National Library of Australia Staff Papers, 2007

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The Pacific collections of the National Library of Australia

Susan Woodburn

Abstract


Over the last century the National Library of Australia has amassed rich and diverse holdings of manuscripts, printed and pictorial material relating to the Pacific. These holdings have derived in large part from the exertions of private collectors like E.A. Petherick, Sir John
Ferguson and Sir Rex Nan Kivell, strongly supplemented by the Library’s initiation or support of copying projects, the donation and purchase of the manuscripts and pictorial material of individuals associated with the Pacific and, particularly in and from the 1990s, active pursuit of Pacific-published material through acquisition arrangements and trips.

In addition to their intrinsic interest, the Pacific collections of the National Library reflect individual specialist research interest in the region, Australia’s formal political, economic and cultural association with the islands and people of the Pacific, and Australian perceptions of and participation in the Pacific region more generally.

This paper surveys the Library’s Pacific holdings and, with particular focus on manuscript collections, discusses what they suggest about these associations, perceptions and interests, and how they have changed over time. It also describes the Library’s participation in recent collaborative research ventures like the South Seas Project and its current focus on improving access to its collections.

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