Correspondence concerning, and drafts of papers read at, General Meetings. Lists of lecture dates for 1865 and 1868.

Correspondence and printed material concerned with lectures and General Meetings held at the Society between 1960-1969.

Meeting Cards, Admittance Tickets and Correspondence connected to Lectures and General Meetings held between 1970 and 1979.

With the Covid pandemic, some lectures became virtual events. Zoom recordings were made for the following lectures:

• 13 July 2020: Jonathan Bloom, 'Architecture of the Islamic West'.
• 17 August 2020: Professor Sarah Ansari, 'Boundaries of Belonging'.
• 26 August 2020: Diana Darke, 'Stealing from the Saracens'.

Correspondence concerned with seeking permission for articles originally published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society to be reprinted in other publications. There are seven examples of requests from individuals and institutions. On the converse, requests are made from Journal authors to other institutions for permission to use images within their article. There are three examples of these.

At irregular intervals a Special General Meeting is called by the Council. These are to discuss and vote upon major changes within the Society such as a change in the Charter or Byelaws, the sale of some part of the collections, or the necessity of moving premises. Much of the discussion concerning these Meetings will be minuted in the Council Minutes and the meetings minuted in the General Meeting Minutes. This archive contains the supplementary material that has been collected concerned with Special General Meetings.

Special General Meetings were called in 1984 and again in 1987 concerning finding new premises for the Society. The material from these meetings is:

Special General Meeting 12 January 1984

• Notice of the Meeting accompanied by a Note from the Director, 1 item, dated 15 December 1983.

  Special General Meeting 12 March 1987

• Notice of the Special General Meeting concerning the removal of a limitation in the Society's Charter, 1 item, dated 23 February 1987.

• Notification of where Members of the Council may see the draft documents, 1 item, dated 5 March 1987.

  Special General Meeting 9 April 1987

• Notice of Special General Meeting and a circular letter entitled 'A Policy on Premises, 2 items, undated.

• Correspondence from Fellows concerning the meeting and their views on A Policy on Premises, 11 items, dated 31 March - 8 April 1987.

  Special General Meeting 11 June 1987

• Notice of the Special General Meeting to enable the Council to dispose of the lease of 56 Queen Anne Street following the successful purchase of 60 Queen's Gardens, 1 item, dated 26 May 1987.

During the Administration of the Society reports are often created either to prepare for a forthcoming meeting of the Council or sub-committee or to report back after such a meeting. Occasionally reports are created for external purposes. These reports, or summaries thereof, are often incorporated into the Minutes of the Meetings. The ones in this series are those that supplement the Minutes. These are:

1962

• Report of Council, 1961-1962, offprint from JRAS with additions made to the list of deceased members, 1 piece.

1980

• 'The Future of the Royal Asiatic Society' by A.S. Bennell, Director, 2 pages, dated 17 July 1980.

1988

• Report from the President, Frank F. Steele, to Members of the Council outlining the finances and future plans for the Society's building, 5 pages, dated 28 September 1988.
• Report from the President, Frank F. Steele, to Members of the Council outlining estimates for finances and information regarding membership, 2 pages, dated 2 November 1988.

1989

• 'Keeping the R.A.S. Alive' - critique of the outreach of the Society and advocacy for a younger membership, signed G. G. [Godfrey Goodwin, Librarian], 1 page, dated 29 January 1989.
• Paper for the Council Meeting of 14 December 1989.
• Journal Publication by Frank F. Steele, 1 page, dated 4 December 1989.

1990

• Papers for the Council Meeting of 8 February 1990: Development Committee; National Association for Asian Studies; Procedure for the Election of Fellows; Nominations for the Council; Finance; all written by Frank F, Steele, 7 pages, dated 31 January 1990.
• Papers for the Council Meeting of 12 April 1990: Working Group on Development; Questionnaire; Distribution of Fellows; Appointment of a Full-time paid Director; Entry Procedure; Grant to Professor C.N. Kejariwal; all written by Frank F. Steele; 11 pages, dated 22 March - 3 April 1990.
• Minutes of the Meeting of the Working Group on Development held on 24th May 1990, 2 pages.
• Papers for the Council Meeting of 14 June 1990: RAS Nominee to the SOAS Governing Body; Proposal for an In-house Conservation Unit; both by Frank F. Steele, 6 pages, dated 6 June - 9 June 1990.
• Reports and correspondence on the possibility of the Society sponsoring the serious study of Asia in the UK: report from Cyril Philips, Richard Gombrich and Michael McWilliam, dated July 1990; Note on discussion between Professor Wansbrough, Dr. Raeside and Mr McWilliam, dated 12 October 1990; letter from Dr Peter Robb, Chairman, Centre of South Asian Studies, to Professor Cyril Philips, dated 30 October 1990; 3 pages in total.
• Proposal and documentation concerning working with Dr Samuel N.C. Lieu, on Manichaean Studies, 4 pages, dated 21 October to 5 November, 1990.
• Minutes for the 'Ad hoc Meeting to consider further the proposal to Publish "Asian Studies Today" (renamed "Asian Heritage") held on Thursday 29th November at 10.30am', 1 page.

