Campaign for Better Transport Archive

Overarching principle of arrangement is respect des fonds, where the original system of arrangement is retained. This system reflects work that the creators commissioned a student to implement, stipulating that items are to be grouped by project and projects are to be grouped by organisational activity (CFBT/1/10). This work suggests that arrangement at point of deposit may have differed from order of arrangement at the record creation and/or storage phases. Structure reflects original order at series level and in most cases file level, where cover sheets were sporadically used to orient items contained in the files. Catalogue reflects this filing system and the overarching series of the archive when possible; in other instances, original order deviates from this structure and takes a more ad hoc format, ostensibly due to spatial limitations or achronological discovery of items belonging to the archive, or to retain thematic grouping despite individual files being intellectually arranged into separate series (e.g. files on taxation span climate change, traffic reduction, and public transport series). At sub-series level, items follow original order and are intellectually arranged according to core functions within the campaign objectives described at series level: policy and parliamentary engagement, collaborative campaigning and contributions to working groups and community groups, and participatory campaign activism. Organisational activities are reflected as series in the catalogue, thus demonstrating an effort to keep physical and intellectual arrangement nearly identical, except where efforts were made by the cataloguer to restore the original order in the physical arrangement where the dominant system of arrangement degraded. The cataloguer retained physical arrangement in instances where retention of the arrangement preserved context about the organisation and its activities, yet intellectual arrangement reflects the overarching principles of arrangement according to business function. Sub-series largely communicate intellectual arrangement, where subordinate levels of arrangement are organised according to method of executing the campaign functions expressed at the series level of description. Files reflect the labelled envelopes in which much of the collection was sorted into prior to deposit. While the text written onto the envelopes has been retained where this information preserves the filing logic of the creator, the original envelopes have been removed as a storage solution and replaced with archival-grade folders to enhance conservation and reduce risks of mechanical damage and chemical deterioration posed by overfilled envelopes and adhesive on envelope flaps. As provenance dictated separation of documents by project, catalogue separates formats (e.g. press releases, press cuttings, photographs stored on CD-ROM) at item level to reflect creator’s project-oriented system of arrangement.