ISSN 1443-0568
No. 35
October 1998
CONTENTS
'Bringing Them Home': project manager appointed
National Library standards activities
Ariel takes off An invitation to the National Librarys
Kinetica presentation
A partner for PANDORA
New APAIS/AMI indexing system
ABN CD*CATyour library catalogue on CD-ROM
Experts on cataloguing
Whats new on the NLA Web site
Digital Imaging for Libraries and Archives
Workshop
Australians at IFLA
Round table meeting agrees on strategies to improve
access to monographs
Australian Libraries Gateway,
Phase 1
Online Australian history sources
Online access to Australias oral history
collections
Move to Library Annexe completed
An Expanded Serial Consolidation Service for
National Library
Update on Reference review
Volunteers reach out to the public
A historical perspective recent
acquisitions of note
Indonesian newspapers
Lindsay family
Patrick
OFarrell and the Irish in Australia
Bali and
Lombok visit a success
Bradman at 90
Digitising rare maps: a trial project
The Big Picture...with Apologies to Tom Roberts
Treasures of the National Library
Arcadian Quest
Australian Joint Copying Projectnew handbook
Jörn Utzon
Paradise
Possessed: The Rex Nan Kivell Exhibition
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'Bringing Them Home': project manager appointed
The Library is delighted to welcome Dr Gwenda Davey AM as the project manager of the pilot oral history project flowing from the report, Bringing Them Home.
Gwenda has had a varied and distinguished career in the fields of education, folklore and oral history. She is joining the National Library from Monash University where she was instrumental in developing, and where she has been the co-ordinator of, the Graduate Diploma of Arts (Australian Folklife Studies) at the National Centre for Australian Studies. She co-edited, with Graham Seal, The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore, served on the Commonwealths inquiry into folklife, and has written widely on the area, notably about childrens folklore and folklore and ethnic groups.
During her time as a lecturer at the Institute of Early Childhood Development she helped to establish Koorie support services for Indigenous students at the college. While at Monash University she worked with the Koorie centres at Gippsland and Clayton campuses.
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She has co-ordinated and managed oral history projects such as the Greek-Australian Oral History and Folklife Project and the Moe Folklife Project and is immensely excited at the prospect of developing the 'Bringing Them Home' pilot oral history project. The pilot project will investigate the feasibility of recording the stories of Indigenous people and others involved in the process of the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. The Library believes that it is vital to achieve a permanent record of this significant part of Australian history. Announced in December 1997, the oral history project received a $1.6 million funding, of which $0.2 million is for the feasibility study. It is expected the entire project will take around four years to complete. Gwenda can be contacted on 02 6262 1141 (telephone); 02 6273 5081 (facsimile); or at gdavey@nla.gov.au |
![]() Manager, 'Bringing Them Home', Dr Gwenda Davey |
National Library standards activities
The library and information community has adopted a range of standards which facilitate the interchange of library data, which promote the inter-operability of library systems, and which support the operation of national and international networks of libraries. Adherence to standards plays an important role in improving access by users to the information resources which are held in library collections, in collections of other cultural institutions, or which are accessible on the World Wide Web.
For many years the National Library has been an active participant in the definition and promotion of national and international standards for the library and information community. The Library has now developed a statement which sets out its current standards activities, and the directions and priorities which it wishes to pursue in the medium-term future.
The first section of the statement deals with catalogue descriptions. The use of common cataloguing standards is of major importance in supporting consistent access to library catalogues by users, and in promoting the international sharing of cataloguing data, which greatly improves the efficiency of the cataloguing process. The statement sets out the Librarys intentions in relation to standards such as the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Library of Congress Subject Headings, MARC, Encoded Archival Description and the Dublin Core metadata set.
The second section deals with a number of underlying data standards which are of major importance in ensuring the interchange of library data. These include character sets, data element standards such as ISO 8459, and full text markup standards. They also include item identifiers such as ISBN, ISSN, Serial Item Contribution Identifier (SICI), Uniform Resource Name (URN) and Digital Object Identifier (DOI).
