Acquisitions and cataloguing
The Acquisitions and Cataloguing
(AC) team are chiefly responsible for producing catalogues of
our archives and liaising with depositors of new archives and
records.
The team catalogues the large amount of material that LMA
receives each year. Archivists and catalogue editors produce lists
of our records for use in the public rooms and on websites. They
also take the lead on many of the special grant-aided projects at
LMA, including the Access to Archives (A2A) Project. More about our
current activities can be found on our
projects page.
Acquisitions and Cataloguing liaise with the depositors of
archives, arranging for new collections of records to come to LMA.
Over the last 50 years LMA has received more than 5,000 'deposited'
archive collections, which supplement our 'official' holdings from
the Greater London Council and its predecessor authorities.
Deposited archives can come from associations, businesses,
charities, religious and cultural organisations in Greater London,
as well as courts, hospitals and government agencies. Archives can
either be deposited on long-term loan, or donated to LMA which
becomes the legal owner.
Archives are received at LMA on the understanding that they can
be made available to researchers. This is within limits of careful
handling and appropriate confidentiality, including the Data
Protection Act (2004) where appropriate. LMA catalogues archives to
the International Standard of Archival Description (General), and
conserves items in need of repair or repackaging.
LMA can offer a safe, neutral location for archive collections
and we are keen to develop links with depositors as partners for
future joint projects. For an initial conversation on depositing
archives at LMA,
email or contact us on 020 7332 3820. You may also find it
helpful to look at our
Acquisitions policy to get a broader idea of our collections
strategy.