Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with the Imperial War Museum on proposals to close that museum's library; and if he will make a statement.

Although the Ministry of Defence and Imperial War Museum work closely together on various projects, the Ministry of Defence does not directly fund or support any of the Imperial War Museum’s activities; the Museum receives its core Grant in Aid through the Department for Culture Media and Sport, as a Non Departmental Public Body. The IWM is currently in discussion with the Department about its programme of change, including changes to how core collections including books are accessed at IWM London. A programme of digitisation of these core collections is in train so that those across the UK and further afield who are not able to visit the museum sites in person, can engage with IWM’s subject matter and collection. The IWM is also looking at a number of options around access to its collections. All accessioned collection items, and some (non-accessioned) books, ephemera, will remain at or under the museum’s direct management and will continue to be accessible by appointment. However the option of a possible transfer to other institutions of some of the non-accessioned materials currently held in the library which are not part of its core collection has been raised, so that these might be accessible elsewhere. Throughout discussions the IWM has remained fully committed to maintaining its presence in Manchester, London and Cambridgeshire.