Other significant aerospace libraries

Libraries with aerospace collections

Early discussion of the concept of a National Aerospace Library led quickly to the conclusions that:

(a)  it is unrealistic to think of collecting together all the available material in the UK and

(b) there is a strong case for creating a virtual national library in which all the main collections are linked electronically.

Some idea of scale is given in the table below, which lists the contents of two of the main UK aerospace libraries and also those of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington. It should be noted that these two museum libraries are mainly devoted to historical material, whereas RAeS also maintains a stock of up-to-date literature of current importance across the range of disciplines related to modern aerospace.  This ‘current’ material was held at Hamilton Place, directly accessible to members, until the recent move.

Organisation	Books	Periodical volumes	Photographs	Other
RAeS	Over 27,000	Around 200 current titles	Over 100,000	Over 40,000 reports Unspecified quantity of archival material (private papers etc.)
RAF Museum	c.14,000	c.15,000 Relatively few current titles.	c.250,000	c. 50,000 Air Publications;| c. 100,000 manufacturers’ drawings    10,000 cu ft of archives
National Air & Space Museum, Washington	40,000 volumes (inc periodicals and reports)		1.7 million

 

Other organisations in the UK with relevant collections include:

 Imperial War Museum - a wealth of material including the RAF's official photograph and film collections, spread across the Departments of Printed Books, Documents, Photographs, Film and Sound Recordings. The emphasis is on personal accounts, rather than the technology of aviation.

 Science Museum - part of the Science Museum Library's collection is now housed within the Imperial College Library, with other material in a research centre at Wroughton in Wiltshire.

 Fleet Air Arm Museum - has a collection focused on the RNAS and FAA, including published material, Air Publications and personal and official archives

 National Museums of Scotland - the main library is closed until 2011, but includes material to support the Museum of Flight. The National War Museum has its own library, which focuses on military aviation in Scotland and Scots members of the flying services.

 University collections - All of the universities involved in aerospace have material in their own libraries, ranging from standard undergraduate texts to reports and conference proceedings.

 Aerospace Industry - A number of firms still operate technical libraries, which hold technical reports and conference papers, although Qinetiq closed its library a year or two ago.

 The National Archives - over 26,000 RAE reports, nearly 6,000 A&AEE reports and 42,000 ARC reports as well as files on a wide range of topics.

With the exception of those in universities and industry, the libraries in the above list are primarily concerned with historical aspects.

Each of the above organisations has its own IT and catalogue systems and it will be a significant task to develop a network through which they can be transparently linked.  Nevertheless, that has been the Society’s declared long-term aim since the launch of the NAL.

Libraries of other UK professional institutions

The report ‘Survey of library services in UK professional bodies’ was issued in June 2009 by the Head of Library and Information services of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.  It is based on interviews conducted at the libraries of the following sixteen organisations:

British Medical Association BMA Chartered Institute of Building CIOB Chartered Institute of Marketing CIM Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development CIPD Chartered Management Institute CMI Concrete Society   Institute of Directors IOD Institution of Civil Engineers ICE Institution of Engineering and Technology IET Institution of Structural Engineers IStructE Law Society   Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons RCVS Royal Institute of British Architects RIBA Institution of Mechanical Engineers IMechE Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors RICS Royal Town Planning Institute RTPI

These organisations are mostly larger than the Society, the majority having between 10,000 and 50,000 members but some having more than 100,000. Twelve of the sixteen have their headquarters in London. There is a great deal of detail in the report which brings to light the similarities of the roles for the libraries within their institutions and of the challenges they face. They have much in common with the Society Library.

Some useful points of comparison can be drawn from the list headed ‘what is a typical library like’.

- 50,000 books and 100 -150 current journal titles (compare RAeS figures in table above)

- All material kept in HQ building, 45% in reading room (until July 2009, about 20% of
   RAeS book stock held in Hamilton Place Library)

- Budget typically £5 per head of membership.

There are many similarities in the services provided to members and non-members, in the amount of on-line information available and in the future expected developments in the use of electronic data. It is noteworthy that all have their main library in their headquarters building and that on average a substantially greater volume of library material is held in their headquarters than was held in Hamilton Place up to July 2009.

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