| StorageSite | UCL Institute of Education |
| Description | The Friends of the Newsam Library and Archives was launched on Thursday 24th July, the last day of the Institute's centenary celebrations. At a small drinks reception, Anne Peters, Head of Information Services, welcomed visitors and outlined the structure and future plans of the Friends Group. Speeches by Professor Richard Aldrich and Dr David Crook focussed on their work within the Newsam Library and the importance of its collections for the historical study of education.
The Friends supported the development of the Newsam Library and Archives as a unique resource for research in education, and especially its role in preserving the UK’s educational heritage by acting as a national centre for archives and special collections. It was run entirely by library and archive staff. This included all the administration, communications (newsletters etc.), and events. Membership funds were put in a central account, registered with the Charity Commission, and were used to fund various projects. For example, conservation, digitisation, and oral history projects (catalogued at IE/3/OH), also as seed funding for some of the archive's largest cataloguing projects. A Fundraising sub-committee convened for some of the time the Friends was in operation. The membership included many archive collection donors, IOE staff and ex staff members, and library and archive researchers.
The IOE merged with UCL in 2014, and while the group continued for a while, the way Library and Archive staff worked was changed, and a decision was made to close the Friends of the Newsam Library and Archives in 2018. The bank account remained open till 2023 due to administrative difficulties. Remaining funds were spent on digitisation. |