permitted, to maximise the use of this space for
the library, offices, accommodation and events. Major developments have
included the conversion of some offices into two flats which are rented
out and bring in extra revenue; installing good quality mobile and
fixed shelving for books; the refurbishment of the basement to provide
more office and storage space, the extension of the car park and the
provision of disabled access. To help increase the Trust’s
income, opportunity has also been taken to include within the design of
the proposed new Resource Centre, a further extension on the other side
of the house for two more flats, the costs of which would be met from
the Trust’s endowment fund.
Notwithstanding these efforts, the design of the
house is essentially that of a family home. The largest room holds a
maximum of 40 people which restricts numbers at lectures, conferences
and other events. Many special events have to be by invitation only and
cannot be publicised too widely. This is regrettable when more people
express an interest in attending, as they did recently for the
conference on Zoroastrianism, held as part of the Trust’s 30th anniversary
celebrations in June 2008. As a result, the Trust risks being perceived
as too exclusive or specialised, which directly contradicts its
objective to attract as wide an audience as possible and encourage
exchange between people from different cultural, social and
professional communities.
An Expanding Library
The Trust’s library has become one of the
most distinguished collections in the western world. It comprises
more than 25,000 volumes, many very rare, and over 100,000 photographic
images which are currently being catalogued and digitised. As
well as recent acquisitions in all fields, it includes the personal
collections of the founding trustees, Sir Harold Bailey (Indo-Iranian
studies, philology, Buddhist works in various languages and Armenian
and Caucasian studies); Professor Joan van Lohuizen (art and
archaeology of South and South-East Asia) and Drs Raymond and Bridget
Allchin (South Asian Archaeology, prehistory and art history). It also
contains libraries of Professor Charles Bawden (Mongolian studies);
Professor Gregory Possehl (South Asian archaeology, travel and
anthropology), Professor Mary Boyce (Zoroastrianism, Iranian studies,
Near Eastern archaeology) and Ralph Pinder-Wilson (Islamic art). At
present, the library is almost at maximum capacity. This is a pressing
problem as new books
are bought regularly and it is known that certain
individuals intend to bequeath their personal collections to the Trust.
Based on its growth in recent years and the likelihood of future
bequests, it is estimated that the library will need, over the years,
considerable extra shelf space. Furthermore, there is nowhere to
exhibit the Trust’s collections of manuscripts, coins and works
of art. The basement together with the envisaged book-lined
lecture/reading room and dedicated exhibition space in the proposed new
building will solve these problems for the foreseeable future.
It is also anticipated that the conference room in
the new wing could, when not being used by the Trust itself, be let out
on a commercial basis to other organisations and hence provide an
additional source of revenue. Recently, INTACH UK, SAALG and the
Cambridge Library Group have held meetings at the Trust and there has
also been some interest from local language schools in hiring rooms for
teaching. Having a larger space and better facilities to hire out will
be an added benefit from the new building.
The Current Set-up of the Trust and Future Plans
The Trust has been funded by contributions and
legacies from Trustees, regular gifts from its expanding network of
Friends and supporters and several substantial donations from
individuals and organisations for all aspects of its work. With the
exception of a £60,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund
specifically for cataloguing in 1995, the Trust has received no public
money. The home of the Trust, 23 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge,
was bought in 1981 with personal funds scraped together by the five
founding Trustees.
The Trust employs a part-time Custodian who lives
in and looks after the house, and two other part-time staff, an
Administrator and an Assistant Librarian. The administrative and
library workload currently exceeds the man-hours that can be provided
by staff by a significant extent. The Trust is therefore reliant on
voluntary work undertaken by its Librarian (one of the Trustees), its
Treasurer (another Trustee) and others. It is fortunate to have a small
number of dedicated volunteers who help with tasks such as cataloguing
offprints and slide collections and repairing books, but this is
inherently unsatisfactory as there is no guarantee for how long the
personal