| Description | Present at the meeting, held at Quallity House : Sir Harold Hartley in the chiar; Professor Andrade; Professor Kurti; Dr Martin; Sir Robert Somerville; Dame Veronical Wedgwood; Mr Ellis; Mrs Margaret Gowing, Miss Joan Pye, Dr R E W Maddison, Mr Baillie and Mr Storey were in attendance.
1. Dame Veronica Wedgwood was warmly congratulated on the recent award of the Order of Merit
2. Apologies for absence received from Professor Paton
3. Minutes of last meeting agreed and signed
4. Arising from the minutes;
' Dr Martin reported that the Council of the Royal Society suggested that if the Standing Joint Committee's recommendation about the preservation and arrangement of its deceased Fellows' papers were to be considered further, selected members of the Committee should meet the Treasurer and Secretary of the Royal Society to discuss ways and means.
5. Dr Maddison reported on his progress in compiling the "Guide". He circulated at the meeting a list of names of scientists and technologists, which represented an expanded version of the original list approved by the Committee, and which included a list of those scientists and technologists for whom no information had come to light (some 240 out of a total of 640 names). He also circulated two different types of entry, in narrative and a more concise form, and the Committee agreed that the latter was the most suitable for publication. He mentioned the need for a number of visits of inspection to be made to certain repositories, and to the National Register of Archives for the searching of its detailed Indexes. The Chiarman offered to write to the President of the the Council of Engineering Institutions to enlist the cooperation of their librarian in Dr Maddison's work. He also drew attention to the holdings of scientific and learned societies, both national and local, the Wellcome Museum's work on medical sources, and the holdings of private owners, especially those which have been in whole or part the subject of HNC 'Reports'.
6. A report on the meeting held on 4 June to publicise the results of th Pilot Study, which had been circulated to members of the Committee, was then considered. The Committee's thanks were expressed to Mrs Gowing and Miss Pye for their preparation and presentation of the Pilot Study on that occasion.
Dr Martin reported that the Royal Society was prepared to accept the three archives which were the subject of the Pilot Study, subject to the wishes of their owners. It was agreed that Professor Kurti and Mr Ellis, in collaboration with Mrs Gowing and Miss Pye, should make the necessary preparations for the publication of the results of the Pilot Study.
The Committee accepted Proposal 2 of the circulated report, that a small team of suitably qualified archivists might be formed to work under the direction of the Standing Joint Committee, to visit various repositories to arrange and list deposited scientists' papers in situ. A draft 'Recommendation' to this effect is to be prepared by Mr Ellis and circulated to members of the Committee with the papers for the next meeting.
In connection with the dispersed location of scientists' papers in University Libraries, Mrs Gowing suggested that Universities might be persuaded to limit their archive interests, so that there might, for example, be some regional grouping of deposited scientific papers, with one University acting as a centre for a number of others. She also stressed the need to ensure the inclusion of engineers' papers in future schemes of deposit and listing. '
At end; Summary of findings of the event to publicise the Pilot Study. No formal resolutions recorded, but agreed that active measures should be taken to preserve the record of the personal papers of scientists, in particualr Fellows of the Royal Society. Seven points listed which required action. |