The Elgar Society archives: managing the records of a voluntary society
| Published date | 01 December 2004 |
| Pages | 129-132 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/09565690410566792 |
| Date | 01 December 2004 |
| Author | Richard Hall |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
The Elgar Society
archives: managing the
records of a voluntary
society
Richard Hall
The author
Richard Hall is Archivist, Cumbria Record Office and Honorary
Archivist of the Elgar Society, both at Kendal, UK.
Keywords
Records management, Voluntary organizations, United Kingdom
Abstract
This article describes the setting up and implementation of an
archive programme in a long-established UK voluntary society,
the Elgar Society, which has an active plan for future
development. It examines some of the difficulties involved as
well as opportunities offered in the context of managing the
archives of a voluntary society while operating as a volunteer,
honorary archivist in an unfunded and time-limited capacity.
Electronic access
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is
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The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0956-5698.htm
Introduction
The proper management of an organisation’s
records is a significant part of its activities and as
years pass the evidential value of its archive steadily
increases. This may perhaps be less readily
appreciated in a volunteer or charitable body than
in official and statutory bodies. The experience of
one voluntary society in this regard may be
instructive[1].
The Elgar Society was formed in 1951[2] to
promote the study, performance and appreciation
of the works of Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) and
research into his life and music. It is the largest
British composer society with a worldwide
membership of about 1,650, of whom some 10 per
cent are overseas. The Society encourages the
study and performance of Elgar’s works in schools
and colleges, while members’ individual and
collective research continues to add significantly to
the total knowledge of Elgar and his work. There
should therefore be a natural constituency for an
appreciation of the importance of archives.
The Society has eight local branches, which
bring members together for meetings, lectures,
recitals and visits associated with Elgar and his
music. Overseas members are encouraged and
only this year the Vancouver Association was
formally admitted as an overseas branch, while the
Society has recently embarked on a scheme to
bring Elgar’s music to the people of China. The
Elgar Medal is awarded to those outside the UK
who have furthered the reputation of Elgar and his
music, either by performance or through
scholarship. The Society’s principal publication is
the Journal published three times a year together
with a separate Elgar News. The Society’s Website
can be found at www.elgar.org
Development of the archives
The General Committee of the Society approved a
recommendation in 1993 that recognised the
importance of records management in a large and
growing society for both practical and historical
reasons. The impetus behind this decision had
come from a report by Carl Newton, who was
subsequently appointed to act as honorary
archivist. The Society was most fortunate in
having a very experienced professional archivist in
its ranks of active members who was available and
willing to take on the task of instituting an archive
programme and raising the level of archive
awareness. In the first place he had to convince the
officers of the Society of the principal reasons for
preserving records:
Records Management Journal
Volume 14 · Number 3 · 2004 · pp.129-132
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited · ISSN 0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/09565690410566792
129
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