HC Deb 17 November 1955 vol 546 cc764-5
26. Mr. Hyde

asked the Secretary to the Treasury why the British Museum Newspaper Room in Colindale is open to the public for two hours less daily than the main Reading Room in Bloomsbury; and if he will in future approximate the daily hours of opening throughout the Museum.

Mr. H. Brooke

The times of opening of the various departments of the Museum are matters for the Trustees, but I understand that they could only open the Newspaper Room for a longer period each day at the expense of work on sorting, classification and cataloguing which is still, mainly as a result of war damage, seriously in arrear.

Mr. Hyde

Is my right hon. Friend aware that, due to the shorter hours of opening of the newspaper rooms, the service of provincial newspapers is very much restricted, and that of foreign newspapers is completely denied to the public? In view of the fact that the Newspaper Room at the British Museum is the only place where many of these foreign journals can be found, will he take immediate steps to restore these amenities to the public use?

Mr. Brooke

We allowed the Museum twenty-six additional staff in 1954–5 and a further eighteen this year. It is for the Trustees of the Museum to decide how best they can use that extra assistance.

Mr. Ede

Will the right hon. Gentleman consult the Trustees to settle, on a reasonably long-term basis, the staff required to deal with this and kindred parts of their premises?

Mr. Brooke

That is a wider question. Of course, staffing questions are examined once a year at least at Estimates time.

Mr. Ede

But will the right hon. Gentleman take a little personal interest in the matter and have a personal consultation with the Trustees?

Mr. Brooke

Since I assumed my present office I think that I have not a bad record in taking a personal interest in these national institutions and galleries.

Mr. M. Stewart

Would the Financial Secretary agree that it is a very serious thing for historians and other scholars that access to foreign newspapers in Colindale should be denied for apparently an indefinite period, and will he look into this?

Mr. Brooke

I have given the House the information. It is that at the present time there are other jobs which appear to be more seriously in need of staff than the one mentioned in the Question.