OUTPUT 1.1—THE COLLECTION
Output Description
A comprehensive collection of Australian library material, and a selection of non-Australian publications supporting the study of Australia and its place in the world, are collected, organised, preserved and stored by the Library for current and future access.

Performance—Outputs

Effectiveness
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Comments on Performance—Effectiveness
Collecting Australian publications was ahead of target with 90 per cent of eligible Australian publications acquired. The targets for percentage of items catalogued were met.
Quality
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Comments on Performance—Quality
The target for the percentage of collection items checked in, catalogued or indexed within standards and timeframes was met.The target for the percentage of the collection maintained within set standards was not met.The Library aims to store all collection materials in suitable environmental conditions. The target of 85 per cent of collection maintained within set standards reflects what can be achieved with the existing airconditioning system. The average performance of 80 per cent fell short of this target due to the unusually dry weather conditions which had a detrimental affect on humidity. During the year the Library developed and began to implement a detailed plan for phased improvements to humidity control that is expected to raise performance once completed
Quantity
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Comments on Performance—Quantity
The targets for storage and maintenance of collection items, and the number of items acquired and/or processed or digitised were exceeded.
Price
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Key Issues and Developments
Developing the Collection
The acquisition of print-based, original and electronic resources was strong throughout the year.
Significant acquisitions of nineteenth and early twentieth century Australian publications included a unique collection documenting the history of boxing from the 1880s to the 1950s; an account of the life and adventures of the Kelly family bushrangers dated 1881, and two early natural history publications including images of Australian animals. These are Zoological Sketches by Joseph Wolf Made for the Zoological Society of London From Animals in Their Vivarium in the Regent’s Park (London: Henry Graves & Co.), published in 1861 and 1867 in two volumes and including 100 hand-coloured and tinted lithograph plates; and the first edition of Zonengemälde: Naturgeschichte und Völkerkunde vollständig in Wort und Bild (Stuttgart: Schmidt & Spring), published in 1846 and including 40 hand-coloured plates.
Notable acquisitions of Australian special format materials included Teutsch Astronomei, a 1545 map which prints the word ‘Australia’ across the southern land mass 250 years before its use by Flinders; a rare Greek map of the Pacific Ocean published by Lazarides, c.1860; personal papers of composer Richard Meale, archaeologist Rhys Jones, historian Dymphna Clark, folklorist Bill Wannan; the diaries of Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson, Governor-General 1915–1920; oral history interviews with Nobel Laureate Professor Rolf Zinkernagel, Indigenous historian Jackie Huggins, dancer David McAllister; field recordings made in Torres Strait by Dr Karl Neuenfeldt and Seaman Dan for their ‘Saltwater songs’ project; a jigsaw puzzle commemorating the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge; self-portrait in charcoal by Hugh Ramsay; an oil portrait of Rosemary Dobson by Kerry McInnis; and cartoons by Alan Moir, John Spooner and Geoff Pryor, donated under the Cultural Gifts Program.
Access to overseas publications was enhanced significantly with the purchase of Eighteenth Century Collections Online which contains reproductions of 150 000 works in all disciplines published in the eighteenth century. The online service allows users to search across the full text of all the works included. In addition, a substantial microfilmed collection of Irish newspapers called Ireland: Politics and Society Through the Press, 1760–1922 was purchased. The Library’s collection is the only complete set held in Australia. Two works of note acquired for the Chinese language collection were a donation of four literary classics transcribed by hand by Shen Hongsheng, a well-known master calligrapher from the Fujian province, and a five-volume anthology of literary works by Chinese–Australian authors published in China which reflects the experiences of the Chinese in Australia.
The number of web publications and sites available through PANDORA: Australia’s Web Archive reached almost 6500 and the number of different instances of sites gathered reached 12 500. The collaborative basis on which PANDORA is built was strengthened with the Australian War Memorial and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies joining the state and territory libraries and ScreenSound Australia, the National Screen and Sound Archive to bring the number of partners to 10. In recognition of the importance of PANDORA in providing on-going access to significant Australian documentary information in digital form, the national web archive was nominated for listing in the Australian Memory of the World Register.
Maintaining the Collection
The Library carries out collection maintenance activities to ensure the collections in its care remain accessible. Significant progress was made during the year with implementing strategies to treat high priority parts of the collection and with assessing future collection maintenance needs. The National Cellulose Acetate Strategy, launched in 2002 with the aim of assisting collecting institutions to ensure continuing access to significant documentary heritage on cellulose acetate film, continued to have an impact. Significant advances were made by some partner libraries in dealing with their cellulose acetate collections and the Library itself also made good progress with appropriate action now taken for nearly all of its identified photographic collections in this form. In addition, the microfilming of important collection material, aimed at preventing irreparable damage through use, continued throughout the year. Major collections microfilmed include the Daisy Bates and Harold S. Williams manuscript collections, and the Ferguson collection of local history pamphlets.
Planning for preservation of the digital collections continued. A major assessment of the risk factors associated with maintaining access to collections in digital form was carried out and will assist with effective management of this data into the future.








