The Library collects the personal papers of Australians who have achieved national standing and the records of major organisations operating at the national level to provide original source materials for research into Australian history and society.
Documentation of Australian literature was strengthened by the acquisition of the papers of Dal Stivens. The acquisition covers Stivens long and prolific career as a writer and his friendship with many other leading figures such as A.D. Hope, Christina Stead and Don Bradman. Other notable acquisitions include the papers of the playwright Louis Nowra, comprising a large number of scripts, notebooks, diaries, letters, cutting books, programs and photographs; and the papers of two leading historians, Professors Henry Reynolds and Stuart Macintyre.
The Librarys collection of papers relating to the expatriate Jeffrey Smart was enhanced by the acquisition of a series of letters from the artist to Les Rowe. A remarkable collection of 24 diaries kept by the playwright, novelist and journalist, Barry Oakley, between 1974 and 1997 was acquired. Written in great detail in a minuscule hand, the diaries are a lively source on Australian theatre and arts generally.
The Librarys documentation of the Australian conservation movement was strengthened by two outstanding acquisitions: the archives of the Australian Conservation Foundation and the files of Greenpeace Australia relating to the Antarctic.
In August, a staff photographer visited Newcastle to photograph the closure of the BHP steelworks. This photo-documentary project will provide a visual record of the steelworks, the industrial processes and working environment, events associated with the closure, emerging industries and services, and social and working life in Newcastle. The locations selected for the project include the Newcastle Multicultural Fiesta, Christ Church Cathedral, the Newcastle Knights Rugby Leagues Club and the University of Newcastle Pacific Power Research Centre.
As part of the Librarys intention to document Australian participation in the Olympic Games, a collection of nine photographs was acquired at auction. The collection includes a number of memorable images of the 1956 Melbourne Games such as Ron Clarke lighting the Olympic flame, Betty Cuthbert winning the gold medal in the 200m final and Australias epic 1st, 2nd and 3rd place wins in the 100m womens freestyle.
The Library acquired a number of portraits of eminent Australians during the previous quarter. The most notable of these is a sketch portrait of Henry Lawson, by Sir John Longstaff. The sketch portrait was painted from life and is revealing of the fragile character of the sitter. Also acquired was an oil portrait of Donald Friend by Judy Cassab which complements other documentation of Friends life and career held by the Library, such as the artists illustrated diaries (1930-1988), correspondence (1931-1950) and photographic portraits taken by Russell Drysdale (1942) and Greg Weight (1987).
The Librarys collection of oral history recordings of Australians of national standing was furthered by an interview with Sir William Keys, National Secretary, Returned Services League of Australia. In the interview conducted by Terry Colhoun, Sir William speaks of his early life growing up on a farm near Bombala, N.S.W., his graduation from Hurlstone Agricultural High School and his experiences in the Australian Light Horse.
The Jeffrey Smart retrospective exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, provided an opportunity for this expatriate artist to be interviewed for the Librarys program by James Murdoch.
The Library collects Australian and overseas cartographic materials, with particular emphasis on the maps of Australia and its geographic region. Our record of the early mapping of the Australian coastline was enhanced by the acquisition of an important set of eight maps associated with La Perouses voyage published in Paris in 1788.
The Library acquires maps in a variety of formats, including digital versions. A recent notable acquisition is a collection of 19 CD-ROMS from the New South Wales Surveyor Generals Office featuring digital scans of working copies of early edition parish maps and pastoral plans of the eastern and central divisions of New South Wales. The parish maps reflect the land administration and issue of land grants following European settlement. The working copies of these maps show owners names and other information not always included on published maps.
The enrichment of the Australian printed collections through the purchase of retrospective Australian books has been maintained at a significantly higher rate than usual. This has been due to a series of important offers by a small number of dealers active at the upper end of the antiquarian book market, as well as the arrival of a new book auction house on the Australian scene. These sources have been responsible for the acquisition by the Library of several rare items from the 18th century including variant editions of Cook's voyages and several works which record the 'first' publication of flora, fauna and seas shells brought back by explorers and scientists from the new colony. It is notable that the copies acquired are often the only recorded copy in Australian collections.
Several books published in the UK and the USA from the 19th and 20th centuries featuring stories and illustrations of fauna such as kangaroos and koalas in children's books have also been acquired.
Between July and September 1999, the National Library's Thai Librarian, Lek McFadden attended the International Thai Studies Conference in Amsterdam, visited Southeast Asian collections in London, made acquisition trips to Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia and Laos then attended the IFLA and "George Coedes Today" conferences in Thailand. At the latter she spoke about the National Library's Coedes Collection.
The most recent publications about the new Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid, Aspirasi dan sikap politik Gus Dur di tengah reformasi menuju Indonesia baru (The aspirations and political attitude of Gus Dur in the midst of reformation towards a new Indonesia) and Vice-President Megawati Soekarnoputri, Megawati: busaha taklukkan badai (Megawati: struggle against the storm) have been added to the Librarys range of publications about the new leaders. The Bank Bali scandal, which led the IMF to postpone further economic assistance to Indonesia, is covered in Skandal Bank Bali tumbangkan Habibie? (Will the Bank Bali scandal bring down Habibie?) and copies of the Price Waterhouse Coopers reports on the matter, while a booklet picked up in Dili just before the independence referendum entitled 10 alasan mengapa menerima otonomi khusus adalah yang terbaik bagi Timor Timur (10 reasons why special autonomy is best for East Timor) gives insights into the reasoning of the pro-Jakarta camp.
A major acquisition from China was the Qianlong Da Zang Jing, a 168 volume facsimile reprint of an edition of the Buddhist Scriptures in Chinese originally published in 1735 and donated to the Library by Ms Vivian Fung of the Queensland-China Council on behalf of a group of Australian and overseas Buddhists. An important addition to the Thai collection was Saranukrom watthanatham Thai, a 48 volume encyclopedia of Thai culture and civilisation published to mark the 72nd Birthday on 5 December 1999 of the King of Thailand.
The Asian Development Bank is a multilateral bank which services the Asia-Pacific Region, and in which Australia has substantial involvement. Although the Library has acquired many publications of the Asian Development Bank, it has only recently joined the Depository Library Program to receive all publications free of charge.
Important purchases for Pacific studies included: volume 1 of the Hawaiian national bibliography covering the years 1780-1900 co-published by University of Hawaii and Hordern House, Sydney; Oceanic art, a comprehensive survey of the arts of Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia; and Revised laws of the Solomon Islands, updating the previous edition published in 1969.
The Library purchased a copy of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa report. The report, published in 5 volumes, provides a lasting record of the hearings that exposed the atrocities of the apartheid era over a 34-year period.
James Watson's The history of the art of printing was donated to the Library under the Cultural Gifts Program. It is a welcome addition to the Rare Books Collection, and fills a gap in the Library's collection of books on the history of printing.
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