COLL LIB

COLL LIB

College Library

Series

A library for the Provost and Fellows was part of the Founder's original plan for the College. It was never intended for the boys and the vast majority of them, well into this century, never entered it at all, although it was shown to visitors and open to scholars. Masters, however, complained that they had no access but this was certainly remedied by 1881, when Francis St.John Thackeray was able to publish articles on the library in Notes and Queries. Under Francis Warre Cornish (Vice-Provost 1895-1916), serious listing and cataloguing began. His successor Francis Hay Rawlins (1916-1920) also had charge of the Library but in 1920 the first officially designated College Librarian, Henry Broadbent (1920-1933, a retired master, was appointed. However, on his departure the then Vice-Provost, Henry Marten, appears to have acted as Librarian. This position was formalised in 1942 when a minute of the Provost and Fellows records a decision that the Vice-Provost 'should in the future, as in the past, perform the functions and exercise the authority of Librarian'. In fact he was not single-handed; Noel Blakiston of the Public Record Office worked on the archives from 1938, Geoffrey Agnew advised on the pictures and Robert Birley, Head Master 1949-1964 and a noted bibliophile, somehow found time to work extensively in the Library, drawing attention to many of its treasures for the first time. M.R.James (Provost 1918-1936) had already catalogued the manuscripts and worked on the archives. Marten's successor as Vice-Provost, A.C. Conybeare (1945-1952), also succeeded him as Librarian but when he died the School Librarian, Tom Lyon, (another retired master) was appointed and served until his death in 1959. Dr Henry Kelsall Prescot succeeded him. Provosts and Vice-Provosts, however, were still closely involved with the running of the Library and particularly of the non-book collections, so students are advised to consult their papers as well as those listed below. Provost Caccia (1965-1978) was anxious to place the Library and collections on a more professional footing and in 1967 a College Collections Trust was set up, with a committee chaired by the Provost and including outside advisors. Almost its first act was to make Patrick Strong, a professional archivist who had been appointed in September 1966, Keeper of the College Collections. He was responsible to the Collections Committee and through them to the Provost and Fellows for all aspects of the College's art collections as well as the Library and archives. Dr Prescot, however, continued to serve as College Librarian until July 1967. The Trust was wound up in 2003.

c.1750 - 1992

These papers are largely those produced before the setting up of the Collections Committee in 1966, although some later records such as Sunday visitors' books are included. Some material on archives and manuscripts is included but the papers deal mainly with the library and include early lists, both of the library as a whole and of special collections within it, such as Aldines.

An artificial class.

The early history of the Library must be sought in audit books, vouchers and so on, as separate records do not survive. The records described here are those produced before the setting up of the Collections Trust, whose records are listed under COLL/CCT. See also COLL/ARCH

Typed list

Robert Birley's booklet, The History of College Library (Eton, 1970) gives a full account up to the re-opening of the restored library in 1969