---
title: "Storage of the British Library's RMS and Sound Archive Collection"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06e818"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06e818"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e818.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e818.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "British Library Board"
published: "2026-08-20"
---

# Storage of the British Library's RMS and Sound Archive Collection

Buyer: British Library Board  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06e818

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06e818)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e818.json)

## Summary

The British Library Board is procuring long-term storage for its RMS and Sound Archive collections. The service also covers retrieving stored materials, transporting them and returning them to the library or another required destination. This is a specialist records and archive storage service, with storage and retrieval services as the relevant classification. The buyer is the British Library Board, a central government public authority based in London. Delivery is required in the United Kingdom. The requirement concerns the collections as a whole rather than separate types of work: a supplier would need to provide the storage service together with the associated retrieval, transport and return arrangements.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded to COMPASS MINERALS STORAGE & ARCHIVES LIMITED. The contract was signed on 30 June 2026 and runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2028, with two optional 12-month extensions allowing the maximum period to reach 30 June 2030. Its value is £174,000 excluding VAT and £208,800 including VAT. The process used a selective procedure and was described as a below-threshold award under a framework. It was non-competitive and comprised one completed lot. The contract is active. The selected supplier is responsible for the storage, retrieval, transport and return service for the British Library’s RMS and Sound Archive collections.

This procurement demonstrates a continuing requirement from a national cultural institution for managed storage and access to specialist archive collections. It is most relevant to suppliers that can provide long-term storage alongside dependable retrieval, transport and return services, rather than storage alone. A credible competitor would need the operational capacity to manage institutional collections, respond to retrieval requests and coordinate the associated movement and return of materials across the United Kingdom. The award was made through a framework route, so businesses seeking similar work with this buyer should understand and be able to operate through the relevant framework arrangements. The incumbent is a large supplier, indicating a requirement suited to organisations with established storage and logistics capability.

## Notice

The Supplier shall provide long-term storage services for the British Library's RMS and Sound Archive collections together with retrieval, transport and return services as described within this specification.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079241-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - award under framework |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 20 Aug 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 30 Jun 2026 |
| Contract period | 1 Jul 2026 - 30 Jun 2028 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £174,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | British Library Board |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Postcode area | North West London |
| Postcode | NW1 2DB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI36 Camden |
| Local authority | Camden |
| Electoral ward | St Pancras & Somers Town |
| Westminster constituency | Holborn and St Pancras |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | COMPASS MINERALS STORAGE & ARCHIVES LIMITED |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 63 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services

### Codes

- 63121000 - Storage and retrieval services

## Release History

- 20 Aug 2026 at 07:54 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079241-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/079241-2026
  20th August 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.bl.uk
- http://www.deepstore.com
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsReleasePackages/ocds-h6vhtk-0503c8
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06e818. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06e818.json.