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British Library Newspaper Collections: Past and Future

Edmund King

Head, British Library Newspaper Collections

Poznan Newspaper Conference

18-21 October 2006

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The Buildings

BL Newspapers Facts/ History See:

http://www.bl.uk/collections/newspapers.html

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Northern façade of BL Newspapers building: 1980s

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History 1

1869 : Newspaper Printers and Reading Rooms Act: newspapers to be deposited by publishers at the British Museum.

1897 : Space for newspapers in the British Museum at Bloomsbury exhausted.

1902 : British Museum Act authorising purchase of the Colindale site.

1903 : British Museum Newspaper Repository completed as a warehouse for English provincial, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh newspapers.

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History 2

1922 : Newspaper Repository is full.

1928 : Royal Commission on National Museums and Galleries Interim Report recommends that the Colindale Repository be enlarged to contain all newspapers published later than 1800 and that a reading room be built.

1930 : Building of the library commences.

1932 - Aug 23 : British Museum Newspaper Library is opened.

1940 - Oct 20 : A Luftwaffe bomb destroys the 1903 building. An estimated 6,000 volumes of newspapers are also destroyed and a further 15,000 volumes are damaged.

1971 : New Microfilm building is completed.

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History 3

–1991 : Newspaper Library becomes responsible for the Newspaper Legal Deposit Office at 120 Colindale Avenue, formerly administered by the Copyright Receipt Office.

–1995 : Computer Conversion of the catalogue is completed.

– 1996: Final NEWSPLAN report is published (London and South Eastern Library Region).

– 1999: Newspaper Library website is established on The British Library's Online Information Server. http://www.bl.uk/newspapers

–2000 : The Newspaper Library Catalogue of over 52,000 newspaper and periodical title holdings is launched on the web.

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British Library Newspaper Collections: Size

Complete Runs of UK newspapers from 1800-2006

Some 664,00 volumes and parcels

Estimated 370,000 reels microfilm

20 miles of shelving at Colindale, London

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BL Newspaper CollectionsLegal Deposit: Newspapers

BL aims to acquire all newspapers published in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland

This includes free newspapers, BL receives approximately 70% of the free

newspapers published in the UK. BL does not keep free newspapers which consist

solely of advertising.

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BL Newspaper Collections Legal Deposit Periodicals

BL Newspapers also currently acquires via legal deposit:

British and Irish periodicals, predominantly weekly and fortnightly ones.

mainly those at the popular end of the market, and they cover an enormous range of subjects, for example: fashion; pop and jazz music; cinema and film; sports (such as football), hobbies; trades.

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Legal Deposit: aspects of implementation

– all UK published newspapers wanted by BL

–Some 2,600 titles p.a. received

– all are microfilmed

–Once filmed, originals are not seen

– many originals will not survive, as newsprint is poor quality: preservation issue

– Legal Deposit Act 2003 for publications in electronic form

–Consider taking .pdf files of newspapers from publishers

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British Library Newspaper Catalogue

BL Newspapers catalogue:

includes entries for over 52,000 newspaper and periodical titles

BL holdings of Western-language newspapers published in Asia and North Africa are included in the catalogue

http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/newspapers/welcome.asp

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Titles in BL Newspapers Catalogue

Search of catalogue – nos. of titles Yorkshire 1145 Lancashire 480 Norfolk 269 Suffolk 237 Surrey 481 Sussex 586 Derbyshire 284 Nott’shire 293 London 9689 Ireland 1958 Scotland 1955 Wales 1230

Discount numbers by some 20% for Variant editions Changed titles

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BL Newspaper CollectionsReproductions

Copying categories: Copies from original Newspapers and Periodicals Copies from Newspapers on microfilm Enhanced photocopies (complete pages only) Photographs Digital Images on CD Microfilm Further details at:

http://www.bl.uk/collections/copynews.html

Copyright (UK law) restrictions Preservation Microfilming: extensive programme

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BL Newspaper Collections Links to Other Sources

Online Newspapers and News Magazines Specialist News and Newspaper Resources Newspaper Libraries and Faculties Popular Culture Collections

For details, see: http://www.bl.uk/collections/sources.html#news

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BL Newspaper Collections Links to Other Sources

Online Newspapers and News Magazines Specialist News and Newspaper Resources Newspaper Libraries and Faculties Popular Culture Collections

For details, see: http://www.bl.uk/collections/sources.html#news

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NEWSPLAN

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NEWSPLAN: UK Co-operation

NEWSPLAN is a co-operative programme for the microfilming and preservation of local newspapers and for making them accessible to users.

