South Wales Miners' Library (SWML)

The South Wales Coalfield Collection covers much of the old counties of Glamorgan, Monmouthshire, Carmarthenshire and part of South Pembrokeshire and provides a unique insight into the social, political and cultural life of the area during the 19^th and 20^th centuries. It is held between the Archives and the South Wales Miners' Library (SWML):

• records of the main trade union, the National Union of Mineworkers (South Wales Area) and its branches or lodges (Archives)
• records of other institutions, including Miners’ Institutes and Co-operative Societies (Archives)
• personal collections of people who lived and worked in the Coalfield (Archives)
• photographic collection (Archives)
• oral history recordings (SWML)
• books and pamphlets (SWML)
• banners (SWML)

If an individual was a prominent figure in their community or trade union, or involved in a particular event, such as a mining disaster, there may be reference to them within the South Wales Coalfield Collection. The collection can also be very useful for discovering background information about the communities in the South Wales coalfield. However we do not hold mining personnel records.