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Walsall, Acton, Photos & Osmart: lots and lots of archives!
The Main Library and Archive relocated in August 2007 from Coalbrookdale to Walsall, in a location at 100-102 Sandwell Street, convenient for public transport. We are extremely fortunate that we now have a modern and spacious permanent library building, centrally located and open regularly for our members to use.
The John F. Parke Memorial Library
is located at Walsall and contains a unique collection of rare and out of print books and periodicals available for reference under normal library conditions. A separate London-based library has been opened for our LT-related collection. Note that publications cannot be taken off the premises, but we can provide on-site study facilities. Click here for futher details.
- Timetable Library
Also located at our new Walsall building, this is recognised as being of national importance by the British Library, whom we work with. The Society's comprehensive timetable collection is constantly being added to and contains complete sets going back to pre First World War days. The oldest and rarest are now being saved to microfiche, to make future reference easier. Click here for futher details of the contents of the Library.
- London Collection
Whilst all non-LT material is housed in Walsall, the Society's London Material is housed inside the new London Transport Museum Depot at Acton. Further details of opening times and access arrangements are available.
- Photo Service & new Photo Library
Prints from historic negatives donated to the Society by members over the years are made available in lists at regular intervals. Many of the images date back to the 1920s and 1930s and are professionally printed from the negatives of eminent recorders of that era. The collection is growing constantly. Because we recognise the importance of preserving photographs in secure archives, we have set up a high quality Photo Library - again in a suitable permanent industrial building in the Midlands although for logistical reasons it is not alongside the main library in Walsall. The Photo Library has its own archiving team, working hard to set up a permanent national bus photo collection and some of these photos are now available to OS MEMBERS ONLY on this website by clicking online shop. We would advise you that in future any OS © photographs, including those listed on the 'Photo Service' site, used for publication or commercial purposes will require The Omnibus Society approval- contact us at osphoto@joxley.co.uk
- Osmart
Members and non-members can subscribe to Osmart, which is an affiliated body to the Society, and provides a mail-order service which buys items of bus literature and complete collections at prices equal to, if not better than, those of commercial dealers. Initially, any items that are not represented in the Society libraries are diverted there. The remainder are then made available for sale, listed in catalogues which are issued at approximately bi-monthly intervals, in the first instance to subscribing members only, who thus have first choice of purchasing many rare books, timetables and other ephemera at sensible prices. The range and quality of material handled by Osmart is staggering and we have substantial stores of saleable material thanks to the generosity of members.
- Ticket Archive
The Archive is in two main sections: London area operatives and Provincial operators. Each section has approximately 100,000 tickets. Some London sections have fairly comprehensive collections; whereas many Provincial operators, especially municipal ones, have more tickets missing than present.
There is great scope for enlarging the Collection. This can be done through the generosity of O. S. members and friends by donating tickets needed in the collection from their own collections, or by leaving their collections to the O.S. in their will. One or two purchases of rare material have been made recently, but expanding the ticket archive in this way can be expensive!
At present the Archive resides at the Ticket Archivist’s house, because much work needs to be done to remount the Collection on acid free paper in robust binders. However, anyone who would like to study any part of the Collection may do so in person, by appointment, or by requesting photocopies of an operator’s tickets, within reasonable amounts.
The Archivist’s address is:
Rev. Patrick Lidgett,
7 Main Street,
Newton,
Alfreton,
Derbyshire DE55 5TE
Telephone: 01773 590585
Email: handplidgett@talktalk.net.
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