University Archives secure Cataloguing Project for the Scottish Trades Union Congress Archive

Scottish Labour History Unlocked: the Scottish Trades Union Congress Archive

This project is now completed and access to the work is available through the STUC Archive collection level description. This includes direct links to the catalogued records and various links created by the University Archivist to enhance access and knowledge to this fascinating collection.

Project history and overview

Under the National Archives scheme funded by The Pilgrim Trust and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation to tackle cataloguing backlogs in local archives, GCU’s Archives were successful in its pilot year (2006). On 2nd October 2006, Kathryn MacKenzie started as the STUC Project Archivist for a period of nine months, to begin cataloguing the Scottish Trades Union Congress Archive.

The records of the Scottish Trades Union Congress date back to its formation in 1897 and for the first time this Archive has been brought together as a complete collection at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU has held part of the Archive since 1998).  In 2005 the National Library of Scotland deposited their holdings at GCU, having held their part of the Archive since 1985.

The STUC is an organisation of primarily Scottish, but also of UK and indeed international importance. The STUC Archive provides a very comprehensive coverage of all its many areas of activity from its foundation in 1897 to the present day. The range and fullness of the material is vital for any research chronicling the political, economic and social life of Scotland over the past 108 years, including the long campaign which culminated in the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

It is an eclectic collection not purely tied to Scottish labour history but a resource rich in social history and the development of a nation.  From the earliest days, the Congress concerned itself with a wide range of economic and social questions, the Scottish economy and wider issues concerning the people of Scotland.  It holds fascinating information on many of the major historical and political events from the end of the 19^th century to the present day.  It also has an international thread given the STUC’s input in international affairs over the years. The catalogue would be a research tool for the people of Scotland and beyond. 

The catalogue will be made available online through our University library catalogue. This will mean that the archive resources are integrated within the University’s general library stock thus dispensing with the segregation of archives from library resources and also creating a one stop shop for users and researchers; in other words a cross domain access point.

The Archive is 162 linear metres in size and is made up of paper records, audio visual material, posters, badges, photographs, artefacts, displays, banners and ephemera.

Carole McCallum
University Archivist

Last Updated: 4 December, 2007
Edited by: webteam@gcal.ac.uk