The British Library for Development Studies (BLDS) Legacy Collection maps the landscape of global health and development politics, policies, ideas and actions that emerged in a post-independence and neo-colonial period at regional, national and transnational levels.
It originally formed part of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) Library, and comprises mainly printed publications, notably ‘grey literature’ such as reports produced locally within developing countries, many of which are likely to be the only extant copies; and periodicals published around the world, with a strength in sub-Saharan Africa.
From its foundation in 1966, the IDS Library sought to collect new publications from across the globe, including those published by governmental and non-governmental organisations.
The value of the collection lies in the uniqueness of its holdings; the preservation of copies of
publications now likely to be unavailable in their countries of origin (primarily Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) where limited funds, civil conflict, environmental disasters have often led to substantial archival destruction); and in the fact that all these publications can be consulted in one place.
The BLDS Legacy Collection was formed from what had become the historic collections of the IDS Library, as materials which were originally collected for their current use in development studies acquired value instead for historians of the discipline. When the IDS Library closed in 2017 the BLDS Legacy Collection materials remained in the IDS basement until Wellcome Collection funding was secured to make them accessible again (see here for full details of the project itself).
Spanning 150 countries and over 50 different languages, the Collection is extremely comprehensive in its coverage of government and official sources, particularly those published in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia between the mid-1960s and mid-1990s, but additionally with selective coverage of other countries that were key sites of development research and innovation during this time (Francophone Africa, Middle East, North Africa and South/Central America).
The collection is divided into two distinct sections, and the material from both of these have then been assigned to one or more of 19 different subject themes.
International Organisations
This section contains 150 metres of carefully curated material from International Organisations (such as charities, focus groups, trade unions, trade federations) which provides a unique collection for researching development interventions at an international level, as well as complementing the larger Government Publications section.
Government Publications
With around 2000 metres of material, Government Publications makes up the majority of the Collection. As well national, state, local and city governments, originating organisations include NGOs, community groups, industries, charities, and political parties. The type of material varies greatly, consisting of censuses, newspapers, newsletters, journals, magazines, government and industry annual reports, departmental reports, statutes, conference papers, statistics, literacy teaching materials and other grey literature from across the Global South.
Themes
Agriculture and rural development
There are almost 6000 items in this theme, and these cover traditional agriculture as well as cooperatives, irrigation programmes, fertiliser studies, and crop and seed reports. There are also a huge number of agricultural censuses, with particularly strong holdings from South Asia.
Types of material include journals, government reports, reports on agricultural workshops, pamphlets, monographs and compilations of agricultural statistics.
Conflict
One of the smaller themes, but still containing a wealth of interesting and rare material on conflicts such as Biafra, the Bangladeshi War of Independence, the 1973 coup in Chile, and the multiple sites on which the anti-colonial and anti-apartheid struggles played out in Southern Africa in the 1970s and 1980s.
In the domestic sphere, the collection covers police violence against workers in India, communist insurgencies in the Philippines and much more besides.
Culture and information
There are over 1000 items in this varied theme, with a great deal of material from the International Organisations section (including from the International Bureau of Social Tourism, the Europe/China Association, the Asian Cultural Centre for UNESCO, the Arab States Broadcasting Union).
There are also publications originating from the broadcasting organisations of many Global South countries, including some from their inception immediately post -independence.
Economy
This vast theme contains over 6000 items, most notably the extensive collections of development plans which are held for nearly every country covered by the collection, including individual Indian states. There are also big runs of estimates and budget reports, as well as a wealth of other economic statistics.
These materials formed a central part of the IDS Library’s collection policy during this period, and as a consequence also provide key evidence of the trends in development studies at the time.
Education
The BLDS Legacy Collection holds a large amount of material relating to all aspects of education including: children, schools, curricula, examinations, further and higher education and training, with particular strengths in the areas of literacy and adult education.
The theme of education some of the most the most creative items in the collection (particularly those originating from Latin America), and alongside traditional texts you will find varied pedagogic formats including cartoons, radio plays and scripts to act out.
Energy and utilities
This theme (encompassing fossil fuel industries, electricity, nuclear energy, minerals, renewables and water) contains over 1000 items, including statistics, government departmental reports, energy industry journals and conference proceedings. There are also some fascinating guides to oil exploration in countries like Sudan, as well as discussions over the national ownership of resources.
In addition, the International Organisations section has substantial holdings from the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation and the International Association for Water Law
Environment
Another key set of debates where the BLDS Legacy Collection provides vital opportunities for historical research concern climate and environmental change and political ecology.
The Legacy Collection holds key documents from the Institut du Sahel and the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), which are valuable in understanding the political and scientific narratives around the desertification of the Sahel in relation to other development issues (including population growth). One document for instance is a warning speech by Colonel Moussa Traore, the former President of the Republic of Mali during a meeting in March 1974 at the CILSS, urging the fight against the effects of drought and desertification for a new ecological balance in the Sahel. There are also many documents published by the Institut de Sahel, on issues such as food security in Niger’s Dosso region and population and development programmes in N’Djamena, Chad.
Gender and sexuality
A smaller theme, but one full of fascinating material, both from organisations like the International Alliance of Women and across a swathe of inter-related issues, including women’s health, women in the workforce and women and education.
