Group for Literary Archives and Manuscripts 22nd May 2015, held at the British Library
Meeting Theme: Negotiating acquisitions
‘THINK PIECES’ were given by Helen Melody (British Library), Kristopher McKie (Seven Stories), Katy
Thornton (University of Leeds), Jacky Hodgson (Sheffield University), and Simon Coleman (The
Keep).
‘In Conversation’ with Sir Andrew Motion and Peter Rankin on their experiences with the British
Library as creator/donor and executor/ donor.
The presentations and discussions were conducted under Chatham House rules.
General meeting and AGM business, followed by news and updates from members
1. Introductions and apologies
Attending
David Sutton (University of Reading) ; John Wells (Cambridge); Anne George (University of
Birmingham); James Travers (TNA); Sally Harrower; Diane Tyler; Katy Thornton (University of Leeds);
Danielle Joyce (University of Worcester); Mark Dorrington (University of Nottingham); Alysoun
Sanders; Simon Coleman (The Keep); Simon Wilson (Hull History Centre); Joanne Fitton (University of
Leeds); Rachel Foss (BL); Kristopher McKie (Steven Stories); Jacky Hodgson (Sheffield University);
Simon Cole; Helen Melody (BL); Charlotte Scott (LMA); Anna Edwards (University of Birmingham);
Ian Johnson and Rachel Hill (Newcastle University); Ramona Riedzewski (V&A); Sally Harrower
(National Library of Scotland)
Apologies
Claire Skinner; Louise Clough; Jo Klett; Richard Temple; Karen Sayers; Charlotte McKillop-Mash;
Susan Thomas; Fran Baker; Sophie Baldock; Fiona Courge; Sarah Hepworth; Alison Cullingford;
Charlotte Berry; Elisabeth Bennett; Katrina Legg; Grace Timmins; Mandy Marvin
2. Minutes of the last meeting
It was acknowledged that an AGM had not been held in 2014
3. Report from Committee meeting
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The next Literary edition of ARC is January 2016. Joanne Fitton will put a call for
contributions to members.
The Archiving the Arts project has finished. 196 new collections are documented on the NRA
(60% were not known about before). Kate Wheeler will be working for one more year on an
exit strategy to ensure sustainability for the project.
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Rights/ Copyright –the 2039 rule is unlikely to change. We are waiting on decisions and
resuming work on the document. By the end of June the survey on rights will be distributed
to members. Responses will be collated and fed back to the October meeting
The next meeting will be held at the John Ryland’s Library, Manchester on 1st October. It will
be a 10 year celebration of GLAM. We hope for presentations on copyright and orphan
works.
Spring 2016 will be at the Brotherton Library, University of Leeds. The theme will be literary
houses, partnerships and publishers.
Autumn 2016 will be at London Metropolitan Archives and the British Library. Potentially a 2
day event on public engagement, new and old audiences.
Authors and their Papers – a final draft is available and will be circulated to members.
Feedback should be sent to David Sutton.
The cataloguing working party is looking for new members – if you are interested in joining
contact Helen Melody
4. AGM Business
Election / confirmation of Officers 2015-2016
Nominated:
Fran Baker (treasurer)
Sophie Baldock (Web officer)
Joanne Fitton (Secretary)
Members agreed with the new appointments
David Sutton was re-appointed Chair
GLAM membership (Secretary)
Membership stands at 186
Report from Treasurer
The bank account balance stands at £307. The committee will be considering fundraising in the
autumn.
Report from Web Officer
The website is being updated. Members are encouraged to share blog posts for the website. The
feasibility of running a twitter account is being investigated.
Chair’s report
GLAM only meets twice per year. It was proposed that GLAM AGMs become Biennial, and the
constitution be amended accordingly. Members agreed with the proposal. There were no objections.
5. News, updates, queries from members
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
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Bloodaxe project is complete. Special Collections is becoming more involved in a network of
poets as a result of the project.
National Library of Scotland
 Preparing for a centenary exhibition in 2018
British Library
 Anthony Trollope bicentenary – an event entitled ‘A Celebration of Anthony Trollope’ was
held in the British Library Conference centre on 23rd April as part of national celebrations to
mark Trollope’s bicentenary. The event consisted of panel discussion between Joanna
Trollope, Victoria Glendinning and Edward Fox chaired by Geordie Greig. A podcast of the
event is available on the Library’s website. A display of material relating to Trollope was
included in the Sir John Ritblat Treasures of the British Library gallery from 4th March until 7th
June.
 Alice Off the Map – the British Library and Games City are holding a competition for
computer design students in Higher Education to create a computer game inspired by Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland which this year celebrates 150 years since its first publication.
More information can be found on the Games City website.
