THE Irish archive at the Library of Birmingham will be “protected” despite devastating cuts which have forced the venue to reduce staff numbers and opening times, a local councillor has confirmed.
Speaking exclusively to The Irish Post this week, Councillor Penny Holbrook said: “The top and the bottom of the current situation is that the Irish archive is perfectly safe and will be protected, with access maintained as much as it will be for any of the archives.”
She added: “The position is difficult, we didn’t want to make cuts but we have had to make cuts and we have tried to have keep a reference to the archives while doing that, which includes the Irish collection.”
Plans for Birmingham’s first Irish archive were announced by the Library in December 2014, with the donation of the photographic collection of former Irish Post photojournalist Brendan Farrell its founding instalment.
Further contributions were sought, via The Irish Post, for material marking the history of the Irish in the city to be added to the archive, which was due to be officially launched during the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Birmingham in March.
But the plans were put on hold in February when a series of shock cuts announced by the council – which came into effect in April – saw the Library’s annual budget stripped of £1.3million.
As a result the Library’s staff force has since been reduced by half and its opening times have been slashed from 73 to just 40 hours a week.
The cuts have also seen the Council axe its annual £20,000 in funding for the city's popular St Patrick's Day Parade and Festival, effective from March 2016.
The Library, a new build which cost £189million to construct and only opened in September 2013, is now closed on Sundays and opens from just 11am to 7pm on Mondays and Tuesdays and 11am to 5pm from Wednesday to Saturday.
This week Cllr Holbrook, Birmingham Council’s cabinet member for skills, learning and culture, announced a new partnership between the Library of Birmingham and the British Library, which it is hoped will benefit all the archives held at the Birmingham site.
“Our British Library project is one of the programmes we are exploring as a way to maintain access to the archives, which will include the Irish archives, so they will benefit, indirectly, from that,” Cllr Holbrook confirmed.
The 12 month pilot scheme, supported by the British Library Trust, will see the establishments work together to exhibit library collections in a series of activities across 2016.
It begins with a joint project due to be unveiled around the time of the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, which falls on April 23, 2016.
“The British Library’s collections and curatorial expertise is a world class asset which further enhances the renowned collections at the Library of Birmingham, including our Shakespeare and photographic collections, and draws on our reputation for engaging with local communities,” Cllr Holbrook explained.
“This new partnership will be an opportunity to test new ways of working together to increase the impact of both organisations during the Shakespeare anniversary year. It will also start a programme of sharing skills across our workforces which I hope will lead to further opportunities for collaboration in the longer term.”
She added: “However, we must recognise that this will not solve all the challenges we face with the Library of Birmingham, but it is a positive start for looking at different ways of working.”
