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First Roundtable on Library and Archives Collections and Services of Relevance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

State Library of South Australia, Adelaide, 4 May 1995
Report from State Library of Tasmania

  • Background
  • State Library of Tasmaina
  • TF 2001 Resolutions

Background

At the 1991 Census there were 7,699 Aboriginals and 1,245 Torres Strait Islanders in Tasmania, a total of 8,944, or 1.98% of the population. In the past week, a representative of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders community referred to there being 11,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the State. This increase can be attributed in part to the increased willingness of people of aboriginal descent to acknowledge their aboriginality. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Community is spread fairly evenly across the State, with more concentrated populations in the major cities of Hobart, Launceston, Burnie and Devonport. On the three Furneaux Group islands, Flinders, King and Cape Barren, there is a more visible concentration of people of Aboriginal descent.

Much of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders community in Tasmania is not highly visible, and historically the last Tasmanian Aboriginal was said to have died with the death of Trucanini in 1876. Gradually there has been a shift in official thinking to the point where the existence of a community descended from Tasmanian and other Australian Aboriginals is now acknowledged.

During 1994, the Department of Premier and Cabinet organised a series of cultural awareness programs, attended on a voluntary basis by staff in government agencies, as one step towards improving relations with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders community, and to assist with the development of government policy relating to services to this section of the community. The Manager (Public Library Services) attended one of these sessions.

There are 8 community organisations representative of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, and they are not in accord with each others views.

State Library of Tasmania

There are 42 public branch libraries, 7 city libraries, 2 major reference libraries (including the State Reference Library), 2 special heritage collections and 4 bookmobiles in the State Library Services. Two prisons are also provided with collections of recreation reading. All patrons have access through the Tasmanian Automated library and Information System (TALIS) to all items held in lending and reference collections in Tasmania, and may ask for any item available for loan to be forwarded to them for collection from a designated library or bookmobile service. A range of other information databases, including the Tasmanian Index of Community Organisations (TICO), which includes many Aboriginal groups and organisations, and is a useful source of information on services available to Aboriginal people, are also available on TALIS.

Through this network of service points, supported by TALIS, equal access to services is provided to all the population including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders community. All branches provide lending, and reference and information services, and have regular exchanges of stock, including new titles.

Three of the branch libraries are on Flinders, Cape Barren and King Islands, and in one case the Assistant in Charge is of Aboriginal descent. Cape Barren Island Library is open for only 1 hour weekly, and receives very little use.

The Tasmaniana and W.L. Crowther Libraries, the Launceston Local Studies Collection, and the local history collections of each of the seven city libraries collect documentary heritage materials relating to Aboriginal and whaling history, genealogy and other related subjects. The Mollison genealogies, Tasmanian aborigines and their descendants are held in the Tasmaniana Library, by the State Library of Tasmania does not actively collect archival materials, which are the responsibility of the Archives Office of Tasmania. The Tasmaniana Library has produced a research guide on Aboriginal studies aimed at TCE students and more generally at people with a recreational, genealogical or other interest in the Tasmanian Aborigines.

To date no services have been established specifically to serve the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders community, nor have any approaches been made by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community for any dedicated services. The Cape Barren Island branch library has been maintained despite its low level of use, in the interests of equitable access.

There is no departmental policy to identify specific library positions to which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders applicants should be appointed, and there are no positions within the State Library Service for which such a policy would be appropriate. While there are at least two staff of Aboriginal staff of Aboriginal descent on staff, they applied for and were selected on merit against the selection criteria for their positions, which did not include a criteria relating to their aboriginality. There may be other staff with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders origins, but they have not so advised the department. State Government policy is that there should be no discrimination against employment on the grounds of race.

The strategic plan for the Department of Education and the Arts includes a strategy to facilitate access to standard services for people with special needs. This includes the tasks of consulting with patrons and non-users with special needs. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders community could be regarded as one group with special needs, although these have not yet been identified in consultation with the community.

The Public Library Services operational plan also includes a task to develop guidelines on public library services to the aboriginal community. Only the initial information gathering stage has been commenced.

In addition, a task to revise and document collection development policies will include consideration of the need to collect leaning and reference materials which present Aboriginal people in a positive, non-stereotypical manner, and to review existing collections against this criteria. The exception to this is the Tasmaniana Library which is required to collect all materials which are or have been published about the Tasmanian aborigines, regardless of content or attitude.

The State Library Services is within the division of Culture, The Arts and Youth Affairs, and because of the common interest of the museum, library, archives and arts sectors, a decision has been taken to establish liaison with the Aboriginal community at a divisional rather than branch level. Any policy of guidelines documents would be referred though this channel for consultation. A draft policy statement on library services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Tasmania has been referred to the divisional group.

During 1994, the State Government commenced a major consultation with the aboriginal community on policy issues, and any policy proposals must be cleared with the Government.

The Department of Education and the Arts has a contract with the Department of Social Security to host the Community Information Network in 40 libraries statewide. DSS is to provide terminals, communications links, staff training and a "hep desk". This will provide local access to DSS information in locations where communities are known to be disadvantaged.

Towards Federation 2001 Resolutions

RH1: A draft policy on services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders has been written, interdepartmental discussions will be held to determine appropriate advisory mechanisms.

RH3: The State Library of Tasmania has not identified any holdings relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples which would require negotiation of conditions of access and use. Nevertheless, once the appropriate advisory mechanisms have been identified, this will be reviewed in consultation with the community.


Return to the Aboriginal Roundtable

Bev Ewins, Manager (Public Library Services), 7 April 1995
Last updated 12 June 1998
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