Archive Update

at the beach

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The Rootes Archive has now completed the move from Banbury to its new home a few miles away in Wroxton.

The Archive Trustees, with the help of Rootes owners world-wide, managed to complete a near impossible task in a little over one year. Last year the Archive was facing a future with limited income and a promise of continuing rent hikes which would eventually jeopardize its financial viability. Today it has a new home, in a new building it owns, reduced overhead and a very promising financial future. And the documents are being protected much better!

This is a victory for all owners of Rootes cars. We all owe a debt to those who stepped up to make the contributions that allowed the construction and purchase of the new building. And we owe a special debt to the Archive Trustees who in addition to money, also contributed vast amounts of time and effort. And thanks to their families who had to cope without pop's help while he was off playing Archive. (I'm talking about hundreds and hundreds of hours donated by many of the Trustees over just this past year. This wasn't a simple!) Thanks to all for a truly awesome job!

The Archive's document collection is being readied for the resumption of research. Scanning of the Aperture Cards will resume shorty. 15K of the cards have now been scanned and the next 10K have been selected. As the drawings are digitized a copy is immediately taken off site insuring the long term preservation of its content. About a thousand of these scans of Tiger and Alpine drawings have been examined and cataloged. Tiger experts have started examining these and are now better understanding the building process and the organization of the drawings made by Rootes and by Pressed Steel. Results are beginning to emerge.

Below are a few photos showing the move and parts of the new building.

The contributions so far have provided a generous down payment (well over 50%) for the building. The Archive financed the balance, about $100K. We will continue to encourage further donations and support from the clubs to pay this debt down. Ideally, I'd like it totally retired. The lower the debt, the greater the Archive's future financial security. We've got the job well over half way but it's nowhere close to being finished. We still need to help!

Again, Thanks for all the wonderful support!

bt
at the beach
 

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