In addition, within the BLDS Legacy Collection we have examples of country-specific efforts and transnational feminist movements that speak to the cross-fertilization of the ‘Gender and Development’ and ‘Women and Development’ movements of the 80s that influenced and contributed to the famous International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt, in 1994
Government and politics
Another big theme, containing over 4000 items covering both international, national, state and local government. The collection includes original materials documenting key events and moments such as the formation of new political parties, civil unrest and rebellion. It is particularly strong on the period of decolonisation in the former British colonies in Africa and South Asia. As the subsequent history of some of these countries has been turbulent, in some cases the BLDS Legacy Collection may provide the only access to national archives from this post-colonial period.
In addition, a highlight of the entire collection is the unique collection of political pamphlets from India, authored by organisations from across the political spectrum and particularly rich in series produced by the Indian Communist Party in the 1960s and 1970s.
Health and welfare
This theme contains nearly 2,500 items and covers a broad spectrum of topics including village health services, HIV/AIDS, prevention of disease and managing epidemics. Visual imagery, both photographic and illustrated, has been particularly important in conveying information on public health. There are some great examples of this in the collection, including training manuals explaining how to build pit latrines and water stand pipes.
The collection includes a large amount of health demography material from a wide spread of countries across the Global South. Another area extensively covered is that of food and nutrition, with a particular focus on children. Furthermore – as a historic collection the material provides insight into current situations – most notably with the substantial holdings relating to vaccination programmes.
Human rights
Though the Collection’s holdings in this area are limited, there are still items of considerable rarity and interest. In the International Organisations section can be found the publications of bodies such as the Comisión para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos en Centroamérica, the Christian Peace Conference and more.
In addition, there are a variety of holdings relating to the anti-colonial and anti-apartheid conflicts in Southern Africa in the 1970s and 1980s, with material produced both by freedom movements and the governments of South Africa and Rhodesia.
Labour and trade unions
This is another substantial theme, containing over nearly 1400 items ranging from publications produced by international trade union federations (the Central Latinoamericana de Trabajadores, the European Trade Union Confederation, the Commonwealth Trade Union Council and others) through to the conference proceedings, annual reports and working papers produced by a myriad of individual trade unions.
There are also substantial holdings of from departments of labour and manpower across the Global South, as well as statutes and guides to the practical application of labour law.
Law
There are nearly 700 items under this theme, including on the one hand acts, constitutions, decrees and statutes, and on the other reports from numerous national departments of police, prisons and probation.
Other areas covered include land law and land reform, as well as studies and working papers relating to crime and crime statistics. In addition, there are substantial holdings of commissions of inquiry, particularly those conducted in former British colonies in Africa.
Population
The BLDS Legacy Collection is particularly rich in material produced across the Global South covering issues relating to population and family planning, with this theme containing over 3000 items.
Topics such as birth control (both female and male) are covered extensively, and although the material ostensibly relates to the promotion of family planning/healthy families, it also highlights the wider issue of state-controlled population growth.
Also included in this section are census reports, one of the strengths of the collection. There is some form of census material available for most countries, and exceptional holdings in the case of India and the individual states within it.
Religion and belief
This is another small section, but with a lot of material from international Catholic bodies, as well as other Christian groups, particularly those oriented towards youth.
There are also substantial holdings relating to scheduled castes in India, and a large number of pamphlets devoted to the issue of communalism in the same country.
Finally there are a number of conference proceedings from Islamic summits in the 1970s, mostly originating from Pakistan and held alongside other material on Islam and governance.
Science and technology
This is a fascinating and varied theme containing nearly 450 items, ranging from reports and white papers originating from government science and technology departments, through to newsletters, journals and bulletins, to conference proceedings.
Some of the standout items include a study of the efficacy of the handheld calculator in ‘Third World countries’, a manual for the design and construction of solar water heaters in Tanzania, and a panel on the horizontal transfer of technology to aid development.
Towns and cities
There are over 500 items in this theme, covering topics from town planning through to slum clearances.
Of particular interest to urban historians will be the opportunity to compare and contrast a myriad of different city maps, plans and visions from different countries across the Global South, with these same materials also offering a fascinating insight into how attempts to solve problems of development manifested themselves in the designs and (sometimes) building of new cities.
Trade and industry
This is another large and varied section, containing over 3000 items and spanning both the Government Publications and International Organisations sections.
There are extensive collections of material from international trade federations and networks, as well as government reports, white papers, newsletters and journals and reports from trade delegations.
In addition there are vast quantities of annual reports and other publications originating from individual companies across the Global South, with particularly comprehensive holdings in the case of India and the Indian states.
Transport
Our final theme contains over 650 items, and covers road, rail, sea and air transportation of all kinds. There are annual reports from the relevant government departments, journals, newsletters, pamphlets, statistics, yearbooks, surveys, digests and much more.
One area of particular interest are the long runs of port authority journals that are held for both West and East Africa, which are both crucial primary sources for anyone wanting to study the history of transport, trade and commerce in these regions in the post-independence decades and also goldmines of ephemeral information relating to the culture of these workplaces and the people employed there.
The British Library for Development Studies Legacy Collection 