BBC archive changes mean research 'impossible'

The BBC's decision to limit access to its written archives last year means some researchers' work has been made "impossible", campaigners have said.

The reading room of the corporation's Written Archives Centre (WAC) at Caversham Park, Berkshire, is now only open to those with a prior appointment and on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The BBC WAC campaign, backed by 600 writers, historians and researchers, said the changes have hurt independent study and that "lessons must be learned over [the BBC's] poor handling".

A BBC spokesperson said the changes were made to "deliver greater value for licence fee payers."

As part of them, the BBC stopped on-request file vetting, which the campaign said closes off about two-thirds of the corporation's archives.

It holds more than 250,000 files of correspondence and 21,000 reels of microfilm.

The campaign said the changes have been "severely detrimental to education and research and are in conflict with the BBC's public interest remit."

It said they "have little to do with cost-saving" and accused the corporation of a "clear unwillingness to listen to construction suggestions" to keep the WAC on a "sustainable footing".

"At a stroke the ability to undertake serious, responsible and considered study has been rendered impossible," the campaign said in a submission to the government over the BBC's Royal Charter, expected to take effect from January 2028.

The BBC spokesperson said: "We are taking on a new approach to make a wider selection of BBC history accessible and searchable, with an ambition to open up more of the written archive from 30% to 50% over the next five years.

"Given the level of resource available, we are moving to a series of structured content releases rather than individual requests for specific content, which will open up the written archive further and deliver greater value for licence fee payers."