National Library of Australia


State Library of Queenland collection assessment
History & auxiliary sciences

Division Report Comments :

This is one of the largest divisions assessed with 32,302 monographs held in the general collection. This represents 8.14% of the total 397,000 monographs quoted for State Reference Library and Special Collections in the 1995/96 annual report.

Overall the current collection level is at 2b. However, in the category of Australian History, where State Library attempts to collect comprehensively, coverage is at level 3b.

This division overlaps with the Division of Geography and Earth Sciences in the area of Dewey 910-919. In this overlapping area 6987 monographs, that is 22% of the total for the division of History and Auxiliary Sciences, are held in the general collection, with 115 items in Reference, that is, 20% of the total Reference holdings for the division.

In the areas of genealogy (Dewey 920-929) and graphic representations of earth (Dewey 912), the State Library has special collections. These collections have not been included in this assessment. However, these collections significantly enhance the general collection.

The Maps Unit holds a wide range of maps and atlases covering the world and all its regions, but has particular emphasis on Queensland, Australia and certain regions with close links to Australia. The Unit also has an expanding collection of electronic products including material related to desktop mapping and CD-ROM databases which support the research needs of State Library's clients.

The Family History Unit provides material to assist people in conducting family and genealogical research. This includes introductory works on family research, histories of individual families and regions and genealogy research tools including indexes to births, deaths and marriages, convict records, immigration and shipping records, Australian Electoral Rolls, monumental inscriptions, Queensland newspapers, major Australian dailies, and some overseas newspapers, published family and local histories. The collection is particularly strong in material concerning families with origins in the British Isles.

Holdings of the John Oxley Library have not been considered in this assessment. With its focus on Queensland history and its role as Legal Deposit Library has extensive holdings of works published in or relating to Queensland.

Relevant sections of the following major standard bibliographies have been checked against State library's monographic holdings:

Title Total checked SRL Holdings % Held
Australian National Bibliography 1992-1996

Colliers Encyclopedia

Walford's Guide to Reference Books

Reader's Adviser (14th ed.)

The Europeans in Australia: A History (1997)

2886

1502

609

1697

222

741

730

339

838

123

26%

49%

56%

49%

55%

Serials:

There are 424 open and 778 closed serials subscriptions. A range of CD-ROM products augments this collection.

Relevant sections of the following bibliographies have been checked against State Library's holdings:

Title Total checked SRL Holdings % Held
Magazines for Libraries (Katz)

Australian Public Affairs Information Service (APAIS)

History Journals and serials: an analytical guide (1986)

Walford's Guide to current British Periodicals in the humanities and social sciences (1985)

American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature

220

30

112

118


609

30

17

9

10


108

14

56

5

8


18

Last modified: August 18 2004.