Before planning a trip to Colindale, those of us in the U.S. will want to check first to see what is available via Inter-Library Loan in this country, as the Colindale facility is frequently crowded and copies (those from bound volumes must be requested) can be costly and time-consuming. Two reference works in particular should be consulted: Newspapers in Microform: Foreign Countries (Library of Congress, 1984) and National Union List of Serials in the Libraries of the U.S. and Canada (this will include papers and periodicals available in bound sets as well as microfilm). The most up-to-date information on the location of holdings of specific titles can be found in such on-line database services as OCLC and RLIN. For historical information about a particular newspaper, a good place to begin is with David Linton and Richard Boston, editors, The Newspaper Press in Britain: An Annotated Bibliography (New York: Mansell, 1987). British resources in newspaper history are described in the National Archives' research guide .
To reach Colindale, take the Northern line of the Underground (in black on your map); it is about 45 minutes north of central London. The archive is about half a block west of the tube station; cross the street from the tube exit and turn right.
Patrick Leary
THE BRITISH LIBRARY
NEWSPAPER LIBRARY
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE COLLECTIONS AND SERVICES
THE NEWSPAPER LIBRARY
The British Newspaper Library is located in Colindale, London
NW9. Part of the British Library, it is the home of the national
archive collection of newspapers. Originating as part of the
British Museum, the Newspaper Library provides a unique facility
for the collection, preservation and use of newspapers, with
separate reading areas for original copies and microfilms, a
bindery and conservation workshop and its own microfilming and
reprographic units.
THE COLLECTIONS
The Library contains some 650,000 bound volumes of newspapers and
magazines and over 320,000 reels of positive microfilm. Since the
middle of the nineteenth century the United Kingdom newspapers
have been received through legal deposit, by which publishers
send one copy of each issue of their publications for inclusion
in the national archive.
The United Kingdom collections are comprehensive from the 1840s
onwards, although there are many items which date from before
then. The collections consist mainly of daily and weekly
newspapers, and weekly and fortnightly magazines.
The collections include full sets of the main London edition of
all national daily and Sunday papers from the start of
publication to the present day, including those titles which are
no longer published.
Local newspapers are held from all over England, Wales, Scotland
and Ireland. These include daily and evening titles, paid-for
weeklies and many but not all free weekly newspapers. Complete
runs are held of most titles, although there are some gaps,
particularly as a result of bomb damage.
Foreign newspapers are acquired representatively from almost
every country of the world in western and Slavonic languages, and
there is an extensive collection of newspapers from Commonwealth
countries received through colonial copyright deposit.
Weekly and fortnightly magazines and specialist titles cover an
enormous range of interests and subject matter, from sport to pop
music, from fashion to cars and motorbikes and from engineering
to the theatre.
THE SERVICES
Reading Rooms
The Newspaper Library has recently expanded its reading rooms, which now
have 145 places, including 52 for users of microfilm and two for
microfiche. They are open to readers from 10am to 5.00 pm Monday to
Saturday, except for bank holidays and a week at the end of October.
Access is available for research and reference not readily available in
other public libraries. Persons under 21 are not normally admitted.
Copy services
Copy services are available to produce reproductions of pages of
newspapers and magazines. Orders may be placed in the reading
room for copies from items which have been consulted, or by post
if correct publication details of the copies required can be
provided. Microfilm reader/printers are available for self use
by readers. Fast-action services are available for media and
other users needing copies more quickly than provided for by the
standard service.
Information and advice.
Professional staff are available to give advice on use of the
collections and services and to assist users with their
enquiries.
MICROFILM SERVICES
The Newspaper Library has its own microfilm unit with over 20
cameras, filming material from the collections for the Library's
own use and for many outside customers, which include libraries,
newspaper publishers and other organisations. Subject where
appropriate to copyright permission, customers can buy copies of
already filmed material, or order new filming to be done of other
titles. Standard orders are accepted for the regular production
of microfilm of particular titles soon after publication.
All filming is done according to British Standard BS5847,
"Specification for 35mm microcopying of newspapers for archival
purposes", to the highest standards of quality control. Customer
copies are supplied on 35mm silver halide positive microfilm.
Written estimates of the cost of microfilm of particular titles
and date spans, and of standing orders for current titles are
available on request.
NEWSPLAN
The Newspaper Library coordinates the NEWSPLAN programme of
cooperative microfilming to preserve local newspaper published
in the British Isles:
The British Library is working together with public libraries,
the National Libraries of Scotland, Wales and Ireland, newspaper
publishers and local Record Offices to discover what back files
of newspapers are held and to plan and execute archival
microfilming projects which take account of priorities.
Libraries, the newspaper industry and Record Offices are
represented at national and regional level in the committee
structure which has been put in place to oversee and expedite
NEWSPLAN implementation and other activity aimed at securing the
preservation of and improving local access to newspapers.
THE BRITISH NEWSPAPER LIBRARY
COLINDALE AVENUE
LONDON NW9 5HE
GENERAL ENQUIRIES : +44 171-412-7353
Fax: +44 171 412 7379