somerset Archives, Poole History Centre, Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre, Devon Archives, Bristol Archives, Bath Record Office and Swindon Local Studies Library all took part.

Here at CILIP LSG we are producing a toolkit to help those working with Local Studies Collections; more information is available here: https://lslibrarians.wordpress.com/toolkit/toolkit-intro/

Feel free to join us on Twitter too @CILIP_LSG

There is a local history JISCmail list which is free to subscribe to at https://t.co/SxpP3By8u3 if you are interested in, or are working in the local history field, and would like to discuss and share information. The CILIP LSG blog is also a great platform to make the most of, and we would love to hear from anyone interested in Local Studies.

There is some amazing work happening all over the country, and certainly in my case it’s been a sharp learning curve, and a continued work in progress as my own skills improve…

We hope these examples help inspire everyone to discover more about the history of the places that matter to them in a greater variety of formats than ever before.

Julie Davis

County Local Studies Librarian, Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre & Member of CILIP LSG

Toolkit: Collection Development

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A quick reference guide to producing a Collection Development Policy for Local Studies Collections.

Collection Development Policies are an essential part of collection management. They guide the library’s selection of material, retention, disposal, weeding and maintenance. They provide a clear framework showing how the collection will move forward and remain sustainable. They give library staff the ability to measure progress and can demonstrate accountability to users and to upper management. Though they should be formally reviewed periodically, they should be well-thumbed working documents and, as such, should evolve over time.

Local Studies CDP can either be part of a wider authority policy or a document in its own right.

Creating a CDP

A CDP can be split into a number of sections. Johnson (2018) suggests:

  • Mission and Value
  • Purpose
  • Collection Development:
    • Collection Responsibilities
    • Scope of Collection
    • Selection Criteria
    • Selection Tools
    • Gift Policy
    • Reconsideration of Materials
  • Intellectual Freedom:
    • Access to Collections
  • Review of Policy

A useful CDP is specific but it should not be so detailed and ponderous that it is impractical to use. The content should not be over-generalised, idealistic, theoretical, rigid or vague.

When writing the statement, keep in mind the audience and tailor the document appropriately.

Contents

Mission Statement

The strength of a mission statement is that it describes, in a nutshell, the value and purpose of an organisation or department. This is helpful when it is necessary to explain or defend your aims and values. A statement should be aimed at both users and non-users and tells those who read the document about the organisation who looks after the collection, what they stand for, and why the collection matters.

Purpose

This can include types of user and limitations affecting collections development at the organisation. Include a statement of responsibility for collection building and management, including evaluation, selection, maintenance, promotion etc.

Scope of the Collection

A brief description of the library and its history. The quality, character and extent of the collection should be noted, alongside current collecting practice. For local studies collections particular attention should be paid to how ‘local’ is defined in this context. For example, does the library collect material relating only to the area covered by the present local authority and its predecessors, or to adjacent or wider geographical areas as well?

Selection Criteria

A guide to what is and is not collected. This section can be useful when being challenged over possible gifts and can encourage collecting which is relevant and meaningful to the organisation and its users. Also consider gaps in your collection and consider how to address this.

Selection Tools

A description of which measures are used for the selection and de-selection of material.

Gift Policy

A statement providing clear communication about how gifts will be assessed and the process involved in adding gifts to the collection, including retention. Additional statements can also be created regarding bequests.

Ideally, the copyright of unpublished materials should accompany the donation of the physical items, but failing that an agreement should be made on how the material could be copied for commercial and non-commercial purposes. The easiest way to record the copyright details of donation is by using a donation form.

Reconsideration of Materials

How and why de-selection will take place.

Access to Collections

Current policy regarding viewing items to include copying and promotion of material, including via social media.

Equality and Diversity

Efforts should be made to ensure that the collection is as diverse and inclusive as possible, and the Policy should include a commitment that the collection will be made accessible to all.

Review of Policy

A commitment to review after a certain period of time, perhaps three to five years to ensure that the collecting policies remain relevant due to changing user needs or requirements.

CPD for branches

As well as detailing holdings for your main collection, the process should also be repeated for branches.

Other considerations

Consideration should also be given to how your policy fits in with those of neighbouring local studies collections and other heritage organisations, such as the county archive and local museums.

Examples of CDPs

Cumbria County Council

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown

Greater Manchester Collections Development Policy and Strategy

London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames

London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Sutherland Shire Council

Welcome Collection

Wiltshire & Swindon History CentreDownload

Further Reading

Johnson, Peggy (2018) Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management: 4th Edition, Chicago: ALA Editions. ISBN 978-0-8389-1641-4

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