The statement notes that the Library is interested in the work initiated by the National Library of Finland to commence the process of assigning Uniform Resource Names to online resources, in the context of extending the national bibliography to include these resources. It has joined a working group of national libraries which was formed to develop guidelines and model a demonstrator.
The third section deals with library system interconnection. The development of library networks over the next decade will be based on the interconnection of distributed library systems, and the use of client/server technology. The implementation of certain key technical standards will allow particular applications, such as searching and interlibrary loan, to be managed cooperatively between two computer systems. The key standards discussed here are Z39.50 (including the union catalogue update profile), the international Interlibrary Loan Protocol, and X.500 and other directory service standards.
Work on the Z39.50 standard is a priority activity for the Library, because of the importance of the standard to the development of the open, distributed library network. The Library will continue its high level of involvement in the monitoring of the standard, in its deployment in the Librarys own systems, and in collaborative projects which are based on the standard.
The Library is ensuring that the Kinetica service will provide a search service which supports the Z39.50 standard.
The fourth section deals with preservation standards. The Library looks to standards development to document and reduce the variables needing to be addressed in any preservation effort. Some standards may also define relatively persistent formats and products capable of surviving a number of technology changes. Relevant standards include TIFF (Tag Image File Format), GIF (Graphic Interchange Format), Kodak PhotoCD and other digital imaging standards. Also important are the Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS), and permanent paper standards. The Library is participating in the Research Libraries Groups PRESERV program in relation to a number of preservation standards.
It will be evident from the statement that the National Library has been active in the development and promotion of a large and complex array of standards which promote access to distributed information resources, and which support the inter-working of library systems and services. Other Australian libraries have given strong support for the National Library to exercise a leadership role in standards work. The Library is committed to continued investment in this area, with an emphasis on those standards which have the most impact in supporting the distributed library network, and in supporting the preservation of digital information.
The statement can be found on the Librarys web site at http://www.nla.gov.au/services/standards.html
Since its launch in January 1997, use of the Ariel document transmission software by Australian libraries has grown at an impressive pace. Ariel is now used in over 70 Australian libraries, with a wide variety choosing to take advantage of its many benefits. These libraries include most university libraries, several State libraries, the National Library and over 30 special libraries.
Ariel is an innovative document transmission system which enables libraries to receive or transmit documents to, or from, other libraries anywhere around the world. Ariel provides fast and efficient transfer of the electronic images of documents via Internet email or file transfer (ftp).
It is faster, more reliable and less expensive to use than fax and produces images of greater resolution and quality.
There are two versions of the Ariel software: send/receive and receive/print. In addition you can email documents direct to an end user who has a MIME-compliant email system and a multi-page TIFF viewer.
The National Library of Australia provides marketing and customer support for Ariel in Australia and New Zealand. Further information is available online at http://www.nla.gov.au/ariel or contact the National Library of Australia on email: networks@nla.gov.au
An invitation to the National Librarys Kinetica presentation
During November and December, the National Library of Australia will visit every capital city, as well as a number of regional centres in New South Wales and Queensland, to present information about Kinetica.
Kinetica is the National Librarys new service to support cooperation and resource sharing within the Australian library community.
The presentation will be of most interest to library staff and managers who are responsible for the implementation of Kinetica in their organisation, however everyone with an interest in Kinetica is warmly invited to attend.
The presentation will begin with an introduction to the three Kinetica services:
The presenters will provide information to enable you to plan the implementation of Kinetica in your organisation. There will also be demonstrations of the search and cataloguing services.
