Creating a new legacy collection for the British Library For Development Studies (360G-Wellcome-215428_Z_19_Z)

Located at the University of Sussex and jointly managed with the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), the British Library for Development Studies (BLDS) historic collection tracks the unfolding story of international development and health systems in the Global South over the last half century. The collection is one of the most comprehensive in its coverage of government and official sources, particularly published in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia between the mid-1960s and mid-1990s. Gradual reductions in funding, combined with a shift towards historical research in development studies and global health, have created a perfect opportunity to restore this archive. Much is uncatalogued, a local classification scheme makes it difficult to find material, and the collection’s research value is unpublicised. The proposed project will enable the collection to be reshaped and positioned as an invaluable research resource for a new generation of scholars by: Honing the existing collection to focus on rare and unique holdings; Increasing accessibility by cataloguing unlisted material, developing a standardised online search tool and undertaking preservation of fragile items; Generating interest and awareness of an eventual new BLDS Legacy Collection through a launch event, public seminars, social media and a special historical issue of the IDS Bulletin.