Caretakers of records. The role of personality in the creation of the Library and Archives Department of the Ministry of Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of Great Britain

Abstract

The article examines the history of the creation in 1801 of the Library of the British Foreign Office (which was in fact the library and archives department) and traces its development until the end of the 19th century. After the administrative reforms of 1530–1560, the storage and search of information started gaining proper attention. And, as a result, the State Paper Office was created, which contained all important state records. At the end of the 18th century, a major reform in the management structure that separated the conduct of internal and external state affairs led to the formation of the British Foreign Office, where it was decided that the documents related to international relations should be kept in a separate department (library). The reasons that prompted the leadership of the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs to create a new department responsible for the safety of documentation are touched upon.

The article discusses the biographies of the first librarians at the Foreign Office – Richard Ancell and Lewis and Edward Hertslet. The paper describes their work on streamlining and organizing the records of the Foreign Office, which led to the Library and Archives Department becoming the central body of the Office and raising the status of the librarian profession to that of a senior civil servant.