The Institute of Archaeology Library 1937–1986: Collections, Communities and Networks

Abstract

This article documents the history of the Institute of Archaeology Library from its independent beginnings in 1937 until the merger of the Institute with UCL in 1986. Documents from the Institute of Archaeology Library Archive, unpublished Institute Management Committee Minutes and published Annual Reports are used to demonstrate how the Library and the activities of its librarians reflected changes and developments not only in the Institute community, but also within wider archaeological networks. Initially situated in a united archaeological community with fluid boundaries, the Library was to develop its own independent identity as changes in Higher Education, professionalisation and commercialisation destroyed this unity and promoted the development of distinct communities of professional practice.

The Annual Report of the Institute of Archaeology (1937–58): history, development and access

“…These minutiae make it possible to create both narratives about the history of the Institute (e.g. Evans 1987) and microhistories -for example, about the Conservation department (Pye 1991), Library (Meheux 2015) and fieldwork practice (Drewett 1987). They also allow us to retrieve neglected or less visible histories, notably the role of museum archaeology in the Institute's history (Stevenson 2020).…”