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University of Bradford >> Library >> Special Collections >> About Special Collections
Some history, and detail on particular policies.
A few Special Collections date back to the University’s origins as the Bradford Technical College, such as the collection of printed books on dyeing. Others were accepted after the University came into being in 1966, such as the Mitrinovic Library, J.B. Priestley Archive, and Yorkshire maps collected by Arthur Raistrick.
The present staffed Special Collections service was created when the University Library received access funding from the Research Support Libraries Programme in 2000. This enabled the appointment of Alison Cullingford as Special Collections Librarian, and the secondment of John Brooker as Special Collections Assistant. Initially we concentrated on mapping the collections, and establishing policies and procedures for preservation, disaster control and collection development. Having demonstrated the value of our work, we received an extra year of funding. These two posts are now permanent parts of library staffing. Over the last few years, the focus of our work has shifted towards marketing, outreach and fundraising, especially encouraging virtual engagement with the collections.
Since establishing the service, we have acquired other exciting resources, such as the Commonweal Archives and the Jacquetta Hawkes Archive, and enriched those already here, particularly the J.B. Priestley Archive. We are very grateful for the help we have received from colleagues and volunteers over the past years. Special mention should go to Helen Roberts, the PaxCat Project Archivist, who joined us in 2009, and did wonderful work on our peace-related archives.
In all areas of management, Special Collections of course follows UK law and established professional practice. Here we summarise our position on particular issues. For more detail, or any queries about any of these matters, please contact the Special Collections Librarian.
The Special Collections are open to, and intended for, anyone who might benefit from using them. However, space and staffing constraints mean that appointments are required. Access is subject to preservation requirements and must also conform to the restrictions of the Data Protection Act and any other appropriate legislation.
Special Collections actively seeks to fulfil its mission by enhancing existing collections and acquiring new ones. However, our limited space and staffing mean we have to be selective in what we accept. We only collect material which we believe will be of use and interest to readers now, and which does not present legal or format problems. We also consider the collecting policies of other archives, libraries and organisations. Collecting decisions are made by the Special Collections Librarian in consultation with subject specialist colleagues, senior staff and academic colleagues.
The full policy document is currently being revised; it will be available online as soon as possible.
Copyright law is a complex and ever-changing subject. See the Library's guidelines on copyright for guidance. While many of the printed books in Special Collections are out of copyright, the archives are not; in most cases, we do not hold the copyright. The Special Collections staff will offer what help they can with tracing copyright holders, but it is the responsibility of users to ensure they have the appropriate permissions for whatever they wish to do.
A couple of key points about copyright law which affect Special Collections users in particular:
Access to archive material containing personal data is restricted under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). Such records are closed assuming a lifespan of 100 years for the individuals whose personal data we hold, following accepted archival practice. The DPA includes several exemptions which allow further processing of personal data providing certain conditions are met by the researcher. In particular, the research exemptions in section 33 allow for processing for statistical or historical purposes. You can apply for access to restricted material using this form, which also explains the Act and the conditions of the exemption in detail.
Application form for access to restricted material (PDF format).
In addition to material held in archives, Special Collections holds data relating to enquirers, archive donors, and copyright holders. Our management of this data complies with the requirements of the Act.
University of Bradford’s data protection pages.
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 granted rights of access to information held by public bodies. There are some important exemptions relevant to archives, in particular the rights of data subjects under the DPA (section 40).
University of Bradford’s freedom of information pages.
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