In 2009 the Most Honourable P. J. Patterson, former Prime Minister of Jamaica, deposited his personal files in the University of the West Indies Mona Library for addition to its Caribbean Leaders Collection. The collection consists of 538 files in 58 boxes.
This collection is considered to be of special significance as it includes memoranda, correspondence, minutes, cabinet submissions, published and unpublished materials, reports, faxes, speeches and other materials generated by the Office of the Prime Minister and Mr Patterson before and during his terms as Prime Minister of Jamaica. This collection is a primary source documenting Patterson’s contribution to Jamaican politics and government and Caribbean integration and international relations during his political career, and his tenure as Prime Minister of Jamaica. The Collection also provides detailed factual information of the role he played in the development of the Jamaican economy. The papers showcase in his leadership of the Highway 2000 project, which has paved the way for greater infrastructural development in Jamaica, reform of the educational system and the development of social and economic policies. From a regional perspective the collection documents the establishment of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy as well as the Regional Negotiating Machinery and the Caribbean Court of Justice. The collection is immense in its historical significance given the duration of Patterson’s political career. Its research potential is evident in the various policies and reforms that have been adopted.
The Library has essentially kept the collection in the arrangement in which it was received as it juxtaposes related documents which would be scattered amongst several government entities. In addition the margin notes and other handwritten amendments will be important to researchers analysing these unique documents.
The collection’s provenance has been established as the documents have been brought to the Library from Mt Patterson’s personal office. All documents are in good condition and have been treated for insect infestation and stored in acid free file insertions in archival boxes. File integrity has been maintained except for the speeches which have been reorganised into files by topic as opposed to the chronological order in which they had been received. Documents have been arranged in chronological order and each file includes a contents sheet. All files have been assigned running numbers and placed in boxes which have been clearly numbered and labelled. An index has been generated from a database which has been organized at the file level. Descriptors have been assigned to each file.
These have been used to create the index which has been included in the finding aid. The finding aid is accessible electronically
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