Librarian and Archivist

This is a preliminary review...

Current job

1) House and look after the Society's library and archives in an environment of acceptable quality for valuable and often irreplaceable material. (NB a substantial proportion of the Society's Planning archives are held by Peter Tipton, formerly planning subcommittee chairman)

2) Create and update indexes of what we have got

3) Provide access for researches, eityher by allowing physical access, or by providing digitised versions of the material. So far as is practical operate a "closed library", so lending out of original material is discouraged. Replaceable books may be loaned out, but this requires care in ensuring they get returned.

4) In co-operation with Local History Group leader, manage Yateley History Project computerised database

5) Seek out new material to add to the library and archives.

6) In co-operation with Local History Group leader, decide what materials might be better held by another organisation such as Hampshire Record Office, or disposed of (perhaps after making digital copy)

7) Manage the material held in computerised (digital) form.

8) Digitise materials lent to the Society.

Current Issues

1) Indexing of the material is not yet complete

2) Volume of material may become an increasing storage problem. A number of significant collections have added to the library and archives over the last few years. The Yateley Society's Librtary and Archives constitute a large volume of material which now corresponds to the volume of about three large wardrobes. Indeed one large wardrobe is used to contain the material which we have had longest.

3) A large amount of material, including some that is (effectively or actually) irreplaceable is now held in computerised (digital) form. This has the advantage of taking up much less space and being easy to transfer, but some potential users dislike the format, and there are long term concerns about its "quality" as archive (will it remain readble in the long term?).

4) Some materials are on loan to the Society

5) Some materials are held temporarily fopr copying, with a view to depeositing them elsewhere (e.g. HRO, National Monument Record)

What is there

1) The Yateley Society's own archives. These are in something of a muddle, and are far from complete. These items include agendas and minutes of meetings, newsletters and other communications with members, correspondance (although much routine correspondance has not been kept), activities that the Society has been involved in concerning planning (including the voluminous papers concerned with Planning Appeals, and which are historically valuable). When prominent members have left the area, they have sometimes left their archives, orn parts of them with the archive. There are photographs of Society activities etc.

2) Collection of books, miostly on Local hisrtory subjects

3) Collections of historical source materials. Some of this is original material which could be deposited at HRO, but in many cases it is copies from various places. The bulk of the material is needed for local resaerch use and would not be accepted by HRO.

4) Books and source materials for Natural History

5) Planning documents.

6) Microfilms and photographs.

7) Incomplete, computerised index.

R H J 25.10.2008