Hello, Barry. How and when did you get involved with the Kate Sharpley Library?
I first visited the KSL in 1983/1984. I had been around the edges (and
probably too involved) of some rather intense disagreements about
anarchism and anarchist practice. I had become aware that within
anarchism there were numerous histories and practices and I wanted to
find out more. At the time the Library was in a squat in St Georges’
Residences in Brixton. Col Longmore and Ineke Frencken had done a
magnificent job in rescuing and organizing it. I vividly remember
looking at some small fliers advertising meetings on supporting Spanish
exiles in the nineteen forties and reading copies of “Direct Action”
from the same period. Something changed in me. I became an obssessive
seeker of anarchist papers, books, pamphlets, ephemera etc. I wanted,
in retrospect, to keep them alive in some way. I also visited the
British Library, LSE, Warwick etc just reading in the archives there.
All the time, though I was bothered that much of our history was in
state hands and not within easy access of many of us. It is still not
that easy to be an “independent” scholar and access these materials.
Above all I could not understand why “prominent” anarchists gave their
material to state or private universities and not keep them within the
movement – or at least make sure that copies were made of everything so
it was with us and hopefully, a little more accessible. I came back
full circle then to appreciate the KSL and the work they were doing. It
was labour intensive and hardly full of glamour but it was, I felt, vital.
And what happened next?
So my idea was always to, eventually, donate all the stuff I was
collecting to KSL, once it had found a more secure home. Then, I think
in 1991, I learnt from Albert Meltzer that the KSL was in search of a
new home. I was living in Stamford [near Peterborough] at the time and,
I guess, did just about have room for it and I volunteered. I cannot
say my Mrs was too happy as we arrived with a minibus full of boxes
(twice!!) but she put on a fixed smile and made some coffee. She did
mutter loudly, I remember. As far as I can recall I was very
intimidated by both the sheer amount and the responsibility of having
it in our house. Feelings I have never lost, alongside the excitement
of it all.
When you took it on, did the library fill a spare room? The whole house? And what sort of material did it already contain?
The Library filled up one room with boxes and I put others on the
floor, on tables etc. Initially I began to sort what I could. English
language books, papers, newspapers, pamphlets, correspondence, ephemera
in one place etc. Other languages all grouped together as well. As I
did this I chatted to Albert about future plans. He was very keen on
KSL becoming a little publishing house by publishing some of the
material it had. Col and Ineke had produced some nice Bulletins and he
was keen to make these a regular feature. That was the genesis of the
Bulletin of the KSL. The first publication, while I was still
unpacking(!!), was George Cores’ “Personal Recollections of the
Anarchist Past” which he took from George’s manuscript. Meanwhile I had
chatted to Albert, I think, about changing the emphasis of the KSL.
When it arrived it had considerable amounts of anarchist historical
material in it. It also had material that anarchists could use – health
and safety regulations etc; standard histories of Fascism; books about
various aspects and periods of history etc, etc. From my own searching
I had become to realise there was so much material by and about
anarchists that I felt KSL should concentrate on that. I should say
that, at that time, I did not realise just how much there was!! Putting
it simply KSL should exist for the collection and diffusion of our
history. I had begun to sense that the narrative of anarchist histories
and ideas were complex ones and we had only begun to scrape the surface
of it. Albert was much further ahead of me in that regard.
“Albert was much further ahead of me” – can you expand on that?
Albert knew that anarchism was not just Kropotkin or Stirner, or
whoever. It was the putting into practice of it all that was important.
He knew that this could be done by people who had only a bare knowledge
(if any!!) of our major writers and thinkers. He also knew that
histories of anarchism excluded countless people who had been
instrumental in its development and changes. Because these people often
did not write theory or were prominent speakers they were ignored. He
also knew that, among anarchists, anarchist history could be a history
of bitter contention and was as partial as any history. He was reading
accounts of his times in anarchism that, to him, were not particularly
accurate. Ironically of late that has begun to happen to me, leaving me
to wonder if I have forgotten lots of things, or just not been aware.
So all this I sensed.
How has the Library changed since you took it on? I assume it’s now larger?
The most obvious change in the Library is its sheer size. It has grown
exponentially. Friends and Comrades have donated material, we have
bought an awful lot and, as a result, it is massive. You think you know
most of the stuff that is out there, yet, everyday, we are constantly
coming across material, or references to it, that we have never heard
of. It’s mostly, all shelved now, or in archive boxes. That helps!! A
major difference is that we have accepted that we are an archive. Our
job is not just to collect, but to preserve as well. There are not that
many Latvian anarchist papers around from the 1900s. We do well to make
sure they survive. Consequently much of our time and money (always
money) goes into archival preservation material – archive folders, acid
free folders, acid free mylar envelopes for our pamphlets etc etc. I
was amazed just how much all this stuff costs. We have saved up to buy
some acid free boxes. Damn someone is making money somewhere!!
Can you hazard a guess at how many books the library now contains? Or how many minibuses it would fill?
We have over two thousand books, three thousand pamphlets and over two
thousand periodicals – and that is in the English language alone. We
have large French, Italian and Spanish sections, as well as
publications in most languages, including Esperanto. I cannot even
begin to assess the amount of anarchist ephemera we have. You would
need a few pantechnicons now!!
[Part two of this interview will appear in our next issue]
In KSL: Bulletin of the Kate Sharpley Library No. 63-64, October 2010 [Double issue]