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National Initiatives & Collaboration
National Plan for Australian Newspapers (NPLAN)
Much of Australia's history is only recorded in its newspapers, yet many early, small or local papers have not survived in our libraries, or only a handful of issues exist. For example, only four issues of The English and Chinese Advertiser are known to have survived. This fascinating newspaper was printed during the early gold rushes in Ballarat. There might be other unrecorded issues out in the community. Australia's libraries are working to locate newspapers like this that may be missing from their collections. You may have information which could lead to the discovery of some of these papers.
The National Plan for Australian Newspapers aims to give all Australians access to the nation's rich newspaper heritage. It is a cooperative initiative of all seven State Libraries and of the National Library of Australia. The State Library of South Australia, representing the Council of Australian State Libraries, is coordinating the plan in cooperation with the National Initiatives and Collaboration (NIAC) Branch of the National Library.
The goals of the plan are to locate, acquire, preserve, and make accessible all newspapers ever published in Australia. Each State Library is assuming primary responsibility for the newspapers published in that State. We are now seeking the support of other libraries and of the community to locate missing issues of Australian newspapers. A recent survey of State Libraries revealed gaps in at least 164 newspapers printed in Australia. Most gaps date from the 1800s, however, some are as recent as 1956.
State Libraries are giving priority to identifying, locating and collecting missing issues of newspapers. Since newsprint is fragile, these libraries also have in place programs to microfilm newspapers to ensure their content is preserved, and to enable copies to be made without damaging the original. The record of Australia's newspapers on the National Bibliographic Database is surprisingly incomplete. NPLAN aims to catalogue all newspapers onto the Australian Bibliographic Network, thus making access to newspapers available through an integrated online database, widely available nationally. Family and local historians, and other researchers will be able to use the database to locate a wider range of newspaper sources, some hitherto unknown.
A newspaper usually:
A newspaper is a primary source of written information about local, national and/or international current events and public affairs. It can cover any subject or activity and is aimed at general readers.
In many cases newspapers are the only record of daily life in local communities and of certain State and national events. They document the cultural, social and sporting life of their community. They are significant research sources for many historians and writers.
Legislation in each State, Territory and the Commonwealth requires that one copy of any publication (including newspapers) is deposited in the State of origin and the National Library. While 'deposit' legislation has applied for most of this century, heritage collecting of early newspapers by institutions has been a neglected field.
In August 1993 an Adelaide resident visited the State Library of South Australia to donate some family diaries and other memorabilia. Among the old documents there was a single issue of a newspaper called The Eagle, sub-titled Hindmarsh Free Lance Goodwood, Unley and Glenelg Telephone volume 11, number 45. The paper was dated 22 September 1894, and was a weekly costing one penny, consisting of four pages of anonymous gossip and advertisements for local businesses. Evidently it was forgettable in its time for there was no known record of its existence. But this is exactly the sort of treasure NPLAN wants to find. Similarly with The English and Chinese Advertiser of the Ballarat gold rush days. What new and important historical information might be discovered if another issue of this rare newspaper were to be found? Stories such as these could be told in each State! These are some of the newspapers for which State Libraries would like to locate missing issues:
Missing newspapers may be stored in private homes, community organisations, newspaper offices and local authorities. Libraries are especially keen to locate newspapers reflecting Australia's cultural diversity written in English or other languages.
Contact your State Library if you think you know the whereabouts of unrecorded titles or missing issues of newspapers.
Should you have an issue of a newspaper which your State or Territory Library is missing, you may be happy to donate it to the Library's collection, and the library will give you a copy of the original if you wish. Or, if you want to retain your original newspaper, the library would be grateful for the opportunity to make a copy to add to its collection.
For more information about the National Plan for Australian Newspapers, or to discuss newspapers you have, contact your State Libary NPLAN representative (details below) or the NPLAN Convenor:
National Library of Australia
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600
Telephone: +61 (0)2 62621306
Facsimile: +61 (0)2
62571703
Alan Ventress
State Library of New South Wales
Macquarie Street
Sydney
NSW 2000
Telephone: +61 (0)2 92301466
Facsimile: +61 (0)2 92351687
Michael Loos
State Library of the Northern Territory
GPO Box 42
Darwin
NT 0801
Telephone: +61 (0)8 89997297
Facsimile: +61 (0)8 89997284
Colin Sheehan
State Library of Queensland
PO Box 488
Brisbane QLD 4101
Telephone: +61
Facsimile: +61
Sue Lewis
State Library of South Australia
GPO Box 419
Adelaide SA 5001
Telephone:
+61 (0)8 82077339
Facsimile: +61 (0)8 82077351
Mary Anne Temby
State Library of Tasmania
91 Murray Street
Hobart TAS
7000
Telephone: +61 (0)3 62337499
Facsimile: +61 (0)3 62310927
State Library of Victoria
328 Swanston Street
Melbourne
VIC 3000
Telephone: +61 (0)3 97799815
Facsimile: +61 (0)3 96631480
Patricia Allen
Library and Information Service of Western Australia
Alexander Library Building
Perth Cultural Centre
Perth WA 6000
Telephone: +61 (0)9 4273300
Facsimile: +61 (0)9 4273423
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA, Canberra, ACT 2600,
AUSTRALIA, ABN: 28 346 858 075
Telephone + 61 2 6262 1111; Facsimile +61 2
6257 1703; TTY: 1800 026 372