| Description | This series contains the briefing papers that were in the hands of the Chairman for the meetings of the Standing Committee of the Board of Trustees held at the British Museum (Natural History). They include reports from the Principal Librarian, reports and requests from Keepers of the natural history departments, and concise summaries of correspondence from Government Departments, official bodies and private individuals. Minutes of General meetings and Sub-Committees are included where these were reported to the Standing Committee, as are copies of the Keepers' reports to the sub-committees. The Chairman of the Standing Committe was always one of the three Principal Trustees or his nominee.
Briefing papers produced for the post-1963 Board of Trustees were distributed to all Board members. They give full details of purchases, donations, visitor numbers, publications and other items. They also include substantial reports and other documents that formed the basis for discussion at the meetings. Known as Trustees Papers, they were numbered within each year and are a valuable source for the more recent history of the Museum. Indexes to the Trustees papers can be found at DF904/82 |