LIBRARIAN AND ARCHIVIST’S REPORT

The George Williams Memorial Library is located in the ringing chamber of Winchester Cathedral and is available for readers and borrowers by appointment. The system for loans provides a standard loan period of eight weeks with a liberal renewal policy for serious research and special problems. The only exceptions are the archive material and the Guild’s annual and triennial reports for which, because of their unique importance, loans are solely at the discretion of the librarian. A catalogue of the printed books and of the complete archive is maintained on the Guild website. Part of our collection of archive material, held at the Hampshire Record Office in Sussex Street, Winchester, is available for consultation only. The collection there has the call-number 20M94.

In the last year I have bought binders for The Ringing World to ensure secure storage and ready access for all our unbound issues and for the next five years, in a format matching the run bequeathed to us by our late Master David Strong. Subjects for research on behalf of enquirers comprise John Heathorn of Guildford, the Bramley (Surrey) band, the war-wounded who pealed at East Tytherley in 1935, the true identity of F. Hutchings of Bishopstoke who died in the Great War (Frederick William Hutchinson), the Guild’s masters and Henry Pottle, virger and ringer of Winchester Cathedral. I regret that otherwise, my activities as Librarian have been limited to basic housekeeping routines, and I hope to accomplish more in 2018.

The Guild’s online archive has the minutes of the Guild Annual meetings and Executive Committee meetings from 1980 to 2000, and from 2013 to 2014 (More recent minutes are already available from the Guild’s Document Repository) and a collection of historical articles from The Ringing World about Guild people, places and events. These are all maintained by Tony Smith, to whom I am duly grateful.

I am always pleased to assist Guild members and others with an interest in the Guild with their researches. I should like to thank my colleagues within the Guild and the Winchester Cathedral band for their continuing support.

Librarian and Archivist’s Accounts as at 31/12/17
IncomeExpenditure
£.p£.p
Balance b/f131.02Sub. to The Ringing World71.00
Income (from Central Fund)300.00Sub. to the Friends of the Central Council Library10.00
Periodical binders154.64
Balance c/f195.38


£431.02£431.02

Bruce Purvis