We accept donations to the archive. Our Collecting Policy sets out the material that we accept and can be found on our policies page.
The Archive will accept the following items of national significance:
- Original full scores of music arranged for brass bands
- Original audio-visual materials (e.g. vinyl records, CDs, DVDs, recordings of music/contests)
- Original photographs of bands, contests and bands persons only when they have a proven provenance
- Original published print materials related to brass bands, brass banding history and notable bands persons (e.g. books, journals)
- Original material related to brass band contests (e.g. programmes, registration cards of nationally significant performers)
- Other original materials deemed culturally and historically significant by BBE
The Archive will not accept the following items unless they are extremely significant and have a proven provenance:
- Musical instruments
- Trophies and awards
- Band uniforms
- Items in a poor physical condition which prohibits public access (where the cost of the necessary conservation treatment is disproportionate to their historical value)
- Duplicate material already in the collections (unless it is an original which will replace a photocopy already held in the collections)
- Reproductions of materials from other archives
- Photocopies of original materials
If you are interested in donating to the archive email us at archive@bbe.org.uk for further information.