428.
428. The basic records of a town, and, therefore, from the point of view of the local collection, its most important, are its written ones; and in these, generally speaking, libraries are most deficient, for the obvious reason that the ordinary municipal library is a newcomer, and that in modern days the printed record has largely superseded the written one. Not altogether, however, as we shall see. Written records are almost of as many types as are the printed—there are parliamentary, municipal, parochial, private business and personal manuscripts, of which every librarian should strive to obtain possession. A copy of the Domesday Book for his area, albeit impossible, except by successful burglary of the Public Record Office, would be a desirable beginning to the collection. After that, we may tabulate a list of the classes of written material which should be sought:
- 1. Parochial Records: Tithe Registers, Parish Registers, Rate Books.
- 2. Municipal Records: Rate Books, Assessment Registers, Minute Books.
- 3. Private business records: Leases, indentures, agreements.
- 4. Manuscripts, autographs, etc.
Parochial registers of all kinds, tax books, etc., were until comparatively recent years kept in the charge of the Church. Modern vicars have, as a rule, little interest in them, and are often willing to hand them over to the public library. Such books have an obvious value in resolving the whereabouts, rateable value and occupants of various types of property; and very interesting questions may be settled by their means. The actual parish registers—of births, marriages and deaths—are another matter, and the originals cannot, we believe, be transferred to the library. In some cases the staffs of libraries have obtained permission to transcribe these verbatim, and have actually done so.[14] It is undoubtedly a useful work, but scarcely comes into the province of the librarian as such; his work is to collect existing material, not to create material, although there are infrequent exceptions to the rule. In general we must wait until one of the publishing societies produces these registers, and in the meanwhile refer inquirers to the Church. All we need to emphasize here is the fact that for centuries the corporate life centred in the Church, and it is to the Church that we must look for our primary written records.
[14] At Walthamstow this was done by a member of the Libraries staff.
We reach somewhat surer ground when we endeavour to collect municipal records. The older municipalities—Coventry, Stratford-on-Avon, etc.—have had some regard for their records, and have at least preserved them. Modern municipalities preserve them, too—that is to say, theoretically. A visit to the basement or attics of the average municipal building is, however, a woeful experience for the collector. Usually, in cob-webbed chaos, he will find the records that in a century (or much less) will have immeasurable interest for the student of local affairs. There are written minutes as distinct from printed ones of municipal committees, rate, assessment, receipt, wages, work, and numerous other books to be found in the confusion. It is not always easy to persuade the people concerned to hand over these books, and indeed the more recent of them probably ought not to be handed over; but a little persuasive tact has in more than one case secured the right of the librarian to take charge of and to classify and catalogue them. Sometimes limitations are placed upon their use (for example, books of the last ten years may not be exposed to general consultation), but in any case they ought to be secured for the collection if it is in any way possible. The records, it must be mentioned, are voluminous and bulky, and if in addition to the right of custody the municipality can be induced to provide a room for their reception, the relief will generally be a welcome one.
In some ways the most attractive of written records, the most human, are the private ones; and these are also the most difficult to obtain. Leases, wills, agreements, indentures, and similar deeds are naturally not stored systematically anywhere in the average town, and they must be searched out. Old inns are likely places, as are old solicitors’ offices, and auctions sometimes bring them to light. There are, of course, dealers who specialize in them, and most desirable deeds have been obtained cheaply from London dealers. Such documents throw more light on the changes, customs, and language of a locality than do any of the more formal records mentioned above.
Local literary manuscripts, autographs, manuscripts of local authors, letters, and similar written documents are so obviously desirable that more than a mention of them is superfluous; but we want, in this connexion, to urge that to-day will very quickly belong to the past, and that the collection of these things from the hands of living men is to be desired. When a librarian receives a letter from the mayor, a prominent alderman, or similar local celebrity, he does not as a rule think of it as something to be preserved in the local collection. Why not?
429. Pictorial and Graphic Material.
429. Pictorial and Graphic Material.—In recent years librarians have given systematic attention to the collection of pictorial records, although, indeed, they have long been recognized as a part of the collector’s province. These naturally divide into: