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JUNE, 2008
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JUNE 26, 2008
East London Advertiser
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
For years now, Queen Mary College in Mile End has wanted the Bancroft Library building in Bancroft Road, while a few Tower Hamlets council officials have been busy plotting how to give it to them.
Having got rid of the Bancroft public lending library to the Whitechapel Idea Store and neglected the building with its remaining contents and skeleton staff, the preferred plan was to move the local history library and/or archives to the Canary Wharf Idea Store, partly to bolster the ridiculous claim that Canary Wharf is the borough's 'town centre'.
But the Canary Wharf Idea Store was too small and there was no room at the Whitechapel Idea Store because one of its floors had been taken up by part of what had been the excellent Reference library at Bethnal Green Library.
The need to find a new home for the Wiener Library is now being used to justify the splitting of the local history collection from the archives, so that they can go to two places... neither of which is big enough, nor appropriate. As happened to the reference library, documents and books will disappear in the process, and dedicated professionals will be replaced by inexperienced and poorly-qualified staff.
As last week's superb photograph in the East London Advertiser showed the local history library is a purpose-built traditional library room where people study documents from the downstairs archive, in conjunction with maps, newspaper cuttings, photographs and books stored in the local history library. The old documents are stored in a state-of-the-art, environmentally-controlled, secured archive.
This was actually built and opened by Tower Hamlets Council back in the days when it knew that it had a duty to preserve not only its own records but all the records and the collections made by the three previous boroughs of Stepney, Poplar and Bethnal Green before 1965, and all the vestries and district boards which preceded them before 1900. These collections also include artifacts and pictures, many of which were and still are donated by residents, businesses and other organisations.
The Local History Library and Archives at the Bancroft are a priceless asset in one of the East End's finest historic public buildings. It must be maintained and improved for present and futures generations. Any self-respecting society not only preserves its history, but makes sure its children are brought up knowing the history of the people and places were they live.
In our case, we probably have one of the longest and most interesting histories in London, a history which embraces many cultures and religions. Tower Hamlets council's Cabinet will surely realise it has a duty to care for and promote that history. It is only by knowing and understanding our history that we survive as a caring and tolerant society.
For the same reasons, a home must also be found for the Wiener Library. Why not sell the old Poplar District Board of Works building in Poplar High Street for a handsome sum? Use the money to refurbish the entire Bancroft building for an improved, extended and fully-staffed local history library and archives service. This would include proper microfilm and computer rooms, a separate schools room and a gallery to display and interpret items from the various collections, including artefacts and pictures.
Tom Ridge
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AUGUST 24, 2008
The Daily Telegraph
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
On 30 July, Tower Hamlets Borough Council is due to vote on the future
of the Local History Library and Archive, at Bancroft Road. Many of us
fear, however, that the decision to sell off the building (for £1.2m)
to neighbouring Queen Mary College, split up the collections, and
replace the expert and dedicated archivists has already been made.
We believe that this will represent a major blow to one of the nation¼s
most significant archival collections, all in the name of a
short-sighted grab for the cash that the Bancroft Road library building
(formerly the Mile End Vestry Hall) would raise.
The East End has a global diaspora, and the descendants of Eastenders
come to Bancroft Road from far and wide to research their ancestry.
This truly is a collection of international clout, and in the persons
of Chris Lloyd and Malcolm Barr-Hamilton is staffed by archivists with
unparalleled knowledge of their subject.
The East End has for hundreds of years been the gateway to Britain for
many different cultures, and Bancroft Road wonderfully reflects this
fascinating diversity: Here, you can find the stories of the Irish,
Jewish, Huguenot and British provincial immigrants who came to the area
to make their way in the world. Already, the Bangladeshi community are
beginning to leave their archival traces at Bancroft Road, too, adding
to the rich palimpsest of East End history.
Astonishing in its range, the collections are currently catalogued and
arranged in a manner that allows the researcher to move seamlessly from
printed book, to original document, to photograph to microfilm.
It seems an act of wanton destruction to make homeless a library, and
render redundant archivists, so ably fulfilling the Department of
Culture, Media and Sport's 'Framework For The Future' directive to
engage fully with all sectors of a diverse community.
We call on Andrew Motion, appointed last week to a four-year tenure as
Chair of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), and to Andy
Burnham, minister for Culture, Media and Sport, to intervene to stop
this cultural vandalism.
Yours sincerely
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MAY 11, 2009
East London Advertiser
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by Else Kvist
YOUR East London Advertiser has today scooped two prestigious awards at the annual awards ceremony for the newspaper industry underway.
Our newspaper picked up Newspaper of the Year for the second year running and also won Campaign of the Year for our successful campaign to save the Bancroft library.
The Press Gazette awards were held in Marriott Grosvenor Square in central London this afternoon.The judges said: "For its real graft of what a local newspaper should be, and with a genuine understanding of its readership and grassroots journalism-for the second year running the winner is the East London Advertiser."
The paper's campaign was saving the East End's centuries-old archive collection at the Bancroft Library in Mile End when Tower Hamlets Council wanted to sell off the listed building.
It mobilised the community and got a petition accepted on the Downing Street website which attracted thousands of signatures.
The judges announced: "For taking on the local authority, fighting to overturn a decision by mobilising its readers and playing a crucial role in informing and leading a democratic debate, for saving the library and preserving the entire history of the whole of East End -the winner is the East London Advertiser."
The paper's editorial team based in the heart of the East End mobilised the public and eminent historians and celebrities who had used the archive library themselves, including Ombudsman Jerry White, actor Sir Ian McKellen and playwright Bernard Kops.
The poet Benjamin Zephaniah backed the campaign and said at the time: "This shows how a local newspaper like the Advertiser can work for the good of local people."
Local historian Tom Ridge organised a public meeting which tipped the balance.
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