Using the IEE Archives

Where We Are and How to Contact Us

The Archives are located in the IEE's Central London building, at Savoy Place. Write to the Archives, IEE, Savoy Place, London WC2R 0BL. Telephone +44 (0)20 7344 8436, or FAX +44 (0)20 7344 5395.

You can also e-mail us with any general queries

archives@iee.org.uk

Enquiries

We are happy to answer enquiries by telephone, post or e-mail. Please note that we can only answer limited and specific enquiries - we cannot deal with enquiries that require large amounts of time spent on research.

E-mail specific historical enquiries to the Senior Archivist lsymons@iee.org.uk or the Assistant Archivist alocker@iee.org.uk

Reproductions of Photographs

The Archives do contain large numbers of historical photographs, both of eminent engineers and members of the IEE and historical electrical technologies such as cable laying. We can provide reproductions of images for which we hold the copyright.

Please note that we do not operate a 'picture library'-style service, nor do we hold a large stock of modern industrial images. Our images are historical and part of the archives collections. Please do contact us if you think we may have images that might be useful, but bear in mind that you should allow at least a week for processing once you have identified the image you need.

For more information on our images see What's in the Archives or contact sbarnard@iee.org.uk

Visiting and Using the Archives

The Archives are open to members of the IEE, academic researchers and any member of the public with a genuine research topic. We are open from 9.30am (10.30 Mondays) to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday. If you do wish to visit, please contact us first to make an appointment, as researcher space is limited. It is possible to obtain photocopies of archival material, provided that it is in good enough condition to be copied.

Lists and Catalogues

• The Archives Catalogue will sonn be available online.

• The General Index classifies briefly all the collections according to name, place and selected subjects. This will direct searchers to collections where they are most likely to find material of interest.
• Summary Description Sheets list in numerical sequence the title of each Special and NAEST collection, and describe the general format and type of the papers, the subject matter, the dates covered and the size of the collection.
• Handlists describe larger or more important NAEST and Special collections, for which more details are necessary than can be given on a Summary Description Sheet. They include an introduction to the collection, a note on the arrangement of the material and a description of the contents and date of each item or file of papers.
• The Descriptive Lists of the IEE, IERE and IProdE Archives explain the arrangement of the Institution's records, and those of the two institutions it has merged with. These are organised according to provenance under the following headings: Organisation; Departments; Local Centres; Special Series records (including films, tape recordings etc.); Unofficial Records.
• Other Indexes. Separate indexes are maintained for the photograph collection and the libraries of Sir Francis Ronalds and Silvanus P. Thompson. There is also an index of early members of the Institution. This covers all membership applications between 1871 and 1901.

Most of the detailed handlists can also be consulted in the searchroom of the National Register of Archives maintained by the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts.

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