Cadbury Research Library: Special Collections, University of Birmingham
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New Accessions
o Literary and personal papers of John Sommerfield, writer and political activist (19081991), including typescripts of short stories and novels including unpublished works.
o Thesis by University of Birmingham alumnus and writer Henry Reed, on Thomas
Hardy, 1936. [We already have the papers of Reed, a poet and writer who moved in
the circle of W.H. Auden and Louis McNeice.]
o Author’s copy of the play ‘Out There’ by playwright J. Hartley Manners, 1917. It is a
typescript and was used like a prompt book with ms annotations, stage directions,
stage plan and photos pasted in, also a programme from its first performance at The
Globe Theatre, New York, in March 1917
o Papers re the literary movement ‘Books Across The Sea’, which was established in
1941 by Beatrice Lamberton Warde, typographer, and her mother, May Lamberton
Becker, American author and editor. The movement’s aim was to promote friendlier
and more intimate mutual understanding through books, and this was achieved by
exchanging books between in America and Britain. New books were exchanged
which due to the war would otherwise have been unavailable. [We already have the
personal and family papers relating to Beatrice Warde and May Lamberton
Becker.] In 1948 the movement was adopted by the English Speaking Union.
Noel Coward exhibition to run October 2015-Jan 2016 in our main showcases. There will be
two talks linked to it, one in June (before it) and one in October. The Noel Coward trustees
are still in talks to open up the archive, parts of which are closed access. They’ve visited
several times and we’ve put forward various ideas re the future use and development of the
collection including embedding the archive into university teaching, funding a post-grad
drama student, funding an intern to catalogue parts of the collection, which last the trustees
have now decided to go with. An intern will be at CRL in September for a month to list
material from the archive and select material for an online exhibition
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A colleague at Birmingham is editing the war diary of E.W. Hornung for publication. ‘Willie’
Hornung (brother-in-law of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) is best known for his ‘Raffles’ stories
about the gentleman burglar, but he began war work with the YMCA in 1915 after his son
was killed in the trenches. Hornung helped organise a YMCA library and reading hut at
Arras, and later ran a YMCA library in Cologne. His war diary covers December 1917-March
1918 and we have it (and other of his literary papers) here at Birmingham.
University of Leeds, Brotherton Library:
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A second tranche of the Tony Harrison archive has been acquired with a third expected in
2016.
A new search interface, using KE EMu has been launched for Special Collections
A HLF project, the Treasures of the Brotherton will see a permanent exhibition and public
engagement space open late 2015, showcasing the collections held in Special Collections.
Hull History Centre:
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The City of Culture is bringing new opportunities to engage with individuals and make new
connections.
Seven Stories, Newcastle:
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HLF Collecting Cultures Grant is focusing acquisition work. The strategy includes children’s
poetry young fiction and illustration.
University of East Anglia:
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The University has received the remainder of the Nobel Laureate, Doris Lessing’s, archive as
a potential bequeath. Lessing had a 25 year association with UEA. She held the title of
Distinguished Fellow in Literature and received an Honorary Degree in 1985. The latest
tranche of material is currently on loan from the Estate, prior to probate. There are 60 boxes
of material including personal papers, correspondence and notebooks and diaries. Lessing's
appointed biographer, Patrick French, will have privileged access during the writing of
Lessing’s biography, at which point, where appropriate, material will catalogued and made
available for public access. A substantial gift of earlier material, donated in 2008, is already
accessible within the Archive and contains correspondence with Margaret Drabble, Muriel
Spark, Iris Murdoch and Rebecca West, as well as Kurt Vonnegut, Raymond Carver and
Ingmar Bergman. It includes the ‘The Whitehorn letters’, 90 love letters written between
1943 and 1949 charting the writing of Lessing’s first novel, ‘The Grass is Singing’, and
reflections on the War, Rhodesia, pregnancy and motherhood, and her eventual move to
London.
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This latest gift of Doris Lessing material, together with the acquisition of substantial material
from the world’s oldest literary agent, AP Watt, has encouraged the University to consider
growing its contemporary literary archives more proactively. The objective is to build upon
UEA’s literary and creative writing heritage, and particularly its relationships with world
renowned authors developed during twenty five years of literary festivals. There will be a
particular focus on emerging authors and we have developed a loan model with greater
flexibility than the current twenty year term to accommodate changing
preferences/circumstances.
University of Bradford:
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Project archivist, Emma Burgham, is uncovering new literary connections in
the Mitrinovic/New Atlantis Archive, including correspondence with such literary figures as
Compton McKenzie, Ezra Pound, John Cowper Powys and Edith Sitwell. Follow the project
blog https://eleventhhourarchive.wordpress.com/ for more.
We are working towards major building works next year, which will disrupt collections
access: no dates yet, but do warn any users whose research is likely to bring them to us.
Our cataloguing effort at present is centred on Yorkshire printed books (plenty of poetry
emerging) and our peace campaign archives: many writers were involved in such campaigns,
witness the Book Action for Nuclear Disarmament archive, for instance.