Listed below are the dates and venues for the presentations. Refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP at least one week prior to the presentation to:
Kinetica Marketing
Phone: 1800 026 155,
Fax: 02-62731180
Email: market@nla.gov.au
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORYDATE: Monday 16 November NEW SOUTH WALESDATE: Wednesday 18 November DATE: Monday 7 December VICTORIADATE: Thursday 19 November TASMANIADATE: Friday 20 November SOUTH AUSTRALIADATE: Tuesday 24 November WESTERN AUSTRALIADATE: Thursday 26 November QUEENSLANDDATE: Wednesday 9 December DATE: Thursday 10 December A video conference will be conducted from Rockhampton with links to Mackay, Bundaberg and Gladstone. The dates, venue and time appear in italics. DATE: Thursday 10 December DATE: Thursday 10 December DATE: Thursday 10 December DATE: Friday 11 December VENUE: Centra Hotel DATE: Monday 14 December NORTHERN TERRITORYDATE: Friday 11 December |
PANDORA (Preserving and Accessing Networked Documentary Resources of Australia) is a digital archive dedicated to the preservation of, and long term access to, Australian online publications of national significance. Since the projects inception in 1996, the Australian Electronic Unit at the National Library of Australia has been responsible for the selection, archiving, cataloguing and maintenance of titles in the archive. Earlier this year however the State Library of Victoria agreed to become the first partner in the PANDORA Project. The State Library of Victoria will be responsible for Victorian online publications at the State and local level, while the National Library will retain responsibility for publications with a national focus.
During the first week of August 1998, Ian Morrison and Debbie Pitman from the State Library spent a week in Canberra at the National Library learning the procedures and tasks involved in archiving Internet publications. They were trained by members of the Electronic Unit in tasks ranging from selection, cataloguing and publisher liaison to archiving, comparison of original and archived versions and the creation of PURLs (Persistent Uniform Resource Locators). They also spent some time with Information Technology staff who gave them an introduction to the more technical side of PANDORA.
The two Victorian Cybrarians were surprised at the amount of work involved in some of the tasks but were looking forward to challenging times ahead. During the training week a good rapport was established between the staff from the two libraries and regular contact has already been established. Continued liaison and sharing of experiences will be an important feature of the partnership over the coming years.
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Photo: National Library Electronic Unit staff members with the visiting Victorian librarians, from left are: Amy Bartlett, Debbie Pitman, Ian Morrison, Paul Koerbin, Anne Daniels, Maxine Fisher |
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ABN CD*CATyour library catalogue on CD-ROM
The Australian Bibliographic Network is pleased to introduce ABN CD*CAT. Now you can order your library catalogue on CD-ROM directly from ABN.
ABN CD*CAT is produced for ABN by RMIT Publishing and uses Silverplatters renowned SPIRS software.
ABN CD*CAT gives your library the advantages of ABNs experience in building and sharing bibliographic data and RMIT Publishings extensive track record in CD-ROM publishing.
Silverplatters SPIRS software is used in hundreds of libraries to provide access to a wide range of databases. It is easy to install and to use. The SPIRS point and click interface features sophisticated search and retrieval capabilities including:
If you currently access other databases using SPIRS, you will now have the option of searching all of these and your ABN CD*CAT with a single search.
ABN CD*CAT may be used on Windows, DOS, Macintosh or UNIX platforms as well as through the Web. It will run on a stand-alone machine or on a network.
There are a number of flexible options for selecting records for inclusion in your ABN CD*CAT, making it ideal as:
All that is necessary is for the holdings to be on ABN.
ABN CD*CAT charges are:
Record extraction charge: $0.04 a record
Production charge:
1st run: $7,200.00, plus $20.00 for each
additional copy
2nd run: $4,400.00, plus $20.00 for each additional
copy
An order form is available at www.nla.gov.au/abn/cdorder or you can telephone the ABN Help Desk on 1800 026 155.
APAIS and the Australian Medical Index (AMI) databases are two of Australias most heavily used online databases, and APAIS has appeared in print format regularly for over 50 years. In recent months APAIS reached a milestone of a quarter-of-a-million records online. During 1998, the software used to produce these products is being replacedto overcome known Year 2000 compliance problems, and to provide additional flexibility and efficiency.
The product selected for future indexing support is InMagics DB/Textworks, which is being supplied by Triad Data Magic in Melbourne. A network version within the Library will serve the needs of the APAIS and AMI staff, and hold the master copy of the database. Each indexer will be supplied with a standalone copy of the software plus all authority files and the database itself, and will submit data updates on diskette or by ftp.
The changeover is planned for October. The software has been installed at the Library, and full copies of each database are undergoing conversion to the new data format.
The ability to accept data files from the contract indexers will eliminate the need for handwritten worksheets for each article, and will speed up the processing of data. Flexible data output formats will allow for the appearance of the printed APAIS to improve. Users should see these changes appear within a few months.
A source of frustration in the past has been an inability to correct old typographical errors in APAIS. No corrections have been possible once the data passed to the Ozline APAIS file. The lists of errors accumulated over the years can now be dusted off and the typos and other inaccuracies rectified. For AMI, it means we can move beyond the 1993 MeSH file, which has been our headings authority.
A large backlog of headings updates will be worked on over the next few months.
Users of the data will notice that dates in the converted files have been changed to ensure they will function in the new century. It means that in cases where dates included a year-month component in the form YYMM, this will now become YYYYMM.
Additional fields will be added to some records.
In the case of APAIS, although newer records already have ISSN/ISBN and URL fields where appropriate, these will be progressively added to older records. For AMI, URLs will be added where appropriate, and records missing an ISSN will have this added. ISBNs will also be included in a new field, where appropriate, in AMI.
The providers of indexing services to the Library for the next two years for AMI and APAIS will be Craig Rendell (AMI) and Informed Sources Pty Ltd (APAIS), under new contracts which will incorporate both indexing and data entry.
The Expert Advisory Group on Cataloguing Workflows was formed by the National Library to provide advice in four key areas for Kinetica.
Unlike ABN, online cataloguing in Kinetica is perfomed in real-time. A consequent difference is that records do not need to be sent to ABN for review before being added to the database. Another difference is that cataloguing may be contributed via ftp in batches. The group is discussing how users can ask questions, and how advice and feedback will be provided.
Kinetica has a field which can be used to identify what stage a record has reached in the cataloguing process. For example, the data in the field could indicate that the cataloguing record is still under construction. The group is providing advice on how many levels should be used in this field and what they will represent.
Some Standards Committee decisions may not apply with Kinetica, and others may need to be changed or removed. One change the group is considering is to the minimum record standard.
Customers will benefit from the groups advice on ways to incorporate the features of Kinetica into cataloguing work.
There has been lively discussion on these topics via email and at telephone conferences. The work of the group will be finished before Kinetica commences, and the results will be sent to the Kinetica-L discussion list.
The members of the group are:
Rosemary Dearman, CAVAL
Pam Garfoot, Australian Institute of
Criminology
Patricia Scott, University of Adelaide
Susanne Moir, State
Library of New South Wales
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Whats new on the NLA Web site Manuscript Collection Guides Robyn Archer (update) Vince Gair National Library policy and planning documents The 1998/99 Charging Schedule for ABN/Ozline products and
services. Developing national collections of electronic publications:
issues to be considered and recommendations for future collaborative
actions. Survey of the Librarys Australian Electronic Journals
Meetings Agenda papers and draft minutes for the Kinetica/ABN Annual Users
Meeting, 2223 July 1998 National Round Table on Access to Overseas Monographs through
Australian Libraries, 28 August 1998, Canberra Resource guides Conspectus report on the computer science collections of the
University of Melbourne Library. Conspectus report on the engineering and technology collections of
the University of Melbourne Library. Guide to Australian censuses, musters and population counts in the
Library has been updated. The List of Australian Political Parties and Organisations has
been updated in time for the Federal election. The Australian Local Governments page has been revised. Training Digital Imaging for Libraries and Archives Workshopa seminar
sponsored by AIMA, the National Library of Australia and the Research Libraries
GroupDecember 1998 |
Digital Imaging for Libraries and Archives Workshop
A seminar sponsored by AIMA, the National Library of Australia and the Research Libraries Group
AIMA, in cooperation with the National Library of Australia and the Research Libraries Group (RLG), is pleased to bring to Australia the Digital Imaging for Libraries and Archives Workshops in December 1998.
