Review and Accounts 2013/2014 National Life Stories Chairman’S
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Life NATIONAL Review and Accounts 2013/2014 National Life Stories Chairman’s When many people think about history, they think about has initiated a series of innovative interviewing programmes books and documents, castles or stately homes. In fact history funded almost entirely from sponsorship, charitable and Foreword is all around us, in our own families and communities, in the individual donations and voluntary effort. living memories and experiences of older people. Everyone has a story to tell about their life which is unique to them. Each collection comprises recorded in-depth interviews of Whilst some people have been involved in momentous a high standard, plus content summaries and transcripts to historical events, regardless of age or importance we all assist users. Access is provided via the Sound and Moving have interesting life stories to share. Unfortunately, because Image Catalogue at http://sami.bl.uk and a growing number memories die when people do, if we don’t record what of interviews are made available for remote web use at people tell us, that history can be lost forever. http://sounds.bl.uk. Each individual life story interview is several hours long, covering family background, childhood, National Life Stories was established in 1987 and its mission education, work, leisure and later life. is: ‘To record the first-hand experiences of as wide a cross section of society as possible, to preserve the recordings, Alongside the British Library’s other oral history holdings, to make them publicly available and encourage their use’. which stretch back to the beginning of the twentieth century, As an independent charitable trust within the Oral History NLS’s recordings form a unique and invaluable record of Section of the British Library, NLS’s key focus and expertise people’s lives in Britain today. has been oral history fieldwork. For over twenty-five years it PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSCRIBERS VOLUNTEERS Lord Asa Briggs ASSISTANT Susan Hutton Claire Fons (to November 2013) Susan Nicholls Bill Knight PAST CHAIRMAN COLLABORATIVE Haley Moyse Business Friend Martyn Goff CBE DOCTORAL STUDENT We have now concluded phase one of our Oral History of of our foundation projects will be appearing on BL Sounds CATALOGUER FREELANCE ORAL HISTORY Dvora Liberman British Science. We can be proud that, with the support of in the coming months. These include City Lives, The Living FOUNDER (to December 2013) INTERVIEWERS the Arcadia Fund over the past four years, we have created Memory of the Jewish Community, Lives in Steel, Crafts Lives Professor Paul Thompson TRUSTEES (at 20 May 2014) Dr Alex King Zibiah Alfred Loakthar a major archive of international standing about British and Architects’ Lives. We thank those trusts and individuals Bob Boas CHAIRMAN (An Oral History of Talking scientists’ work and lives. We have captured the fine detail who have helped us financially with this urgent work both to BOOKKEEPER Roger Gavin Sir Nicholas Goodison Therapists in the UK) of scientific and technological invention and endeavour, the preserve our past recordings and to broaden our user-base (from December 2013) Sir Nicholas Goodison Sue Bradley great changes in scientific workplaces, the rise and demise very significantly, reaching new audiences around the world. DIRECTOR Pauline Morrison Lord Hennessy of (British Library Staff of government research establishments, and the impact of Dr Robert Perks Nympsfield VOICES OF SCIENCE WEB Oral History Project) computerisation. The life story approach, combined with This coming year, with our staff complement restored to full Bill Knight OBE DEPUTY DIRECTOR CO-ORDINATOR Louise Brodie our commitment to capture the experiences of a cross- strength, we expect to make further progress with several Lesley Knox Mary Stewart (to September 2013) (Pioneers in Charity section of the scientific community, not just its most eminent projects, including Legal Lives and Talking Therapists. As part Dr Scot McKendrick Stephanie Baxter and Social Welfare) members, has ensured that we have gathered unique insights of our plans to raise the profile and value of our work, we will ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR Dr Robert Perks Catherine Croft into the work of people such as laboratory technicians, hold the first of what we hope will be a series of NLS Annual Jennifer Wingate PROJECT INTERVIEWERS Dr Jo Reilly (Architects’ Lives) apprentices, and others who rarely feature as individuals Lectures. The valuable partnerships which underpin much Frances Cornford Prof Dorothy Sheridan MBE TREASURER Geraint Franklin in the historical record. We have explored the masculine of our work continue: with the Henry Moore Foundation (Crafts