Special Collections FAQ
- What kind of film-makers and TV personnel are represented in Special Collections?
- Is the Special Collections catalogue available online?
- Does Special Collections include collections of actual films?
- How can I access Special Collections?
- What are the Ephemera collections?
- Do you hold music cue sheets?
- What is a pressbook?
- Does the script collection include TV scripts?
- Does the collection include a range of script types?
- Can I make a copy of a script?
- Are there any user guidelines I should be aware of?
- How can I find out about new additions to the collections?
- Can I donate material to Special Collections?
1. What kind of film-makers and TV personnel are represented in bfi Special Collections?
Coverage ranges from major producers such as Michael Balcon and David Puttnam, through directors such as Joseph Losey, Carol Reed and Derek Jarman, documentary film-makers such as Humphrey Jennings, Derek Armstrong and Michael Orrom, to sound editors such as Teddy Darvas. There is also material relating to cinema projectionists and film sales reps, not forgetting TV figures such as Troy Kennedy Martin, Irene Shubik and John Selwyn Gilbert.
2. Is the bfi Special Collections Catalogue available online?
Unfortunately our catalogue is not yet available on the web. You can explore a full list of our holdings on an Idealist database available in the bfi National Library Reading Room.
3. Does Special Collections include collections of actual films?
No. Special Collections is only concerned with paper materials. For enquiries about physical film collections at the National Archive, please contact Information Services.
4. How can I access Special Collections
- Special Collections may now be consulted in the Library Reading Room at the table designated. There is room for up to four researchers to have access at a time.
- Please register at the reading room counter upon arrival and state that you are using special collections. You will need to be an annual Library member.
- Please note that an appointment system will continue to operate, i.e. researchers must keep to their allotted times and days, access will not be open-ended. Failure to keep appointments, without letting special collections staff know beforehand, may result in loss of future access.
- Researchers may continue to consult collections after 5.30pm, when the reading room remains open until 8.00pm, and throughout the lunch-hour, although special collections staff will not be available. Please return all material to counter staff on these occasions, and make it clear if the items are finished with or need to be retained. During office hours, please return the material to special collections staff.
- The copying or typing of complete documents directly into notebooks or onto laptops is illegal in the UK, so please restrict your use of the collections to simple note-taking.
- From 7 April 2008 the charge for staff photocopying of non-script materials from special collections will increase to 30p per sheet. If you require material to be copied, please speak to a member of special collections staff.
5. What are the 'Ephemera' collections?
The thousands of separate items of cinema and TV ephemera which do not belong to a particular named collection, are arranged in a number of sequences as follows:
- Autographs
- Cinema programmes and publicity for London, UK regions and abroad
- Company Logos
- Early Cinema History
- Ephemera relating to specific films or TV titles
- Random production records for specific film or TV titles
- Personalities
- Ephemera relating to specific production or distribution companies
- Sheet music
The contents of the Ephemera collections are on the main Special Collection database. These items must be ordered in advanced and consulted in the Special Collection research room.
6. Do you have any music cue sheets?
Special Collections have thousands of music cue sheets. They can be ordered and viewed in the library.
7. What is a pressbook?
A pressbook is a booklet aimed at exhibitors suggesting ways to promote and exploit a specific film. Special Collection houses over 25,000 pressbooks from around the world, varying in size and content. Many of the items are available on microfiche for consultation in the Library Reading Room. If you wish to view an original, please remember they must be ordered a couple of days in advance of your visit. More information about pressbooks can be found here.
8. Does the script collection include television scripts?
The unpublished script collection includes many TV scripts from the Abbott and Costello Show and Coronation Street, to the Young Ones and Z Cars. The collection also includes current affair programmes such as This Week, and many episodes from great series like The Wednesday Play and Armchair Theatre. A full list of the collection is available in the Library Reading Room. You can search the script catalogue database under many headings, such as film and TV title, director, and scriptwriter.
9. Does the collection include a range of script types?
The script collection houses various types of script reflecting the many stages of the film-making and script writing process, including some unrealised projects. Hundreds of the scripts are annotated by members of the production team, while some are autographed by the cast and crew.
10. Can I make a copy of a script?
Copies of our scripts can only be made if you receive permission from the copyright owner(s). If you are granted permission, and the script is in a suitable condition, we will produce a copy for you. Please note that there will be a charge for this service.
11. Are there any user guidelines I should be aware of?
Special Collections Guidelines for visitors:
- All bags, cases, umbrellas, coats, mobile phones and personal stereos must be deposited in the lockers provided in the Institute foyer
- No smoking, eating or drinking is permitted
- Please use a pencil to make notes
- No photocopying or photography of items is permitted without prior written permission of the copyright owner(s)
- Visitors may be asked to contribute to a research register
- We reserve the right to deny access to particularly fragile material, or to any of the collections
12. How can I find out about new additions to Special Collections?
The Special Collections website will be updated regularly.If you have any further questions about our material and access to Special Collections please do not hesitate to contact us.
13. Can I donate material to Special Collections?
If you work - or have worked - in British film or television, have kept records of your career over the years, such as scripts, letters, business papers, or ephemera, and are now looking for a home for such material, we would like to hear from you! Your archives will join those of Joseph Losey, David Lean, Powell and Pressburger, Derek Jarman, Michael Balcon, David Puttnam, John Schlesinger, Troy Kennedy Martin, John McGrath, and many, many others, to be catalogued, preserved and made available to the media students and historians of today and tomorrow. Just contact us with the details.
