This guide is in two distinct halves. The first is an introductory essay, describing first the various levels at which trade unions recorded and preserved information and then discussing the different types of information and their possible uses. This essay was written by Humphrey Southall, with assistance from David Gilbert. The second part, the select guide, describes the surviving central records and printed publications and circulars of twenty-one trade unions;the first draft was written by Carol Bryce and it was then revised by Humphrey Southall and David Gilbert.