Lives, Artists’ Lives) Professor Paul Thompson Bob Boas (Architects’ Lives) culture of British science in the twentieth century through the and Institute and with Tate for Artists’ Lives, with the Royal Niamh Dillon David Webster Kirstie Gregory eyes of female scientists and technicians in male-dominated Institute of British Architects for Architects’ Lives, with the PROJECT DIRECTOR (Architects’ Lives) Jennifer Wingate (Artists’ Lives) workplaces. Video has added another important dimension of London School of Economics for Legal Lives, and not least Cathy Courtney Dr Katharine Haydon Stephanie Kenna NLS ADVISORS (at 20 May 2014) understanding through the unique interaction scientists and with the British Library through a renewed three-year working (Artists’ Lives, Architects’ (An Oral History of Barings) (British Library Staff Sir Peter Bazalgette engineers have with the tools of their trade or with things agreement and a shared vision to collect a cross-section of Lives, Legacy of the English Dr Thomas Lean Oral History Project) Eric de Bellaigue they helped create. Importantly, the project has contributed British memories and experiences from every walk of life, Stage Company) (An Oral History of British Lisa Le Feuvre Lord Bragg to the public understanding of science, by encouraging workplace, pursuit, opinion and persuasion. Science and An Oral History SENIOR ACADEMIC (Artists’ Lives) Professor Mary Chamberlain interviewees to discuss their work in ways more readily of the Electricity Supply CONSULTANT Shirley Read Sir John Craven appreciated by non-expert audiences, most obviously via the I would like to thank all our trustees, advisors, staff and Industry in the UK) Dr Sally Horrocks (An Oral (Oral History of Sir Roger Gibbs Voices of Science website. Much remains still to be done and volunteers who have worked so hard to make the past year Dr Paul Merchant History of British Science British Photography) Dr Mark Girouard we are currently scoping and fund-raising for the next phase such a success. (An Oral History of and An Oral History of the Ann Sproat Martyn Goff CBE of the programme. British Science) Electricity Supply Industry (Artists’ Lives) Professor Leslie Hannah Sarah O’Reilly in the UK) Robert Wilkinson Dame Penelope Lively DBE With all our current projects we are able, with interviewees’ (Authors’ Lives) (An Oral History of Lord Rees of Ludlow OM consent, to provide almost immediate digital access to the ARCHIVIST Dr Elizabeth Wright Oral History in the UK) Jonathan Taylor CBE audio material via the British Library’s Sounds website, Elspeth Millar (Crafts Lives) Jon Wood Caroline Waldegrave OBE together with time-coded content summaries and (where ASSISTANT ARCHIVIST VIDEO CAMERAMAN (Artists’ Lives) Bill Williams these exist) transcripts. Our campaign to digitise NLS’s older Emily Hewitt Matt Casswell analogue recordings for similar online access is now well Sir Nicholas Goodison underway, with around a third of the funds raised, and many Chairman of Trustees 1 a record of certain historical ‘facts’ about the social- Review of 2013 educational background of these scientists, and as narratives in which individuals link particular early experiences to the Rob Perks development of an interest in science. Scientists talk about their lives outside work as adults – their hobbies, reading, Director of National Life Stories travel, family life, experience as parents, friendships, relationships. This has revealed insights into the role of spouses, sacrifices made in family life, the ‘long hours culture’ of a career in science, and how leisure activities are often an Collections and projects The project has successfully captured step-by-step extension of scientific work, or in some cases, such as missile descriptions, not available elsewhere, of the operation scientist and Morris dancer Roy Dommett, an escape from it. We concluded the first phase of our ambitiousOral History of of instruments, methods of fieldwork, the conduct of British Science programme, supported largely by the Arcadia experiments, the running of simulations and models, the A full report about phase one of an Oral History of British Fund. One hundred audio interviews – including forty-nine use of computers, and the writing of papers and reports. Science is available and, to help us shape the next phase, we for the Made in Britain strand and forty-eight for A Changing There are no lone geniuses amongst our interviewees: their have commissioned a scoping study, due to report later in Planet – have been completed over the past four years, memories of interaction with colleagues, and as small parts 2014. In the meantime interviewer Paul Merchant has been equating to over 1000 hours of recordings. An additional of large scale collaborative projects, demonstrate how conducting a short series of audio and video interviews for