Friends of the British Library
Encyclopedia
The Friends of the British Library is a registered charitable organisation in the UK with close links to the British Library
. It provides funding in the form of grants to the British Library in order to allow the Library to acquire new items and collections, procure new equipment and facilities, and produce exhibitions.
The Friends first President was Lord Eccles
, a man heavily involved in the original creation of the British Library via the British Library Act (1972) as well as being the British Library's first Chairman. He would be President of the Friends from its creation in 1989 until his death in 1999. The first Chairman of the Friends of the British Library was Christopher Henry Beaumont Pease, 2nd Baron Wardington
. He became a Vice President in 1994, and President in 1999 – a post he held until his death in 2005.
Officers and members of the council are elected as required by the Constitution of the membership at each year's Annual General Meeting
.
The current President of the Friends is Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury
and the Vice Presidents consist of Lord Bragg of Wigton
, Frank Field MP, William Hague MP
, Lord Jones of Birmingham, Sir Geoffrey Leigh, Penelope Lively
, Sir Andrew Motion
, Cdr Michael Saunders Watson and Lord Steel of Aikwood
.
The current Chairman of the Friends is Lord Hameed of Hampstead
, and Deputy Chairman is Christopher Wright
.
Such acquisitions have included author Graham Swift
's archive, which included manuscripts, notes, revisions and proofs to all eight of his novels including the Booker Prize-winning Last Orders
.
Funding has also included a contribution towards the £500,000 required in order to purchase the Ted Hughes
archive, a former poet laureate, which included more than 220 files and boxes of manuscripts.
One of the most recent acquisitions was the Macclesfield Alphabet, a collection of 14 different types of alphabet that date from around 1500 AD. The Friends collaborated with the National Heritage Memorial Fund
, The Art Fund, members of the British Library and several individual donors in order to enable the British Library to purchase the book.
in 2008. The Dering Roll is the oldest extant English roll of arms, dating from around 1270 AD. It depicts 324 coats of arms which are approximately a quarter of the entire English baronage during the reign of Edward I. It was purchased by the British Library at auction for £194,184 (including VAT
).
into the new facility at St. Pancras. The bust was purchased entirely by the Friends for the sum of £25,000. It is currently on public display on the first floor, at the head of the stairs at the main British Library facility in St. Pancras.
, The Art Fund, Friends of the National Libraries
and individual donors to purchase Mervyn Peake
's archive for a sum of £410,000. The archive included 39 Gormenghast
notebooks, as well as the complete set of original drawings for the 1954 edition of Lewis Caroll's Alice Through the Looking Glass and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
.
The archive itself dates from between 1940 to Peake's death in 1968 and includes unpublished material such as correspondance with writers Laurie Lee
, Walter de la Mare
and CS Lewis. It also included the unpublished draft of the sequel to the Gormenghast trilogy, Titus Awakes
which is to be published in 2011 by Vintage Classics
to celebrate the centenary of Peake's birth.
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
. It provides funding in the form of grants to the British Library in order to allow the Library to acquire new items and collections, procure new equipment and facilities, and produce exhibitions.
Origin
The inaugural meeting of the Friends was held on 12 January 1989 with the objective of "the education of the public by promotion, support, assistance and improvement of the British Library through the activities of a group of Friends". It operates under a written constitution as an unincorporated association and registered charity.The Friends first President was Lord Eccles
David Eccles, 1st Viscount Eccles
David McAdam Eccles, 1st Baron Eccles and 1st Viscount Eccles, CH, KCVO, MP, PC was an English Conservative politician....
, a man heavily involved in the original creation of the British Library via the British Library Act (1972) as well as being the British Library's first Chairman. He would be President of the Friends from its creation in 1989 until his death in 1999. The first Chairman of the Friends of the British Library was Christopher Henry Beaumont Pease, 2nd Baron Wardington
Baron Wardington
Baron Wardington, of Alnmouth in the County of Northumberland, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1936 for John Pease, Chairman of Lloyds Bank from 1922 to 1945...
. He became a Vice President in 1994, and President in 1999 – a post he held until his death in 2005.
President & Council
The hierarchy of the Friends include a President, several Vice Presidents, a Chairman and deputy, and a council of members. The council members are trustees of the charity for the purposes of charity law.Officers and members of the council are elected as required by the Constitution of the membership at each year's Annual General Meeting
Annual general meeting
An annual general meeting is a meeting that official bodies, and associations involving the public , are often required by law to hold...
.
The current President of the Friends is Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury
Robert Michael James Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury, PC, DL , is a British Conservative politician. During the 1990s, he was Leader of the House of Lords under his courtesy title of Viscount Cranborne...
and the Vice Presidents consist of Lord Bragg of Wigton
Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg FRSL FRTS FBA, FRS FRSA is an English broadcaster and author best known for his work with the BBC and for presenting the The South Bank Show...
, Frank Field MP, William Hague MP
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
, Lord Jones of Birmingham, Sir Geoffrey Leigh, Penelope Lively
Penelope Lively
Penelope Lively CBE, FRSL is a prolific, popular and critically acclaimed author of fiction for both children and adults. She has been shortlisted three times for the Booker Prize, winning once for Moon Tiger in 1987.-Personal:...
, Sir Andrew Motion
Andrew Motion
Sir Andrew Motion, FRSL is an English poet, novelist and biographer, who presided as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009.- Life and career :...
, Cdr Michael Saunders Watson and Lord Steel of Aikwood
David Steel
David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, KT, KBE, PC is a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as the Leader of the Liberal Party from 1976 until its merger with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats...
.
