Historic mapping consultation

Were, or what users were consulted on your disposal of historic mapping - did it include my profession the RIBA?

Thank you for your e-mail dated 16th March 2010.

We are pleased to provide you with the following information with regard to your request:

Ordnance Survey is planning to relocate in about 9 months’ time to a new head office at Adanac Park on the outskirts of Southampton.  For many reasons the accommodation here at Romsey Road is unsuited for the nature of our work today, and has become very costly to maintain.

The collection of past editions, known variously within Ordnance Survey as the ‘record map library’ and the ‘historic map archive’, has never been a formal archive of past editions.  It has always been a working resource of previous mapping editions, used by Ordnance Survey in the conduct of its normal operations.  For a variety of reasons, including destruction by enemy action and fire, it was not a complete collection of all editions of all maps.  Further, through normal working use many copies had become very damaged and soiled.

Ordnance Survey’s operational needs to refer to this archive have diminished to a point where it is no longer appropriate that we sustain the collection.  As a consequence, and in view of the smaller future accommodation (reflecting a much reduced workforce since our current offices were built in 1967, and the changed needs of modern technology), we made a conscious decision not to accommodate this collection of maps at the new site.  Among other things, we would have had to invest significantly in an appropriate climate controlled storage facility that Ordnance Survey can not afford.

As a consequence, and following formal decisions taken by the Board of Ordnance Survey, we undertook a managed process of disposal, working closely with The National Archives (TNA) to ensure that this was conducted appropriately.  The wider Archives and Libraries Community were fully informed of our plans and participated actively in the project.  TNA took a number of maps which held manuscript annotations as these qualified as Public Records under the Public Records Acts.  TNA does not have a remit to acquire published material as a norm, only qualifying Public Records.

However, in line with the Legal Deposit Libraries Act, Ordnance Survey, as a commercial publisher, has over many years, deposited copies of all of its publications with the six Legal Deposit Libraries[1].  During the disposal of the Ordnance Survey collection, these Legal Deposit Libraries had an opportunity to supplement or replace their own much more comprehensive holdings.  Once the Legal Deposit Libraries completed their selections from the stock, a number of other national and regional archives were approached, followed by local and regional libraries and records offices, several of whom had an interest in acquiring maps relating to their local area.

Finally we offered our own staff an opportunity to acquire small quantities of maps from the small remaining selection, of areas of their personal interest.  After this we appropriately re-cycled a small residual stock of maps.

The outcome of the managed disposal that we have followed is that each of the six Legal Deposit Libraries now has enlarged or even more complete collections of the various editions of Ordnance Survey published mapping, as do many other national, regional and local libraries and archives.  These institutions exist to enable public access to and use of this deposited material under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act.

These specialist Libraries and Archives are established to appropriately store, curate and provide public access to historical materials such as mapping.  They have trained specialists who are available to provide expertise to support public enquiries in these matters.  Ordnance Survey works closely with these institutions though the umbrella group – The British and Irish Committee for Map Cataloguing and Systems (BRICMICS) to support libraries and archives in this work.

Further, a number of commercial companies have complete sets of scanned data relating to superseded editions of Ordnance Survey mapping, though much of this material is ‘out of copyright’, and hence Ordnance Survey has no control over their scanning of this mapping.  These companies determine the terms of any access and use to their copies.

We did not explicitly consult professional institutions such as RIBA, partly on the advice of TNA as to the sequence of organisations to engage with in this matter and partly on the basis that members of the professions may readily access any of this collection of deposited mapping or indeed any other previous depositions of Ordnance Survey maps, via the National Archives, the Legal Deposit Libraries or local libraries and archives.

[1] Legal Deposit Libraries (LDLs), also known as ‘Copyright Libraries’ operate under legislation which requires them to be provided with copies of all published material from all public and private sector sources of publication.  These Libraries are The British Library, The National Libraries of Scotland and Wales, the Bodleian Library (Oxford University), the Cambridge University Library and The Library of Trinity College Dublin.

Please note that your enquiry has been processed to Freedom of Information guidelines.  As all requested information has been provided, we have determined that in all the circumstances of this case the Public interest consideration (section 17 FOIA) is not applicable in this instance.

If you are unhappy with our response, you may raise an appeal to our Appeals Officer at:

Complaints Team

Customer Service Centre

Ordnance Survey

Romsey Road

SOUTHAMPTON

SO16 4GU  

Please include the reference number below. The Appeals Officer will ensure that the process has been followed correctly, questioning any decisions taken regarding the original response and recommending disclosure of additional information if appropriate.

Thank you for your enquiry.

Reference number: FOI1053/March 2010