Development of the NAL 2004 – 2009

In March 2004 a questionnaire signed by the Chief Executive, seeking views on the proposal to establish a National Aerospace Library, was published in The Aerospace Professional (AP).  This opened with the statement “Following the co-ordination role the Royal Aeronautical Society played in the 2003, 100 Years of Flight, programme, the Society, in consultation with the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, the National Aeronautical Collection of the Science Museum and others, is investigating the possibility of establishing a National Aerospace Library”.  This was followed in the April 2004 issue of AP by a further statement by the Chief Executive “… I would just like to reiterate that there is no intention of moving the complete Library out of Hamilton Place or indeed, for that matter selling it off. Quite the reverse.”   In June 2004 an appeal to raise funds for the NAL was launched in AP under the headline Aerospace Archives for the Future. This outlined the general objectives of the proposed NAL and noted that, “Such an undertaking would inevitably demand considerable capital investment and we hope it would be a strong candidate for support by the Heritage Lottery Fund of the National Lottery.” 

July 2004 saw the formation of the Society’s National Aerospace Library Working Group, responsible for exploring the options for location of the NAL and then progressing the project under Council oversight.  An understanding from the outset, and consistent with periodic statements by the Chief Executive in AP, was the “intention to maintain a working library at HQ”.  In parallel with this Working Group, an NAL Liaison Group was set up, to inform and derive benefit from the advice of related organisations such as aeronautical heritage museums.

In the period late 2004/early 2005, a major driving force for the NAL Working Group’s activity was a decision by Society authorities that removal of library archive and duplicate material from the Hamilton Place basement should be implemented soon, to reduce the risk of damage from damp, etc, and – importantly – to allow conversion of that basement space to a revenue-earning business centre. Concurrently, it was becoming increasingly evident that commercial redevelopment of the ex-RAE site at Farnborough by Slough Estates (now known as SEGRO) offered possible opportunities for location of an NAL.

Society authorities set a target for clearance of about 50% of the basement library stock by mid-2005, and this resulted in a very large amount of material being placed in boxes, courtesy of BAE and free of charge, in temporary and relatively inacessible storage in a hangar at Farnborough. A further push to clear space in the Hamilton Place basement resulted in another substantial tranche of material being given the same treatment in mid-2006. Still more was moved to Farnborough in 2007. Choice of material for all these moves out of Hamilton Place followed the same principle – namely that it should be of an archival and ‘back-up’ nature, leaving the ‘front line’ material of greatest current interest at Hamilton place.

In parallel, the exploration of options for an NAL site was inevitably a complex, time-consuming process. Locations other than Farnborough were considered, but a preference for Farnborough survived. A bold scheme for using the Grade 1 Listed building housing the historic 24 ft wind tunnel eventually became the basis of an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for an initial £50,000 grant to support preparation of a full bid for the several million pounds needed. This was turned down in November 2005. After discussion with HLF personnel, preparation of a full bid was deferred for the time being and attention swung to the more modest idea of establishing an ‘interim’ home for the NAL by renting space in some other SEGRO-owned building on the Farnborough site

Meantime, the National Aerospace Library was legally established in a ceremony at Hamilton Place in Jun 2006, as a limited company wholly owned by RAeS.  Evaluation of options at Farnborough eventually led to a focus on accommodation available in ‘The Hub’, formerly the RAE Q134 Weapons building now much refurbished.   In 2007 a  ten-year lease on space adjacent to the ‘Secret Factory’ exhibition room was negotiated, bookcases and other furniture purchased, and material that had been stored in the BAE hangar was moved in to set up the Farnborough NAL as an accessible archive and a reception centre for collections donated by other organisations and individuals.  This role was confirmed by the Chief Executive’s statement in the September 2007 issue of AP, “..I think it is important to emphasise that the Library on the third floor here at Hamilton Place will remain fully operational, to allow members to borrow books and to carry out research. The facilities at Farnborough will focus on public access and provide us with a much needed expanded storage facility for our own collection and other collections that may be given to us in the future.”

An element of significance in the evolution of the NAL is the development of a relationship between the project and Hampshire County Council (HCC).  When Farnborough became the preferred location, the Society Chief Executive acquainted the Leader of HCC, and discussions resulted in the HCC Head of Library and Information Services joining the NAL Working Group to advise on organisational and professional aspects.  The relationship advanced further when, in September 2007, an ‘informal partnership’ was set up between RAeS and HCC whereby the NAL would be badged jointly with HCC as a public library.  This arrangement was seen within the HCC as benefiting the County Council’s performance in meeting Public Library Standards, and in return HCC undertook to assist staffing the NAL by contributing the services of an Assistant Librarian for up to 30 hours per week.  The Society is to continue meeting all the other costs associated with the NAL.  For more details about the establishment of this partnership, see our website Bulletin 2.

In addition to the above part-time assistance from HCC (the extent of which is variable – we understand that it is currently running at 25 hours/week) the Society appointed a full-time assistant librarian to operate at Farnborough under the oversight from Hamilton Place of the Society’s Librarian, Brian Riddle – the expenditure on this appointment being justified by the extra rental income obtained following conversion of the Hamilton Place basement areas previously devoted to the library archives.

In mid-2007 a third administrative group was set up, the NAL Operations Group, to oversee the operational aspects of the NAL

On 15 January 2008, the NAL was formally opened by Mrs Mary Fagan, the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire. The March 2008 issue of AP carried a full account of the ceremony. Its opening words were,

“On 15 January, the Royal Aeronautical Society formally opened the new National Aerospace Library (NAL) archive at Farnborough. Probably the largest public reference library dedicated to aerospace in the UK, the NAL is a new archive established to complement the existing Library collections and service at the Society's headquarters at 4 Hamilton Place in London.” The original concept was thus reaffirmed - a duality of centres, NAL Farnborough being a large archive open to the public, linked with a ‘front line’ working library, conveniently located for members in our London headquarters.

The NAL then operated to good effect in this way through 2008 and much of 2009.  A great deal was successfully accomplished in making accessible the large amount of material previously held at Farnborough in storage boxes, and accommodating some newly-donated collections.  During this year negotiations with SEGRO to gain much-needed additional space by taking over responsibility for the adjacent Secret Factory area were successfully concluded.

Pressure on space has, however, now been greatly increased by the sudden closure of the working library at Hamilton Place, with virtually all its stock and the workplace of the Librarian, being moved to Farnborough. It must be remembered that a substantial volume of archive material is still stored in boxes in the 24ft wind tunnel. If further orphan collections are to be accepted, it is very likely that the presence at Farnborough of the stock that we believe should be in Hamilton Place will add to the pressure to lease further space from SEGRO, as envisaged by the Chief Executive in his Q&A in the October issue of AP, “We are also discussing with SEGRO further storage adjacent to the Hub building.”

Society members were not informed in advance of this major change from the policy that had existed throughout the previous development of the NAL. The move was not revealed as a specific plan to the NAL Working Group, nor indeed to the Society Council.

Appendix 3A   Evolution of the concept 1999 – 2004

Appendix 3B   Development of the NAL 2004 – 2009

Appendix 3C Other significant aerospace libraries

Appendix 3D NAL past and future – an essay