4207 Friends Newsletter 67, Winter 2009 V2:Layout 1 29/01/2010 13:27 Page 2
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4207 Friends Newsletter 67, Winter 2009_v2:Layout 1 29/01/2010 13:27 Page 2 FRIENDS Celebrating OF THE 20 BRITISH YEARS LIBRARY 1989– 2009 The newsletter of the Friends of the British Library Issue 67 Winter 2009 Stories of the storytellers FRIENDS SUPPORT For anyone with a passion Sarah has an MA in Life Writing from the University of East “AUTHORS’ LIVES” for literature, Sarah O’Reilly Anglia, where she studied under Richard Holmes, the award- must have the most enviable winning biographer. She has had jobs in television and publishing. job in the land. She spends “But nothing I’ve done prepared me for this sort of her working days talking to interviewing,” she confesses. “The average is between ten celebrated writers, recording and 15 hours for each author and some – with Penelope Lively, their conversation for posterity. Michael Holroyd and Michael Frayn – have gone to 30 hours.” And the Friends have donated Clearly such interviews cannot be conducted in a single session. £10,000 to support her work. Sarah tries to arrange sessions no longer than three hours. She is the dedicated “In a way that’s useful because it lets me build up a relationship. interviewer for “Authors’ Lives”, When people are open and relaxed you get a better interview. one of the most ambitious of And it’s interesting to see how they change from one session the many projects that come to the next. If someone’s having a really bad day you can under the Library’s umbrella. hear it in their voice. It is part of a wider undertaking, “I hope the interviews feel like an informal conversation. I hope Sarah O’Reilly National Life Stories, established that when people listen to them they feel that they’re listening to in 1987 with the object of recording thousands of comprehensive something quite personal.” interviews with significant people in all areas of British life – so that Continued on page 2 their voices, their stories and even some of their intimate secrets can be preserved, adding extra meaning to their work. The organisers of National Life Stories, under their president Lord Asa Briggs, group potential interviewees according to their Friends’ Christmas occupation. So far they have included such diverse categories as athletes, chefs, artists, craftspeople, architects and publishers. Shopping event Given the Library’s involvement, it is surprising that it took them 20 years to start on authors. *Big discounts Since 2007 Sarah has interviewed 24 of the 100 authors on a master list of targets drawn up by an advisory committee chaired *Exhibition tour by Penelope Lively. She estimates that it will take up to four years to complete those interviews, but hopes funding will be found *Mulled wine to continue the project after that. *Raffle The cost is £45,000 a year, and the Friends are among a number of organisations making contributions. Sir Nicholas Goodison, Thursday 26 chairman of National Life Stories, in a letter to our chairman, Lord November, Hameed, wrote: “Without this sort of support from our benefactors 3pm – 7.30 we would be unable to undertake such an exciting and diverse range of recordings and thus provide future historians and FULL DETAILS ON PAGE 7 researchers with such a valuable body of material.” IN THIS ISSUE ▼ Page 2 ▼ Page 3 ▼ Page 4 ▼ Page 5 Chairman’s letter Useless research? Introducing Nickie Ted and Sylvia ▼ ▼ Page 6 ▼ Page 7 Page 8 Shopping ideas Visits and events Prize crossword 4207 Friends Newsletter 67, Winter 2009_v2:Layout 1 29/01/2010 13:27 Page 3 Recognising our selfless helpers Last year I instituted an mean that I and the Trustees do not recognise the selfless CHAIRMAN’S LETTER honorary award to recognise contributions made by many other Friends, especially the people who have made an volunteers. Without them our organisation could scarcely outstanding contribution to the function and would certainly not flourish. Friends over the years. I am As it is, I am pleased to report that there has been an happy to report that this year’s encouraging increase in membership during the current year, recipients are Colin Tite, Graham despite the economic downturn. I suspect that this is largely Allatt and Amanda Benton. due to the fact that Friends were granted free admission to Colin, a noted historian, the successful Henry VIII exhibition – a substantial benefit. has been involved with the I am also encouraged by how many of you have responded Friends almost from our to the survey sent out with the last issue of the Newsletter. very beginnings in 1989. Your responses have not yet been analysed but the fact that His enthusiasm and