British Government Information and Propaganda, 1939-2009
The Central Office of Information (COI) Archive
[This collection] is of enduring interest to social historians.London
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Learn how the British government attempted to shape public opinion at home and abroad
Scanned from source at the British Library, this collection contains a carefully curated selection of materials produced by the British Ministry of Information (MOI) and Central Office of Information (COI) during the period 1939–2009.
The items are diverse in nature, ranging from posters and stickers to pamphlets and guidance booklets. The subject matter is just as varied, covering public health, education, social security, civil defence, international politics, race relations, sex discrimination, public sector career opportunities, policing, the environment, and Britain’s membership of the European Economic Community. Most of the items were published during the post-war period, but some date from the First and Second World Wars.
The collection therefore provides students and researchers with a unique insight into what successive British governments wanted their citizens to know, think, and do, as well as how their methods of achieving their aims changed over time. In addition, it reveals the image of Britain that different governments chose to project to the rest of the world.
Contents
British Government Information and Propaganda, 1939-2009...
The Central Office of Information (COI) Archive
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Highlights
Licensed to access Collection of 'War Brevities', 1940
Licensed to access COI Reference pamphlet on the British Parliament, 1959
Insights
- The Central Office of Information (COI) was a British government department established in 1946 as the successor to the wartime Ministry of Information (MOI).
- The COI and MOI were responsible for informing and influencing the British public on a wide range of issues, from social security and education to foreign policy and food safety.
- To this end, both worked with and on behalf of other departments and public bodies to design and produce appropriate publicity and propaganda materials.
- The COI was disbanded in 2012 as part of the coalition government’s so-called “bonfire of the quangos.” Its records were subsequently deposited at the British Library, British Film Institute (BFI), National Archives, and Imperial War Museum.
- The material in this online collection is drawn from the British Library’s COI archive, which is kept in storage at the organisation’s site in Boston Spa, Yorkshire.
- The documents are divided into seven volumes: Defence and armed forces, 1914-2001; Political economy and trade, 1938-1996; Welfare state, 1940-1997; Democracy and government, 1936-1999; Policing, public order, and personal security, 1972-1996; Immigration and race, 1940-2006; and Central Office of Information (COI) and government communication, 1946-2009.
- Users can search for documents within each volume by British Library shelfmark number, sub-theme, date range, and government department, amongst other categories.
