Records of Hostelling International

Contains Executive minutes and circulars; work reports, newsletters and correspondence; property files relating to properties in South America, Asia and Africa; annual reports and accounts; and an extensive sequence of Guide Books. The collection also includes publications; conference documents and reports; photographs; and promotional and miscellaneous materials.

Hostelling International (HI), formerly known as International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF), is a federation of more than 70 National Youth Hostel Associations in over 80 countries. HI has over 4,000 affiliated hostels around the world. Hostelling International is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation.

The youth hostel movement began in 1909 when Richard Schirrmann, a German schoolteacher, and Wilhelm Münker, a conservationist, saw a need for overnight accommodation for school groups wanting to experience the countryside. Schirrmann founded the nationwide German Youth Hostel Association in 1919 before the movement spread worldwide. The IYHF was founded in Amsterdam in October 1932 with representatives from associations in Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Great Britain, Ireland, France, and Belgium. In 1933 Richard Schirrmann became President although the German Government forced him to resign in 1936.

Source: Hostelling International Wikipedia entry accessed 7 December 2021 via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostelling_International

Boxes 1-6: Executive minutes, 1946-2020 [partially closed under 25 year embargo];
Box 7: Index to minutes, minutes of the Schirmann Fund [closed] 1962-;
Boxes 8-10: Executive circulars;
Box 11: Executive circulars, Jack Catchpool papers;
Boxes 12-13: Work reports, newsletters, correspondence;
Boxes 14-23: General circulars;
Box 24: Property files for Columbia, insurance papers;
Box 25: Property files for Buenos Aires, Argentina;
Box 26: Property files for Brazil, Malaysia;
Box 27: Property files for Kenya;
Box 28: Property files for Nairobi, Costa Rica (pt);
Box 29: Property files for Costa Rica (pt), Thailand;
Box 30: Property files for Ecuador;
Boxes 31-33: Annual reports and accounts covering 1953, 1961 and 1967-2019;
Boxes 34-35: Guide books dated 1939, 1948-1990;
Box 36: Guide books dated 1991-1996, publication titled 'Youth Hostels around the world', 1984-1987;
Box 37: Guide books dated 1997-2005;
Box 38: Guide books dated 2006-2008, Hostelling International publications;
Box 39: Hostelling International publications;
Boxes 40-42: Publications from national associations;
Box 43: Conference documents, 1933-1959;
Box 44: Conference documents, 1963-1968;
Box 45: Conference documents, 1946-1954, and Schirmann booklets;
Box 46: Conference reports, 1955-1963, and report of the 1st Conference, 1932;
Boxes 47-60: Conference reports and documents;
Boxes 61-67: Promotional and miscellaneous materials;
Boxes 68-71: Photographs;
Box 72 (large): Miscellaneous materials;
Box 73 (outsize): Miscellaneous materials.

Access to all registered researchers

Material transferred to the Cadbury Research Library from Hostelling International Head Office, Welwyn Garden City

See full catalogue for more information.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections. Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.