1991

• Reports from the Honorary Treasurer, J.A. Payne, to the Council regarding various aspects of the finances of the Society, 10 pieces, dated 30 January - 29 November 1991.

1992

• Report from the Honorary Treasurer, J.A. Payne, to the Council regarding Registration for VAT, 1 piece, dated 8 January 1992.

1995

• 'Royal Asiatic Society: The 1990 Working group on Development' summarising the 1990 recommendations, 2 pieces, dated March 1995.

1996

• Minutes for the 'Meeting of a Sub-Committee for Computers' on 3 October 1996, 1 piece.

1999

• Report on the Standing Orders for Sub-Committees of Council by Francis Robinson, 6 pages, dated 29 March 1999.

2000

• "Gold Medals: Memorandum to Council for 8 June 2000 by Giles Tillotson, 1 page. 'For the Information of the Council - Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society: going online' by Sarah Ansari, 1 page, dated October 2000.

2001

• 'Paper for Council: Proposed Council day for Strategic Review' by Anthony Stockwell, 1 piece, dated 1 October 2001.

2002

• Papers concerned with a Strategic Review meeting held on 2 February 2002, 24 pieces. dated 24 January - 6 March 2002.
• Minutes for the Strategic Review Working Group Meeting on 14 March 2002, 2 pieces.
• Minutes and allied papers for the Strategic Review Working Group Meeting on 23 May 2002, 5 pieces.
• Minutes and allied papers for the Strategic Review Working Group Meeting on 18 July 2002, 19 pieces.
• Minutes and allied papers for the Strategic Review Working Group Meeting on 22 August 2002, 9 pieces.
• Minutes for the Strategic Review Working Group Meeting on 26 September 2002, 2 pieces.
• Minutes and allied papers for the Strategic Review Working Group Meeting on 14 November 2002, 3 pieces.
• Minutes and allied papers for the Strategic Review Working Group Meeting on 6 December 2002, 2 pieces.

2003

• Report of the Council's Strategic Review Working Group, February 2003, 13 pieces.
• Minutes for the Strategic Review Working Group Meeting on 8 May 2003, 2 pieces.
• 'Strategic thoughts en route to a plan' by Helen Cordell, 6 pages, dated, 10 June 2003.
• 'Strategic Review: Summary of RAS space requirements' by Helen Cordell, 4 pieces, dated 12 November 2003.
• 'Strategic Review Working Group: Final Report to Council December 2003, 5 pieces.

2012

• 'Achievements and Performance' - a report of the Society's activities for 2011-2012, 5 pages.

The correspondence preserved for this period is:

• Correspondence concerning a subpoena issued by the Union of India. Typed, 19 pieces, dated 5 June 1986-25 February 1987.
• Correspondence concerning an international colloquium to mark the bicentenary of a permanent Ottoman embassy in London. Typed and photocopy, 2 pieces, dated 5-12 June 1991.
• Letter from Geoffrey King to Ralph Pinder-Wilson, Director, Royal Asiatic Society, concerning excavations at Julfar, typed, 1 piece, dated 21 July 1991.
• Letter from Robert Hillenbrand concerning a Festschrift for Basil Robinson, typed, 1 piece, undated [1992].
• Correspondence concerning the restoration of the monument to Sir William Jones in the University Church of St. Mary's, Oxford. Typed and handwritten, 9 pieces, dated 3 February 1996 - 10 February 1997.
• Correspondence with the Institut Catala de la Mediterrania concerning nomination of a candidate for their Premi Internacional Catalunya. Typed, 5 pieces, dated 20 June 1997 - 20 April 1998.
• Correspondence concerning support for the Centenary Seminar on Central Asia to mark the centenary of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs. Handwritten and typed, 13 pieces, dated 28 February 2001 - 2 November 2001.
• Letter from Avril Powell, Director, Royal Asiatic Society to the British Academy expressing the Society’s interest about the Academy’s proposed Learned Societies Programme and giving an overview of the Society’s history and undertakings. Annotated ‘copy’. Typed, two pieces, dated 25 March 2006.
• Correspondence concerning the nomination received for the Order of Australia. Typed, three pieces, dated 24 May - 15 June 2006.
• Correspondence concerning the departure of the Ambassador of Kazakhstan from London, Typed, 2 pieces, dated 24 July 2007.
• Letter from Alison Ohta, Director, Royal Asiatic Society, to British Embassy Seoul regarding a recommendation for the Queen's birthday honours. Typed, one letter, dated 11 December 2014.

Members of Council and Sub-Committees were asked to sign their attendance at the meetings. These five hardback notebooks contain these signatures. They cover the time periods: 9 June 1925 - 13 February 1936, 12 March 1936 - 3 October 1974, 10 October 1974 - 14 December 1995, 11 January 1996 - 25 May 2006, and 15 June 2006 - 12 June 2014