A successful example of co-operation between public libraries, the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales, the National Library of Ireland, and the newspaper industry, working together for the preservation of a major element of the printed record of life in the British Isles over the last two hundred years.

Further information is also available about the NEWSPLAN2000 Project, a development in the NEWSPLAN Programme, implemented 2001-2005.

NEWSPLAN is based on ten regions, corresponding to the ten regional library systems, some of which provide local information about their respective NEWSPLAN projects via the Internet: East Midlands; Ireland; London and South East Region; North Western Region; Northern Region; Scotland; South west Region; Wales; West Midlands; Yorkshire and Humberside.

Representatives of the regions, and the British Library, meet together as the NEWSPLAN Panel, with Elizabeth Melrose of North Yorkshire County Library Services in the chair. The Panel agrees policy and considers issues and opportunities at the national level.

Further details, see: http://www.bl.uk/collections/nplan.html

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Historic newspapers: digital scanning

British Library projects: Pilot Project: http://www.uk.olivesoftware.com Collect Britain project: Penny Illustrated Paperhttp://www.collectbritain.co.uk/collections/pip/

Further details: http://www.bl.uk/about/cooperation/pdf/newsplanarticle.pdf

British Newspapers 1800-1900 Project To digitise up to two million pages of British national,

regional and local newspapers from microfilm to offer access to that collection via a searching and

browsing interface on the Web. Further details

http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla71/papers/154e-Shaw.pdf

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A billion names: 1

From the Morning Chronicle February 13 1826, page 1, col. 5: “An historical outline of the Greek revolution, with a few remarks on the present state of affairs in that country” By W.M. Leake, late Lieut.-Col. In the Royal Artillery – printed by John Murray, Albemarle Street.

From the Morning Chronicle Monday April 23 1826, p.3, col. 4: “KENT ASSIZES –Maidstone April 1. John Ashbee, a young man of respectable appearance, was indicted for a burglary and a robbery in the dwelling-house of John Cork, at Staplehurst, on the 23 March.”

From The Era March 2 1862, p.11: Col. 3 “Mr. Walter Montgomery is engaged for two years

at the Princess’s Theatre”

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A billion names: 2

From: THE TAUNTON COURIER, Wednesday 29th November 1820 p2 col 3 “Mr Beedell, living at Ottery St Mary in Devon, has written within the

compass of a sixpence piece, the Lord’s Prayer, the Belief and the 3rd, 5th 9th and 10th Commandment, his name and date of the year!”

From: THE TAUNTON COURIER, Wednesday 13th December 1820 p6 col 1 “An extraordinary large Sturgeon was last week caught in

the net of a Portland fisherman off that coast. It was purchased by Mr Allen, fisherman of Weymouth and submitted to public inspection. It weight upward of 400 lbs, was nine feet in length and four feet six inches in circumference and the spawn weight 48 lbs”

From: THE BATH CHRONICLE Thursday 10 February 1910 p 5 col 1 “ Another human link with the past has been broken by the

death of Mr Matthew RIDLEY at Arundel Place, Northampton Street, Bath, who was the only survivor of the old Sedan Chair days. Mr Ridley, in his youth acted as one of the Sedan Chair carriers in Bath, wearing the quaint costume of tall hat and long coat which was affected by all those who followed this calling… .. Mr Ridley who was 79 years of age died on Sunday last. The deceased claimed to be a descendant of the famous Bishop RIDLEY who was burned at the stake in Oxford in 1555.

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A billion names: 3

Military History From Sussex Daily News Monday 26 February

1917 p. 6 col. 3:“LOCAL CASUALTIES/ ROYAL SUSSEX

REGIMENT/…[LIST A-Z]

From Sussex Daily News Saturday 10 February 1917 p. 7 col. 6:

“THE ROLL OF HONOUR/ OFFICERS/ KILLED/ MOLLMAN, Capt. H.B. Leinster Regiment/ KILLED (PREVIOUSLY REPORTED MISSING)

BOWYER, Sec.-Lieut. G.H. South Wales BordersGROSS, Sec.-Lieut. H.G. East Yorkshire RegimentHEATH, Sec.-Lieut. W.H. North Staffordshire

Regiment

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The End

Newspapers always excite curiosity. No one ever lays one down without a feeling of disappointment.

Charles Lamb. Detached Thou24ghts on Books and Reading.

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Possible? Is anything impossible? Read the newspapers.

Duke of Wellington. Words of Wellington