The Administration of Local Studies Collections in Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Abstract

This survey of local studies collections in public libraries after local government reorganization shows that there is a development towards a standard organizational structure, even though geographical considerations condition the pattern of provision, with a centralized research collection containing materials for the whole authority area, supported by duplicate and microform collections at branches for their locality. The centralized collections are currently stronger in urban areas, some becoming Local Studies Centres to include record office, museum and library functions. District collections are more developed in counties and often supply locality dossiers and school project packs.

Divisional management structures have led to Local Studies Panels consisting of repre sentatives responsible for local studies at Divisional and Central levels, and this appears to stimulate planned development mainly in cooperative acquisition, microfilm programmes, indexing and current awareness services.

The vital relationship between libraries and record offices has not often been improved by local government reorganization. In England and Wales in only 25% of Non- Metropolitan Counties are the library and the archives office responsible to the same com mittee, and in Metropolitan areas only the new County, not a library authority, is auto matically authorized to provide the archive service.