Tameside Local Studies Library and Archives Unit

Title: Tameside Local Studies Library and Archives Unit

Description: The Tameside Local Studies Library consists of a combined local studies and archives service for the towns of Tameside: Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Longdendale, Mossley and Stalybridge. It is based on collections amalgamated from the existing library services in 1974, but has been much expanded since. The collections are strongest for the 19th and 20th centuries, although some earlier material is held. The library holds books and pamphlets, archival material, photographs and other images, newspapers, maps and plans, microforms, posters and broadsheets, oral history tapes and other sound recordings. The archive collection includes the records of the local authorities which precede Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council (Tameside M. B. C.), business records, trade union records, family papers, records of local organisations, and church and chapel records. Two important collections are the records of the Manchester Regiment and the Manchester Studies Tapes (over 1000 oral history interviews recorded by the former Manchester Studies Unit from 1974-1984, which cover such themes as the cotton industry, the Spanish Civil War and domestic service).
The library collects general books on the history of Black and Asian people in Britain and any books which relate specifically to Black and Asian history in the towns of Tameside and the Manchester region. These books are shelved at L301.4.Reports and newsletters from organisations such as the Tameside Council for Racial Equality and Tameside M. B. C. Equal Opportunities Unit are also collected, along with creative works such as video documentaries and sound recordings produced by Asian Community Media based in Hyde. The Black and Asian Studies Association Newsletter has been collected since 1992. Issues for the current year are kept in the library. Back issues are held in an outstore and need to be ordered in advance of a visit.
Currently there is very little archive material relating specifically to Black and Asian organisations, families and businesses in the Tameside area, but some information is contained in the records of the Tameside M. B. C. and its predecessor authorities, the records of the Citizens Advice Bureaux (closed for fifty years) and in local newspapers. Other records which may give a different perspective on Black and Asian history are the records of the Manchester Regiment, which date from 1758. The Regiment served in the American War of Independence, New Zealand War of 1844, Crimean War, Boer War, both World Wars and the Korean War.
The Local Studies Library holds a large photographic archive for the towns of Tameside, which help to provide a visual record of the changing population demography in the area. There are also small collections of slides taken in mills and other works during the 1960s and 1970s showing Asian workers. A small number of tape recordings featuring the oral history reminiscences of Asian people who came to the Tameside area in the 1950s/60s. Some of these were a result of the Family History Award competition held in 1995 where the library collected transcribed oral history interviews, photographs and documents from Tameside residents who had emigrated to the UK from another country. An exhibition based on the 1995 Award is available for loan.

Strengths: The library is actively collecting material on Black and Asian history in Tameside, with a particular focus on the history of Asian peoples in the area since the 1950s.

Size: Less than 100 books, c.10 video recordings, c.10 sound recordings, c.100 photographs and 5 archive collections relevant to the history of Black and Asian peoples in Britain.

Catalogue:

Catalogue URL:

Main URL: http://www.tameside.gov.uk/leisure/new/lh23.htm

Access: Open access. Advance booking is necessary for microforms and computers. Some archive material is for reference only.

Acquisition dates: 1880s - present

Note: The following guide appears on the library web site: 'Black and Asian History at Tameside Local Studies Library'.

Interest: Asian

Complete: Complete

Subjects

Social history

Ethnic groups

Communities

Personal/Corporate names

Places

Tameside, United Kingdom