The National Library sees this workshop as a valuable opportunity for Australian institutions to improve the management of the digitisation process, which is of such importance in facilitating access to information resources
The two and a half day workshops are designed to assist librarians, archivists, curators, and preservation administrators in managing digital imaging projects. Through lectures, demonstrations, and group exercises, participants will learn to:
The curriculum was developed for RLG through a contract with Cornell Universitys Department of Preservation and Conservation.
Anne Kenney, Associate Director of the Department of Preservation and Conservation, Cornell University, will be presenter at the two workshops being offered in Australia.
Anne has managed and co-managed many of Cornells digital imaging projects and is the past president of the Society of American Archivists. She has served on the Committee on Image Technology of the International Council on Archives and is the co-author of Digital Imaging for Libraries and Archives (Cornell University Library 1996).
Each workshop will combine the practical with the theoretical. Participants will be introduced to the vocabulary and concepts of digital technology, the components of imaging systems and their attendant costs, and factors affecting quality and throughput. Through lectures, an extensive training notebook and group exercises, participants will develop the means to select collections for digitisation and benchmark requirements for conversion and access.
Anticipated dates for the workshops are Canberra 24 December and either Sydney or Melbourne on 79 December 1998, depending on demand. Approximate cost is $800 to $900 per person.
Preliminary expressions of interest in the workshop are welcome at any time. Please phone AIMA on (02 6262 1223),
email: aima@nla.gov.au . We can then keep you posted as details are confirmed.
The 64th General Conference of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), the world body of librarianship, was held in Amsterdam from 1621 August 1998. There were over 40 Australian delegates at the Conference, with Australians now having a growing profile in IFLA. Several staff from the National Library attended: Mr Warren Horton, Director-General; Ms Jan Fullerton, Deputy Director-General; Ms Amelia McKenzie, Manager Information Services and Mr Cliff Law, Director National Initiatives and Collaboration Branch.
Australias presence in IFLA affairs is growing steadily . Historically, Australian participation in IFLA had been relatively limited for a number of reasons, amongst them being the high cost of travel to attend meetings and conferences. Over the last decade, however, several Australian librarians have been prominent on standing committees or have become corresponding members of a number of IFLAs professional groups.
Mr Horton was a member of IFLAs Executive and Professional Boards from 1991 to 1997, and IFLAs Treasurer from 1993 to 1997 and now remains an influential presence in the IFLA organisation. After he vacated all offices in the Federation at the Copenhagen conference, he was asked to chair the Working Group on the Revision of the Federations Statutes and Rules of Procedure. This group met throughout the conference week, and Mr Horton is now writing a major report embodying its deliberations.
The Executive and Professional Boards decided in Amsterdam to hold a special joint meeting in The Hague on Tuesday 1 December, chaired by Mr Horton, to debate this report. Virginia Walsh, ALIAs Executive Director, was elected to the Executive Committee of the Round Table for the Management of Library Associations in 1997. Amelia McKenzie chairs the Regional Section for Asia/Oceania, and this year has also been leading a review of IFLAs regional activities. Mr Alex Byrne of the Northern Territory University Library chairs the Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression, a new committee established by IFLA last year and with a secretariat in Copenhagen. Alex also chairs the University Libraries Section. Annabelle Herd, the Australian Council of Library and Information Services (ACLIS)s Copyright Research Officer, is a member of IFLAs Committee on Copyright and other Legal Matters, also established last year. Other Australians active on standing committees include long-standing IFLA contributor Maxine Rochester, Nick Bannenberg, Rob Brian, Judith Greenaway and Robert Pestell. Margaret Shaw of the National Gallery Library has ascended to the rarefied level of Special Advisor to the Art Libraries Section, having served her maximum term as a committee member.
