Professor Pahl, in his role as Visiting Professor of Sociology at Keele, has been a highly valued supporter of social research at the University. The collection of published and unpublished articles spans a fifty year period and draws upon some of the key questions of concern to sociologists over this period. Professor Pahl was a major figure in the development of British Sociology, producing highly influential studies in areas such as urban sociology, the sociology of work, the impact of unemployment on households, and the nature of friendship and changing social ties. His work was uniquely interdisciplinary, combining approaches drawn from geography, social anthropology, political science, as well as different strands within sociology itself.

This generous gift strengthens the Library’s holdings of records charting the development of British Sociology. For further information, or to arrange to view the Ray Pahl Papers and the preliminary catalogue, please contact the Archives Administrator h.burton@lib.keele.ac.uk.

This extensive archive has been catalogued by Project Archivist Annabel Gill, funded by The Sociological Review and supported by the University Library, the Keele Key Fund and the Research Institutes of Humanities; Law, Politics and Justice; and Life Course Studies.

The Foundations of British Sociology Archive is a unique resource held in the  Library’s Special Collections and Archives. The material dates from the 1880s to the 1950s and consists of papers from the Sociological Society, LePlay House, the Institute of Sociology and several smaller subsidiary groups – all part of the early sociology movement in Britain. Comprising personal papers, business records, newspaper cuttings, lectures, reports, plans, surveys, lantern slides and an extensive collection of books, the archive includes material relating to key activists and opinion-shapers such as Victor Branford, Francis Galton, Patrick Geddes, H. G. Wells, Lewis Mumford and Alexander Farquharson. Themes include the responsibilities of the state and the citizen; planning urban development; the position of women; the role of technical education; local government reform; regionalism; the co-operative movement; rural society and the family. Researchers will find valuable materials on the origins of modern British sociology, and related social sciences such as social psychology, cultural geography, town planning and demography.

To consult material featured in the catalogue, please contact the Special Collections and Archives Administrator h.burton@lib.keele.ac.uk

We also encourage your comments on the catalogue and its contents.

Local Collection stock can be retrieved upon request – please ask Special Collections staff or Library Enquiries staff. Some stock may be inaccessible and searchroom study space will be limited.

The repair work will cause some noise and disruption, particularly on the top floor, south wing.

Queries regarding the Local Collection/Archives should be directed to Helen Burton h.burton@lib.keele.ac.uk Tel: 01782 733237

Issues relating to the building work/noise should be directed to Diane Warrilow, Library Administrator.

We apologise for any inconvenience this causes.