Collection Summary

GD52, Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Edinburgh and Lothians, 1858-2012

Reference Code: GB239 GD52

Title: Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Edinburgh and Lothians

Administrative Dates: 1858 - 2012

Dates of Creation of Material: 1858 - 2012

Level of Description: Fonds

Extent and Medium of the Unit of Description: 3 shelf metres: bound volumes, photographs, audio cassette, papers

 

Name of creator(s): Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Edinburgh and Lothians

Administrative history: Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Edinburgh and Lothians began as the Edinburgh Society for Promoting Reading Amongst the Blind in November 1857. By 1863 the Society was covering the areas north of the Forth to Stirling and Fife and as far as Dunbar in the south. Soon after the start of the twentieth century, the organisation changed its name to the Society for the Welfare and Teaching of the Blind (Edinburgh and South-East Scotland) and from 1930 the Society occupied premises at 4 Coates Crescent, Edinburgh. In 1995, the Society moved to bigger and more accessible premises at 12-14 Hillside Crescent and its name was changed to Visual Impairment Services South East Scotland. It assumed its present name after a merger with RNIB in 2002.

Archival History: Collected and held by RNIB Scotland and its former Chairman Jimmy Cook; Acc13/017

Immediate Source of Acquisition or Transfer: John Legg, Director of RNIB Scotland (in 2013)

 

Scope and Content: Annual Reports 1858 – 2005; Press Cuttings, 1920 – 2004; Books, 1883 – 1991; Pamphlets, 1884 – 1988; Photographs and Recordings 1954 – 1995; Government Publications 1947 – 1996; Correspondence and Constitution, 1953 – 2000l Papers of Jimmy Cook, c. 1903 – 2012; Register of Outdoor Blind, c. 1903 – 1910.

Accruals: Accruals reasonably expected.

System of Arrangement: Chronological within record class; Original order retained

 

Conditions Governing Access: Public access to these records is governed by UK data protection legislation, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, and the current Scottish Government Records Management: NHS Code of Practice (Scotland). Whilst some records may be accessed freely by researchers, the aforementioned legislation and guidelines mean that records conveying sensitive information on named individuals may be closed to the public for a set time.

Conditions Governing Reproduction: Reproduction is subject to closure periods, copyright restrictions, and physical condition.

Language/Scripts of Material: English

 

Archivists’ Notes: Compiled by Louise Williams

Rules or Conventions: Description based on ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description International Council on Archives (2nd edition), 2000

Date(s) of Description: November 2014, revised April 2020