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This catalogue contains documents created in the administration of the Collections of the Society which have not been covered by the other Collections catalogues, including articles written about the history of the Library and its collections, reports and strategy documents, administrative correspondence, journal and periodical exchanges and job descriptions.

Reports, strategy and information documents concerning the collections and the administration of the Library. Many such documents are only retained for the lifetime but some have been kept as deemed of archival value either as representative of the type or of strategic importance. These are:

• 'Council Regulations: Library Staff' - short documents detailing the Library staff and duties involved. Signed by Basil W. Robinson, President, and Simon Digby, Honorary Librarian. Typed, 1 piece, dated June 1970.
• 'Royal Asiatic Society - Memorandum from the Honorary Librarian to Users of MSS of the Society' - concerning handling of the manuscripts. Written by Simon Digby, Honorary Librarian, 1 piece, dated May 1972.
• 'Humidity - June 1978 - Sequel to notes of December 1977' - recommendations for care of the collections following a visit from Fred Marsh, India Office Conservation. Typed, 2 pieces.
• 'Notes on Microfilming of Manuscripts' - document prepared by the Librarian for submission to the Publications Committee, 8 February 1979. Typed, 1 piece.
• 'Some Thoughts on the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society by Mr. B.C. Bloomfield' - report outlining the current condition of the Collections and outlining accommodation and care needs for the collections. Typed, 1 piece, dated 6 October 1980.
• 'Royal Asiatic Society Library: Paper by the Library Policy Committee' - paper for the Council's endorsement concerning a programme of disposal and repair of the Collections to preserve a living library. Typed, 2 pieces, undated [1980s].
• 'Proposals for the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society' outlining the need for, and cost of, preparing a guide-book to the collections'. Copy of typed document, 2 pieces, undated.
• 'To the Treasurer: Library Budget 1987-1988' - outlining the costs for the Library for the year. Typed, 1 piece.
• Librarian compliment slips for Queen Anne Street and Queen's Gardens. Printed, 2 pieces.
• A note from Godfrey Goodwin, Librarian, about a change in the opening hours of the Library and an appeal for help with a stock-take of the books after the Society's move to 60 Queen's Gardens. Typed, 1 piece, dated [September] 1988.
• 'The Library' - regulations for use of the Library and opening hours. Typed, 1 piece, undated [1988].
• 'Budget 1994' - outline of the budget accepted by the Council for Library expenditure. Typed, 1 piece, dated 23 February 1994.
• 'Inventory of the Society's Manuscripts' - discussing the state of the Society's manuscripts and their cataloguing. Typed, 1 piece, undated [1994].
• 'Royal Asiatic Society Library' - paper to consider the storage of the Collections at Queen's Gardens. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 1995.
• 'Use of the RAS Library' - outlining library use by researchers written by Julian Reade, Honorary Librarian. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 28 November 1995.
• 'Time-Table for Necessary Work at 60 Queen's Gardens' - outlining the need to remove collections for work to be done on the building. Typed, 1 piece, dated 8 February 1996.
• 'The Structure of 60 Queen's Gardens' - assessing the book-shelf capacity and suggesting strategies to care for the collections. Typed, 3 pieces, dated 1996.
• 'Library Book Shelving and Strong Room Protection' - giving details of tenders for shelving and the provision of a strong room. Written by D.W. MacDowell, President, typed, 2 pieces, dated 14 March 1996.
• 'Royal Asiatic Society' - document listing library policy and considerations for the collections to be submitted to the Council. Written by Julian Reade, Honorary Librarian, typed, 3 pieces, dated 8 May 1996.
• 'The Royal Asiatic Society: The Library' - general statement about the Library and the Collections. Approved by the Library Committee, 18 September 1997. Typed, 2 pieces.
• 'Stockcheck of the Library' - outlining the undertaking of a stock check. Written by Michael Pollock, Royal Asiatic Society Librarian, typed, 2 pieces, dated 28 May 1998.
• 'Summary list of RAS papers which need to be listed' - a list of the known archives needing to be sorted. Written by Helen Cordell, Honorary Librarian, typed, 2 pieces, dated October 1998.
• 'Library' - document introducing the collections, their catalogues, opening times, reprographics etc. Typed, 7 pieces, undated [1998].
• '4th Floor security stamping books: Summary' - report on an audit carried out about the possibility of stamping books. Written by D. Shah, Library Assistant, Royal Asiatic Society, typed, 2 pieces, dated 29 January 1999.
• 'Stock Check - March 1999' - report on a stock check undertaken. Written by Michael Pollock, Royal Asiatic Society Librarian, typed, 6 pieces, dated 11 March 1999.
• 'Estimation of time taken to stamp 80000 books held in the Royal Asiatic Society Library - April 1999' - an analysis of the time required. Written by D. Shah, Library Assistant and Michael Pollock, Librarian, typed, 2 pieces.
• 'Royal Asiatic Society Visiting Research Fellow' - describing the Council decision to create a bursary for a research fellow to undertake research on the collections. Written by Giles Tillotson, Acting Director, Royal Asiatic Society, typed, 1 piece, undated [2000].
• 'Library Access for Non-Fellows: improved security checks and charging for services' - series of documents concerning increasing security for the collections. Typed, 4 pieces, dated 2003-2004.
• 'Cataloguing of RAS Printed Material Collection' - report concerning the need for an automated catalogue. Typed, 5 pieces, undated [2000s].
• 'The RAS Tod Collection' - proposal for working on identifying the James Tod material. Written by Rima Hooja, typed, 3 pieces, dated 2008.
• 'Projects in terms of priorities to be completed over the next five years 2010 -2015' - listing collections priorities and an estimate of the costs. Typed, 4 pieces, undated [2009].