initiative were quickly recognised by the so many took the trouble to give us their views is in itself a Trustees, who persuaded him to join the Council. He was then healthy sign. appointed deputy chairman – a post he held for seven years. I hope as many of you as possible will take advantage of our After he left the Council he joined the ranks of the volunteers pre-Christmas event on 26 November: you will find details on who man our desk in the Library lobby. page 7. As well as being a popular social occasion, it gives you Graham has been treasurer of the Friends since 2004 and the chance to buy your Christmas presents at the Library shop has a history of involvement with other charities. A qualified at an extra discount – and this year it will include a free guided accountant, he has kept our finances in order with unmatched tour of the new exhibition of Victorian photographs, led by its efficiency and patience and is assiduous in attending committee curator. meetings, even though he holds a senior position with a major Further into the future, please make a note of the date of our banking group. Annual General Meeting on 2 March. I hope to meet many of Amanda is a more recent recruit to our ranks. Among her you there and in the meantime I wish you all the best for the many contributions to the Council since she joined it in 2007 forthcoming festive season. have been a radical reform of our office procedures and the organisation of the splendid programme of special events The Lord Hameed of Hampstead, for members this year, marking our twentieth anniversary. Chairman, Friends of the British Library That we honour these three individuals does not of course November 2009 ■ Stories of the storytellers continued from page 1 She will usually begin by asking literature is being established. the authors about their childhood, “One of the purposes of urging them to describe it as building this big archive is to completely as they can, for she reflect the changes that are believes that someone’s early life happening in the publishing is a vital key to later developments. industry at the moment,” she Since she cannot read all a writer’s says. “Thinking about the books before the interview, she twentieth and twenty-first reads those that she believes centuries, the way that books contain themes that run through are read and published has the work. “I’m a lot faster reader changed so dramatically that as since I started on this project.” a whole I hope the archive will To encourage the authors to give researchers a panoramic be completely frank, they are sense of how authors have given the option of stipulating responded to these changes.” Fay Godwin Archive, British Library Fay Godwin Archive, that no part of the interview Michael Holroyd. Penelope Lively. Already some of her should be published in their interviews are available at lifetime. About half of them take advantage of this concession. listening posts in the Library’s reading rooms to people with A small minority refuse to take part at all – among them Philip readers’ passes. Pullman, who declared himself “sceptical about the value of Contact the Sound Archive on 020 7412 7418 for information biography when it comes to literature”. on how to access them. And next year the Library hopes to Luckily most of those approached do not share his view, and produce a double CD containing key excerpts from the Sarah hopes that, as a result, an invaluable record of contemporary conversations. 2 4207 Friends Newsletter 67, Winter 2009_v2:Layout 1 29/01/2010 13:27 Page 6 Let’s hear it for the scholar THE VALUE OF USELESS in advance – be assessed, sorting the high behaviour, such as reduction in smoking. RESEARCH impact sheep from the low impact goats, Even those indicators that looked and funding them accordingly. appropriate to the humanities were It is the nature of the most innovative framed in a way that would be very hard research that it takes risks, that it doesn’t for us to meet. Try: “enriched appreciation know where it is going when it starts, of heritage or culture, for example as that you have to wait and see, maybe for measured through surveys”. How on earth decades. Over the last 50 years it has been could the cultural impact of Wittgenstein this country’s willingness to take these risks or Freud be assessed by a survey? that has allowed it to punch well above its Third, humanities research is ultimately weight in all kinds of academic endeavour – about culture, civilisation and human and to do much better, globally, than British happiness. It is about changing the way we sport, which seems to get funded even when understand the world, and understanding it doesn’t get “outcomes”. the way the world changes.