BT Digital ArchivesCoventry University, BT plc and

The National Archives

Digitisation and ArchivesJISC:

championing innovation in, & use of, digital technologies on behalf of UK education & research Project funding: e-Content Capital Programme

Coventry University: research & exploitation - in digital humanities/archiving, digital technology for learning & developing skills

BT:‘world-class’ archive – chronological span, subject scope,

national/international heritage

TNA: leading expertise in curation/preservation & digitisation

The world’s oldest communications company

A story that stretches from the birth of the electric telegraph in the 1830s to the explosion of the internet and the rise of competition

Our unique and nationally significant collection charts the development of communications services in the UK

Our collection illustrates the leading role the UK, BT and its predecessors played in the progress of communications technology and its influence on society

BT Archives• Private telegraph and telephone

companies• Post Office telecommunications• BT plc• Historical phone books• Photographic - c500,000 images • Film - over 2000 titles• Advertising - 30,000 separate pieces• Reference library• Artefacts

What to digitise?• Breadth and depth (and pretty stuff)• HE focus (and ‘general public’)

photographs research reports

subject/ registry files

Category A:93,020 scans

Category B:182,757 scans

Category C:232,378 scans

Selection criteria• technology milestones

• national events

• international reach

• Government policy

• industrial relations

• diversity

• iconic products & services

Category A Original Actual

Publicity series 8,200 8,495Engineering series (end of 1969) 76,390 37,122Lecture series 1440 0Training School 650 0Research 8859 0Indexes 0 6,632

95,539 52,24943,290 less than estimate

Category BOriginal Actual

Research reports 72,242 124,176

Radio research reports 21,788 58,58194,030 182,757

Category C Original Actual

Category C files 261,740 232,378

Finding nos. @ 500 pages each 523 484

561

Total Category A+B+C 451,309 467,384

Scans breakdown by category

Category A : Photographic images Original Final 

Engineering photographs, c1909-1991 TCB 417 76,390 negs 38,956 negs

Publicity photographs, 1934-1975 TCB 473 8,200 negs 8,488 negs

Training School photographs, 1930s-1950s TCB 546 650 negs 0 negs

Lecture series photographs, 1934-1955 TCB 475 1,440 negs 0 negs

Research photographs, 1950s-1989 TCB 638 8,859 negs 0 negs

Indexes 0 nrgs 6632

Total 95,359 neg 54,076 negs

Category B : Research reports

PO Engineering Dept research reports, memoranda and papers, 1878-1969

TCB 74,242 pages 124,176 pages

PO Telecommunications research reports, memoranda and papers, 1969-1981

TCC 21,788 pages 65,945 pages

Total 96,030 pages 190,121 pages

 

Category C : Registered minuted policy & correspondence files, 1867 – 1982    

 Original Actual

Telecommunications Development Directorate (TDD), 1947 - 1979 190 files 47 files

Network Planning Directorate (NPD), 1966-1979 209 files 49 files

Managing Director, Telecommunications (TH/DM series), 1162 files 39 files

Minuted files (England & Wales), 1867 – 1961 (Post 30) 1000 files 133 files

Minuted files (Ireland), 1870 – 1961 (Post 31) 35 files 5 files

Minuted files (Scotland), 1869 – 1951 (Post 32) 138 files 8 files

Minuted files (UK), 1890 – 1968 (Post 33) 1000 files 81 files

Minuted and decentralised registry files, 1876 – 1981 (Post 121) 174 files 41 files

Minuted and decentralised registry files, 1882 – 1969 (Post 122) 227 files 59 files

Minuted files, telecommunications, 1895 – 1978 (TCB 2) 498 files 96 files

Marconi / GPO correspondence, 1896 - 1909 (TCB 273) 0 2 files

BT Central Registry files, 1980-1984 0 1 file

Total 4633 files 561 files

Learning points• Language

file? archive? digital archive?• Sampling

conservation number of pages

• Counting finding number? box? scans? timesheets

• Timescales• Uncatalogued material• Expect the unexpected• Appetite for archives

www.bt.com/btdigitalarchives