Some collections have at times gone missing. The administrative documents concerning this are found in this series.

• Letter from Simon Digby, Honorary Librarian, concerning a missing Mughal painting. Typed, 1 piece, dated 12 July 1973.
• Correspondence, reports and photographs concerning the theft of three 18th or early 19th century Burmese Buddhist statues. Handwritten, typed, and 2 colour photographs, 13 pieces, dated 21 September 1977 - 25 April 1989.
• Correspondence concerning missing books belonging to John Hansman. Typed, 5 pieces, dated 6 December - 31 December 1979.
• Correspondence, reports and lists concerning stolen books discovered in 1997. Four archival folders, dated 1997-2009.
• Report by Kathy Lazenbatt, Royal Asiatic Society Librarian, delivered to the Historic Libraries Forum, concerning theft. Typed, 4 pieces, dated 17 November 2009.

The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society is an academic journal. Throughout the Society's history, the Society has undergone exchange of journals with other institutions. This material concerns the administration of this process.

The Society has employed a Librarian throughout its history. It has also employed Assistant Librarians and since 2014, an Archivist. This material contains Job descriptions for these posts:

• 'Librarian to the Royal Asiatic Society' - a list of the professional and clerical duties undertaken by the Librarian. Written by Michael Pollock, Royal Asiatic Society Librarian, typed, 7 pieces, dated 12 November 1998.
• 'Library Cataloguer' - basic job description for retrospective cataloguing post onto an automated system. Typed, 1 piece, undated [2004-5].
• 'Part time Library Assistant' job description. Electronic document first created in 2005. Archival document created in 2025.
• 'Senior Library Assistant' job description. Electronic document first created in 2010. Archival document created in 2025.
• 'Assistant Librarian' job description. Typed, 2 pieces, dating to 2010.
• 'Library and Administrative Assistant' job description. Typed, 3 pieces, undated [2010 -2014].
• 'Assistant Librarian' job description, dated October 2013. Electronic document, converted to archival document in 2025.
• 'Librarian' job description. Electronic document first created in 2014. Archival document created in 2025.
• 'Project Archivist' job description. Typed, 3 pieces, dated August 2014.
• 'Archivist' job description. Electronic document first created in 2020. Archival document created in 2025.
• 'Collections Assistant' job description. Electronic document first created in 2023. Archival document created in 2025.

Correspondence concerned with Journal Exchanges. The subseries has been divided into chronological files.

Administrative documents detailing journal exchanges:

