How is Pensions Archive material collected?
First Contact
If you are thinking of making a deposit with the Pensions Archive, please contact in the first instance either the Chairman or Secretary of The Pensions Archive Trust, or the Archivist, to discuss your collection and why you feel the Pensions Archive would be the most appropriate place to deposit it. Details of how to do this can be found on our contacts page.
Collections can either be donated to or deposited with PAT, who then sign agreements for long-term storage with LMA, or directly to or with LMA itself. In some circumstances, the material may be directed to another more appropriate place of deposit. The records of institutions based in the City of London, for example, are usually deposited with Guildhall Library Manuscripts (GL MSS), also run by the City of London Corporation. Where material with no London link is offered, this may be directed to a more appropriate repository local to the potential donor.
It is also envisaged that copies of some of the most important documentation will also be located in the library of the Cass Business School of the City University, with which the Trust has close links.
Survey and Appraisal of Material
As potential depositors will understand, we must ensure that the collections held are of real value to prospective users. So all material offered is carefully assessed with only that worthy of permanent preservation being accepted.
Normally, a meeting with a potential depositor will be arranged where the Archivist will carry out a survey of the records in-situ. The Archivist will assess a collection in accordance with GL MSS's and LMA's joint Collections Policy and Appraisal Policy and will record the findings in a Survey Form. A collection will be assessed to ascertain whether the material will contribute value to the archive, if it contains potentially sensitive or personal information, and if it duplicates any material already held in the Pensions Archive collections.
The final steps before any collection can be formally received at either GL MSS or LMA involves the Archivist presenting the findings of their survey to LMA's Acquisitions Group. This group is made up of Archivists and Senior Archivists responsible for all collection areas. The details of the collection are given to the group, and then a formal recommendation is given to PAT on whether to accept it or not, based on the criteria of the Collections Policy.
Deposit Agreements
A deposit agreement is then signed between the depositor and PAT for the acquisition of the material, and also between PAT and LMA (or other appropriate repository) for the storage and care of the material. The nature of these agreements and status of a deposit is split into two categories:
• Gift – if the depositor gives their collection to either PAT or LMA as a gift, this entitles PAT or LMA to the ownership of the items and in all copyright rights in the items which are held by the donor*
• Loan – if a collection is presented as a loan, the usual period for this is given as 20 years, at which time any signed agreement is reviewed*
*There is a clause in all deposit agreements which will allow a depositor to withdraw their collection from storage at LMA. However, at least 3 months notice must be given and a charge will be imposed for storage and conservation costs incurred while the material was stored at LMA. Further details can be obtained from the Archivist.
Once the status of the deposit with either PAT or LMA has been agreed, the collection can be brought in to the LMA stores. An initial conservation check is carried out by conservators in a preliminary document reception area, before the deposit is transferred to the climate-controlled stores to await cataloguing.
The Pensions Archive Trust - Registered Charity No. 1122633
Chairman - Alan Herbert Secretary - Chris Bedford Archivist - Susan Gentles
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