The current Chairman of the Friends is Lord Hameed of Hampstead
Khalid Hameed, Baron Hameed
Khalid Hameed, Baron Hameed, CBE DL, is currently the Chairman of Alpha Hospital Group, as well as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the London International Hospital. Prior to this, he was the Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer of the Cromwell Hospital in London. He hails from...
, and Deputy Chairman is Christopher Wright
Christopher Wright (academic)
Dr Christopher John Wright OBE MA Phd, is a former Head of Manuscripts at the British Library and Fellow of both the Royal Historical Society and the Society of Antiquaries of London...
.
Acquisitions
The Friends principally fund acquisitions for the British Library's collections that it would not otherwise be able to fund from its own finances.Such acquisitions have included author Graham Swift
Graham Swift
Graham Colin Swift FRSL is a British author. He was born in London, England and educated at Dulwich College, London, Queens' College, Cambridge, and later the University of York. He was a friend of Ted Hughes...
's archive, which included manuscripts, notes, revisions and proofs to all eight of his novels including the Booker Prize-winning Last Orders
Last Orders
Last Orders is a 1996 Booker Prize-winning novel by British author Graham Swift. In 2001 it was adapted for the film Last Orders by Australian writer and director Fred Schepisi.-Plot summary:...
.
Funding has also included a contribution towards the £500,000 required in order to purchase the Ted Hughes
Ted Hughes
Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
archive, a former poet laureate, which included more than 220 files and boxes of manuscripts.
One of the most recent acquisitions was the Macclesfield Alphabet, a collection of 14 different types of alphabet that date from around 1500 AD. The Friends collaborated with the National Heritage Memorial Fund
National Heritage Memorial Fund
The National Heritage Memorial Fund is a non-departmental public body set up under the National Heritage Act 1980 in memory of people who gave their lives for the United Kingdom....
, The Art Fund, members of the British Library and several individual donors in order to enable the British Library to purchase the book.
Dering Roll
Those three charities had previously collaborated, along with Friends of the National Libraries, to purchase the Dering RollDering Roll
The Dering Roll is the oldest English roll of arms surviving in its original form. It was made between 1270 and 1280 and contains the coat of arms of 324 knights, starting with two illegitimate children of King John. Sir Edward Dering acquired the roll during the 17th century and modified it to...
in 2008. The Dering Roll is the oldest extant English roll of arms, dating from around 1270 AD. It depicts 324 coats of arms which are approximately a quarter of the entire English baronage during the reign of Edward I. It was purchased by the British Library at auction for £194,184 (including VAT
Vat
Vat or VAT may refer to:* A type of container such as a barrel, storage tank, or tub, often constructed of welded sheet stainless steel, and used for holding, storing, and processing liquids such as milk, wine, and beer...
).
Bust of King George III
In 1998 the Friends purchased Peter Turnerelli's 1812 marble bust of King George III to commemorate the move of the King's LibraryKing's Library
The King's Library was one of the most important collections of books and pamphlets of the Age of Enlightenment. Assembled by George III, this scholarly library of over 65,000 volumes was subsequently given to the British nation by George IV. It was housed in a specially built gallery in the...
into the new facility at St. Pancras. The bust was purchased entirely by the Friends for the sum of £25,000. It is currently on public display on the first floor, at the head of the stairs at the main British Library facility in St. Pancras.
Mary Welch
The single largest contribution that the Friends have made towards the British Library was the grant of £130,000 towards a new conservation room as part of a bequest from the late Mary Welsh. She was a Friends volunteer and conservation enthusiast.Mervyn Peake's archive
The Friends again collaborated with the British LibraryBritish Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
, The Art Fund, Friends of the National Libraries
Friends of the National Libraries
The Friends of the National Libraries is a British registered charity founded in 1931 that supports the British Library, the National Library of Scotland and the National Library of Wales and other libraries in the UK recognised as being of national importance....
and individual donors to purchase Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Laurence Peake was an English writer, artist, poet and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the Gormenghast books. They are sometimes compared to the work of his older contemporary J. R. R...
's archive for a sum of £410,000. The archive included 39 Gormenghast
Gormenghast (series)
The Gormenghast series comprises three novels by Mervyn Peake, featuring Castle Gormenghast, and Titus Groan, the title character of the first book.-Works in the series:...
notebooks, as well as the complete set of original drawings for the 1954 edition of Lewis Caroll's Alice Through the Looking Glass and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
.
The archive itself dates from between 1940 to Peake's death in 1968 and includes unpublished material such as correspondance with writers Laurie Lee
Laurie Lee
Laurence Edward Alan "Laurie" Lee, MBE was an English poet, novelist, and screenwriter, raised in the village of Slad, and went to Marling School, Gloucestershire. His most famous work was an autobiographical trilogy which consisted of Cider with Rosie , As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and...
, Walter de la Mare
Walter de la Mare
Walter John de la Mare , OM CH was an English poet, short story writer and novelist, probably best remembered for his works for children and the poem "The Listeners"....
and CS Lewis. It also included the unpublished draft of the sequel to the Gormenghast trilogy, Titus Awakes
Titus Awakes
Titus Awakes is the editorial title applied to a novel being planned by Mervyn Peake at the time he became too ill to write, about 1960. It was to have been the fourth novel in the Gormenghast series, after Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone...
which is to be published in 2011 by Vintage Classics
Vintage Classics
Vintage Classics is a paperback publisher of contemporary fiction and non-fiction. It is part of the Vintage imprint, which is itself a part of Random House Publishers. The famous American publisher Alfred A. Knopf originally founded Vintage Books in the United States in 1954 as a paperback home...
to celebrate the centenary of Peake's birth.