This meeting of The Thomas Layton Collection was scheduled to receive an update on the planned move of the Collection's books, and to consider the Trust's final accounts for 2023. Trustees were also scheduled to be updated on progress with the planned move of the collection to Gunnersbury Stables.

Relocation of the book collection

Trustees were scheduled to receive a report on progress with the planned relocation of the book collection from the London Metropolitan Archives to Stockroom London. The report, which was prepared by Adam Grounds, the Council's Local Studies & Archives Manager, notes that the Trust's preferred moving date of 1 November 2024 should be feasible. Mr Grounds' report is keen to stress the financial advantages of moving the collection on that date:

This last point means that it would be financially advantageous to arrange to move the collection as soon as possible after the 1st of October 2024.

The report confirms that the Council has made an agreement with Stockroom London to store the collection, and that this will cost £12,800 per year, which will be paid quarterly in advance.

The report also sets out a plan for the physical relocation of the collection, which will involve moving the books from the archive boxes they are currently stored in on to open shelves, and reordering the collection so that it is shelved in strict catalogue order, as some reordering was necessary when the collection was moved into its current temporary storage.

The report also notes that the online catalogue for the collection will need to be updated to reflect the new location of the books, and that this will be done by contacting the council's catalogue provider, SirsiDynix.

Final accounts for the Year Ended 31 December 2023

The Trustees were provided with a copy of the Trust's final accounts for 2023 prior to the meeting.

The accounts show that the Trust had an income of £6,595 and expenditure of £8,288, resulting in a loss for the year of £1,693. However the Trust also made a net gain on its investments of £7,549. The Trust's total funds at the end of 2023 stood at £193,756.

Gunnersbury Stables proposals

The agenda included an item for Howard Simmons to update trustees on the progress of proposals to move the collection to Gunnersbury Stables. The report pack does not include a written report for this item, but the minutes of the meeting held on 5 March 2024 record that the Trust had submitted an Expression of Interest to the National Lottery Heritage Fund in order to secure funding for the project, but that this bid was not successful.

Social Media Update

Trustees were scheduled to receive a social media update from Emma White, who manages the Trust's social media accounts. Ms White's report details the performance of the Trust's Twitter and Facebook accounts between July 2023 and June 2024. The report notes that the Trust's Twitter account had an average of 8,290 views per month, while the Facebook account had an average of 1,399 post views per month.

The report concludes by noting that Ms White will no longer be able to maintain the social media accounts at their current level. She has offered to post occasional updates, and has passed the login details to the Chair, James Wisdom.

Museum of London Update

The Trustees were scheduled to receive an update on the Museum of London.

This update notes that three possible samples of asbestos have been found in the collection, and that until these have been removed the items will be stored in Perspex.

The Museum of London is currently preparing a temporary exhibition about mudlarking, which will run from April 2025 to March 2026 at the Museum of Docklands, and will include items from the Layton Collection.