Very old association report disposal. When we cleared a similar glut in our Association, we ensured that the following occurred -
- a complete set was bound for Association records - this had been started some years ago and was brought up to date with good clean copies.
- This complete set has been deposited in the County Archive along with other Assoc records.
- a second complete set was collected, again for Assoc records but left unbound, stored in good clean condition. Anyone wishing to scan or make a copy can then do so as copying from bound volumes is difficult. This set is retained by our Assoc Archivist.
- a 3rd complete set is kept for "routine" use by the Assoc Peal Secretary
- the CCCBR Library holds a copy of all Assoc reports - contact Alan Glover (CCCBR Librarian) to make sure that set is complete and if not, help to do so
- any spare copies were then offered to Assoc members, for a nominal donation to the BRF, eg through Assoc notices and with bundles taken to Assoc and Branch meetings
- further spare copies were advertised to other collectors anywhere (there are quite a few) through any means possible - small ads, Ringing World, ringers chat lines, word of mouth, other Assoc Librarians and Archivists, CCCBR Librarian etc
- (you could use this Forum to advertise spares now!)
- this advertising also included requests for gaps to be filled in the sets to be retained - this did lead to several missing copies being donated to the sets
- ultimately the residue was put in my recycling bins - don't overload them or the bin men complain! (your Assoc should already have agreed through its GDPR policy about open disclosure of the information in the reports, so there should not be a great problem)
I hope this helps - good luck! It took time but was worthwhile. We raised some money for the BRF, established a clear policy on Assoc report retention so that complete will be retained and no gaps would occur in future. We also helped clear out various corners of ringing rooms, attics and garages!