The Amsterdam conference attracted 3,328 delegates from 120 countries and as usual presented a varied programme of professional, trade and social events. The theme, On the Crossroads of Information and Culture was interpreted in a variety of ways (as IFLA Conference themes often are) in a wide-ranging series of papers, workshops and poster sessions.
IFLAs workshop sessions, being smaller and less formal than the sections open sessions, are often a platform for presenting current information and developments on topical issues, and as such they are an interesting mirror of international professional concerns.
The National Library delegates report that the most popular workshops this year were the Acquisitions and Collection Development Sections workshop on New Collections: New Marketplace Relationships (on library purchasing consortia), and the National Libraries Sections workshop on the legal deposit of electronic materials. Ms Jan Fullerton presented a paper at the latter workshop on National Library initiatives. Australias work on digital library developments, particularly the PANDORA Project, continues to elicit strong interest from international colleagues with the same concerns, and the Library has established close working relationships with several overseas institutions.
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While in Amsterdam, many delegates took advantage of the opportunity to visit libraries in that city, the Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht and even Flanders, in Belgium. As part of its 200th anniversary celebrations the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the national library of the Netherlands, opened a fascinating exhibition celebrating and displaying the riches of its collections titled Het Wonderbaarlijk Alfabet [The Wonderful Alphabet] in De Nieuwe Kirk in The Dam. This was an opportunity to see many of the treasures in the KBs collection, including the 17th-century Blaeu atlases, a Ptolemy map, illuminated Books of Hours, mediaeval manuscripts from the OrangeNassau collection and some of the oldest printed books, such as a lively 1470 Biblia Pauperum. |
| At the 64th IFLA General Conference: (l to r) Olga Fedotora, Chutima Sacchanand, Amelia McKenzie, Tassana Hanpol, Pradeepa Wijetunge |
The annual meeting of the Conference of Directors of National Libraries was held in the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, The Dam, Amsterdam on Wednesday, 19 August.
Mr Horton reports that there were about 75 delegates at the meeting, including some from recently-emerged Eastern European republics. Debate at the meeting was largely about worldwide electronic, copyright and bibliographic issues, with the delegates from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and a few European countries contributing most of the discussion. The National Library of Australias leadership in world digital developments was gratifyingly recognised during the debates, said Mr Horton.
Amelia McKenzie of the Librarys staff attended the conference to chair meetings of IFLAs Section on Regional Activities: Asia and Oceania. Seven members of the committee were present, an unusually good attendance given the high cost for developing country librarians of attending conferences. Items discussed included the content of a planned 1999 workshop on library association development, to be held in Bangkok; proposed projects in Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Fiji, and strategies for encouraging nominations to the committee in 1999. The committees new member from Novosibirsk, Siberia ,was welcomed to her first meeting.
During the conference week Ms McKenzie chaired the Asia/Oceania Sections open session, where colleagues from Sri Lanka, Thailand and Siberia spoke on recent developments in libraries and library education in their countries.
Our Thai colleagues are now fully occupied with planning for the 1999 conference in Bangkok, and there was a large contingent of Thai librarians in Amsterdam observing the administrative procedures required to run a conference of this size. The Bangkok conference will be held from 2228 August 1999 at the new Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre in south-east Bangkok. (Hotels have been chosen which link easily to the expressway to the conference centre, with the conference shuttle bus ride promised as no more than 30 minutes).
There will be an official pre-conference satellite meeting on the preservation of oral cultures. The programme was developed from an idea by Dr Jan Lyall of the National Librarys staff and has attracted an unusual amount of interest from the international profession, as it is a subject with relevance to most cultures, whether print-based or not. Details of the programme will be publicised as they become available. The meeting will be held in the north-east of Thailand and will run for three days immediately prior to the main conference.
There will, as usual, be a meeting of the Conference of Directors of National Libraries, and the National Library hopes to encourage attendance from the CDNLAO (Asia and Oceania) members who normally do not get the opportunity to attend the main CDNL meeting.
