ARCHIVEIt is with considerable regret that we have to announce that Michael Sayer, having now served as Archivist of the English Organ Archive for ten years, has decided to step down from the post on account of increasing business commitments.Michael Saver's concern to identify, save, and house the business records of English organ builders was one of the chief incentives which lay behind the founding of BIOS in 1976. In fact, the foundation of the English Organ Archive (as it eventually became) pre-dates BIOS by a couple of years; Dr Sayer acquired the first drawings from the Jardine Collection in 197^, and this deposit proved to be the foundation of the extensive and important collection of organ builders' papers and related materials which is now safely housed in the Music department of Birmingham Central Library. Michael Saver's own connection with Keele University made the University Library there an obvious first choice for the housing of the Archive, but following Dr Sayer's retirement from Keele, and in the light of the expansion of the EOA beyond the shelves which Keele could spare for it, it became necessary to find a new home. As members know, that home turned out to be in Birmingham. Much of the cataloguing and indexing of the Collection has been undertaken over the years by Dr Sayer himself, and future researchers will have much to thank him for. The Archive has always been his 'pigeon', and until the problem of relocation raised its head, the Council has been fortunate in being able to leave the Archive in his capable hands. For this reason, we have perhaps not always appreciated how much time Dr Sayer has devoted to building up the collection, and getting it into shape. He has also spent a not inconsiderable amount of time answering enquiries from members and others about information contained in the various documents in the EOA; few other collections of this sort offer that type of 'postal service' and the Council is aware that many members would wish to record their thanks to Dr Sayer for his assistance. On behalf of the membership as a whole, the Council wishes to record its sense of obligation to Michael Sayer, to thank him for all his work, and to express the hope that we shall be able to turn to him for advice and assistance over the Archive in the future. The Council is currently considering how best to staff the EOA in the future. For the moment, Mr Malcolm Jones, Birmingham's Music Librarian, has kindly consented to be Acting Archivist, and all enquiries should be directed to him at: The Music Library, The Central Library, Birmingham B3 3HQ. |