Our visit to the BBC Written Archives and BBC Monitoring was an incredibly popular event with a long waiting list. Thankfully for those of us who were unable to attend, Kirsty Morrison has written an excellent summary of the visit, so thanks to Kirsty for the following:
Our visit to the BBC Monitoring and Written
Archives took place on a beautiful sunny day, so we slightly regretted our
decision to walk the two and a half miles from the train station up a massive
hill!
We had an introduction to the Written
Archives which outlined the remit of their work.
Their collection consists of files, scripts and documents from a range of
departments at the BBC, which provide a valuable insight into the works of this
unique institution from its inception in 1922 through to the 1980s. This
collection covers older programmes and the history of broadcasting, as well as
containing correspondence, memoranda, contracts, scripts and publications.
They provide reference support for
researchers and academics, who are also eligible to use the reading room by
appointment. We saw some of the highlights of the collection, including
censorship correspondence regarding the broadcast of Dylan Thomas' 'Under Milk
Wood', papers from the state opening of the BBC and the first television
broadcast, Lord Reith's diaries and scrapbooks, a project file for 'The
Flowerpot Men' containing some unexpected complaints, and letters to the BBC
from a young Vanessa Redgrave and Keith Richards.
The majority of the physical collection
is housed in rolling stacks with a series of archive boxes relating to people
and programmes of note to the BBC. We had a tour of this facility (which was
lovely and cool due to the temperature control!). We were shown the files
relating to Sylvia Plath's dealings with the BBC, and the Doctor Who nerds
among us were excited to spot a drawer labelled 'Dalek diagram'.
We took a stroll through the picturesque
grounds of Caversham Park to the stately home which houses BBC Monitoring.
Staff took us through the colourful history of the property (as mentioned in
the Domesday Book!). BBC Monitoring was established in 1939 to monitor the media
of the world and provide intelligence to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
the Cabinet Office, GCHQ and other government departments as required.
Their role has adapted over the years to
tie in with changes to the Charter, meaning that their funding now comes from
the license fee rather than from core stakeholders. Consequently BBC Monitoring
have had to adopt a more commercial mindset when promoting their services.
Their main customers are now government departments, BBC newsrooms, Parliament,
commerce and academic institutions.
They are able to rely on the expertise of
staff arranged by geographical region (e.g. the Middle East or Western Europe).
Core monitoring staff are comprised of translators and journalists who
transcribe and analyse the output of their designated region. Their operations span the globe so they are
able to provide a 24 hour service.
Monitoring products can be extremely
reactive and flexible, focusing on major world issues in a very timely way. BBC
correspondents receive briefings from BBC Monitoring each morning for example,
which keeps them up to date prior to delivering reports.
It was useful to hear about the
innovative ways BBC Monitoring have had to change their strategy in order to
promote their work, which is highly relevant to many library and information
professionals in the current economic climate.
We ended the visit looking out on the
stunning vista at the back of the house, including the pond, lake, cricket
pavilion and views of the surrounding countryside. Definitely worth a visit!
