HC Deb 19 July 1990 vol 176 cc671-3W
Mr. Fisher

To ask the Minister for the Arts how many reader seats were provided in the £2.3 million first phase conversion of the Corn Merchant's Store at the British Library, Boston Spa; and whether the second phase of this conversion has been approved.

Mr. Luce

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: None. Approval has not been sought for a second phase.

Mr. Fisher

To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will make it his policy to move little used material to stores outside London so that readers may use most of the St. Pancras building.

Mr. Luce

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: This is a matter for the British Library Board.

Mr. Fisher

To ask the Minister for the Arts what is the cost of repairs at the India Office library and records; and whether the British Library is to use the section vacated some years ago by the Ministry of Defence.

Mr. Luce

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: The refurbishment at Orbit house by the British Library includes the area vacated by the Ministry of Defence and the costs are estimated to be £1.1 million excluding VAT.

Mr. Fisher

To ask the Minister for the Arts what information he has on details of published surveys relating to readers' characteristics and needs in planning the new building at St. Pancras.

Mr. Luce

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: The "Report of the National Libraries Committee" Cm 4028 included several surveys. Further surveys have been undertaken by the British Library for use in planning the new building and have been reported to its advisory committees.

Mr. Fisher

To ask the Minister for the Arts when readers may inspect plans of the collection allocations and visit the site of the St. Pancras building.

Mr. Luce

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: The detailed collection allocations have not been finalised by the British Library although broad plans are being prepared. They will not be available for consideration before the end of this year. A user and staff communication programme has already commenced including a video and the production of leaflets. It is intended to institute site visits for readers towards the new year subject to safety considerations.

Mr. Fisher

To ask the Minister for the Arts what is the percentage of shelving in phase I of the new St. Pancras building housing science and technology publications.

Mr. Luce

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: Over 40,000 m of shelving, representing 13.8 per cent. of the shelving in the first stage of construction, are destined for science and technology publications. This compares with 27,000 m in the present Holborn and Aldwych buildings. A further 6,500 m are planned for the completion phase.

Mr. Fisher

To ask the Minister for the Arts what are the total costs of the development of the radiation polymer preservation programme and the number of books which have been preserved by this process.

Mr. Luce

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: The development costs incurred by the British Library for the polymer preservation programme total £540,000. During the research period which has recently ended the process has been applied to sample volumes only.

Mr. Fisher

To ask the Minister for the Arts what is the revenue from commercial sales of the British Library archivist book copier.

Mr. Luce

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: Royalties from commercial sales so far total £15,000.

Mr. Fisher

To ask the Minister for the Arts what area in phase I of the new St. Pancras building is to be allocated for book preservation.

Mr. Luce

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: An area of over 1,500 sq m is assigned to book preservation functions in the first stage of construction, in addition to the environmentally controlled storage and consultation facilities and associated plant.

Mr. Fisher

To ask the Minister for the Arts whether he will itemise total investment by the British Library in compact disc with read-only memory.

Mr. Luce

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: This information is not readily obtainable. Increasingly, the British Library's various operations employ equipment which makes some use of CD-ROM technology.

Mr. Fisher

To ask the Minister for the Arts if he will take steps to ensure that stools, work surfaces and trolleys are part of the brief for the science and technology reading rooms at St. Pancras.

Mr. Luce

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: Work surfaces, chairs and trolleys are included in the brief for the science and technology reading rooms at St. Pancras. Stools are not included.

Mr. Fisher

To ask the Minister for the Arts how it is proposed to manage phase I of the new St. Pancras building so it provides a national centre for reference, study and other information in relation to scientific and technological matters.

Mr. Luce

[holding answer 11 July 1990]: The whole of the British Library's London-based scientific, technological and business services currently spread over three buildings will be brought together at the same time at St. Pancras and will provide reference, study and information services in response to users' needs.