• Lists of Exchanges, gifts and purchases of journals and periodicals dating to the early 1930s. Typed and handwritten, 56 pieces.
• 'Royal Asiatic Society Journals etc Exchanged or Bought, & Journals & other series Presented' - a large notebook containing entries dating from 1951 - 1967. This notebook is without its boards or spine and is in fragile condition.
• 'Exchanges Accepted' and 'Exchanges Rejected' listing journals accepted and rejected for exchange between 1964 -1977. Typed, 4 pieces.
• Administrative lists detailing exchanges etc, handwritten and typed for periods, 1980-1982, 1983-1986 (2 sets of lists), 1987-1990 (2 sets of lists), 265 pieces.
• 'Back issues of serials requested' - lists of request for missing issues. Typed, 8 pieces, undated [1996].
• 'Periodical Titles currently Received and on Display in the Reading Room of the Library' - typed list of periodicals, 3 pieces, undated [1990s].
• 'Exchange Journals from which no Periodical or Correspondence has been received for at least Five Years' - typed list, 3 pieces, dated 8 May 2000.
• 'Serials - Numerical Order, 1997/part rev. July 2001' - typed list, 14 pieces.
• 'List of Libraries and Institutions subscribing to the Society's Journal' - photocopied list with handwritten annotation 'Entries marked - also appear on the C.U.P (Cambridge University Press) List! MJP (Michael Pollock, Librarian) 5.12.2001', 10 pieces.
• 'Printout from CUP data base of "free" copies of J.R.A.S. December 2001' - typed list, 21 pieces.
• 'Report on Periodical of Serial Exchanges in the Library of the R.A.S.' - report written by Michael Pollock concerning the history of periodical exchange and current situation. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 3 January 2002.

Documents detailing the history and contents of the Library. These are:

• 'The Library of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1823-1990' - document outlining the history concerning the acquisition and disposal of collections and discussing future possibilities. Typed, 19 pieces.
• 'The Library of the Royal Asiatic Society 1923-1990 by Mike Pollock' - an article outlining the history of the Library and its then current layout and operations. Typed, 1 piece.
• 'The Library of the Royal Asiatic Society and its Collections relating to South-east Asia' - a document giving an account of the Library and its South-east Asian collections in particular. The author and date of writing is unknown but it appears from the document that it was written by a previous Librarian. Typed, 11 pieces.
• 'The Library of the Royal Asiatic Society' - documents give details of the contents of the Collections and their access. Typed, 2 pieces, unknown date.
• 'The Library of the Royal Asiatic Society 1823-1997' - an article about the Library and the Collections created by T.V. Finery as part of their Library and Information Studies course, University College, London. Typed, 12 pieces, dated 22 April 1998.
• 'Royal Asiatic Society 1823-1998' - list of the Librarians and Honorary Librarians who served within this time period. Typed, 2 pieces.

Sample correspondence from 2001. Much of this correspondence is still within current records:

• Letter from the Museum für Völkerkunde, Vienna concerning payment for their journal. Typed, 1 piece, dated 10 May 2001.
• Letter to the Editor, Quarterly review of Historical Studies, to update the exchange agreement. Typed, 1 piece, dated 20 November 2001.
• Correspondence with the Bibliothèque de l'Institut d'études iraniennes, Paris, concerning exchange agreements. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 11 December 2001 - undated.
• Correspondence with Gordon Johnson, Wolfson College, about missing volumes of Modern Asian Studies. Typed, 3 pieces, dated 29 April - 11 July 2002.

Sample correspondence from 1991-2000:

• Correspondence concerning the exchange of Studia Iranica. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 2 April - 21 March 1991.
• Correspondence with Polska Akademia Nauk, Warsaw, Poland concerning the continuation of the exchange of journals. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 29 May - 6 August 1991.
• Correspondence with the American Schools of Oriental Research concerning the initiation of an exchange of Journals. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 17 September - 15 October 1981.
• Letter from the Library, School of Oriental and African Studies, concerning continuation of an exchange of journals. Typed, 1 piece, dated 21 January 1994.
• Letter to Mr Gordon Johnson, Wolfson College, concerning acquiring the journal, Modern Asian Studies. Typed, 1 piece, dated 12 September 1995.
• Correspondence with Museum Fur Volkerkunde, Neue Hofburg, concerning missing volumes of their journal. Typed, 3 pieces, dated 6 June -4 July 1997.
• Letter from the Director of Qurtuba, Cordoba, to send the second volume of their journal. Typed, 1 piece, dated 8 June 1998.
• Correspondence with the Société Asiatique concerning missing volumes of journals. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 31 March - 6 October 1998.
• Correspondence with the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society concerning missing volumes of their jounral. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 25 August - 7 September 1998.
• Copies of emails with Dr Yaprak Eran concerning renewal of the exchange agreement for the journal Anatolian Studies, Typed, 4 pieces, dated 25 October 1999 - 31 May 2000.
• Copy of an email to the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh concerning missing volumes of their journal. Typed, 1 piece, dated 21 July 2000.
• Correspondence with Dr Juliette Jabaji, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, concerning continuation of the exchange agreement. Typed, 3 pieces, dated 25 October 2000 - 15 October 2002.