Further information on IFLA can be found on its web site at http://www.ifla.org
Round table meeting agrees on strategies to improve access to monographs
Librarians, researchers and scholars met in Canberra at the end of August to discuss ways of improving access to monographs published overseas. In opening the round table meeting, Warren Horton encouraged the 30 invited delegates to define the nature and extent of the problem of access to overseas monographs in various disciplines, and to suggest ways that access could be improved.
Scholars and researchers at the round table expressed concern that printed books are becoming less accessible as libraries reduce their traditional collecting activities. However there was also a recognition that the Internet provided opportunities for users to more easily identify and obtain access to monographs from both Australian and overseas libraries. Speakers from the Australian Academies (Humanities, Sciences, Social Sciences, and Technological Sciences and Engineering) gave an overview of the importance and availability of access to monographs in their disciplines. The presentations indicated that monographs are of greater significance for humanities and social science researchers and that foreign language monographs are more difficult to locate in Australian libraries than English language titles. It was clear from the presentations that the use of the monograph format for both publication and research varied considerably across the different research disciplines.
There was consensus that librarians and users need to work together to develop a whole-of-nation approach to collecting to ensure that nationally significant research collections are developed and maintained. In order to avoid the development of duplicate collections it was suggested that a more rational approach to collecting should be developed by Australian libraries. A number of speakers also suggested that the provision of research library services should be more closely aligned with Australias research priorities rather than being shaped only by the number of student enrolments in particular subjects.
A key theme of the meeting was the need to develop a strong focus on the availability of library materials through the Australian library system as a whole, rather than only at the individual library level. To achieve this focus, it was agreed that the performance of the interlibrary loan system should be improved so that it is both more accessible and predictable.
The academics who were present at the round table gave their strong support for the goal of improving the focus of monograph collection specialisation in Australian research libraries. It was suggested that the Heads of Schools for particular disciplines, who often meet regularly to discuss issues of common concern, could be involved in this process.
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The round table agreed on a number of recommendations including that the National Library convene an Australian Library Collections Task Force to carry forward the recommendations and issues raised at the meeting.
The task force will consist of representatives from the National Academies Forum, the Council of Australian University Librarians, the Council of Australian State Librarians, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, and the National Library of Australia.
The task force has been asked to provide a progress report on implementing the recommendations by the end of February 1999.
The round table meeting was jointly organised by the National Academies Forum, the National Library of Australia and the Council of Australian University Librarians.
The papers from the meeting, list of participants, and the meeting minutes and recommendations are available from the National Library Web site at the following URL: http://www.nla.gov.au/niac/meetings/rtable.html
Australian Libraries Gateway, Phase 1
Phase 1 of the Australian Libraries Gateway (ALG) is due for completion in late Octoberkeep your eye on the Whats News pages at http://www.nla.gov.au/libraries/. This Web-based directory service improves access to information about Australias libraries and the enhancements which have been made to the prototype service (available since April this year), based on library and end-user feedback.
One of the key improvements to the gateway is the development of a subject approach to searching Australian libraries and their collections. This enhancement will enable users to satisfy such questions as which libraries in Queensland have strong collections in soil science? The National Library is investigating the subject assessment data from 44 libraries which contribute to the Australian Conspectus Database (http://www.nla.gov.au/niac/conspectus/).
In taking the subject approach the Library has been sensitive to the fact a number of different classification systems are in use (for example, Dewey Decimal, Library of Congress, and Moys) and to the fact that the level of detail provided in Conspectus reports is often too complex to be useful without some consolidation.
To ensure that users of the gateway can conduct simple subject searches, detailed Conspectus data has been mapped to about 250 subject categories, grouped into 24 major subject divisions.
Online update forms, which are password-protected, enable individual libraries to update their details and those without Internet access can simply contact ALG Administration. Online help will be provided to assist libraries assign subject information about their collection and will include a summary of the classification ranges and details of how they have been mapped into the ALG schema.
The National Library plans to evaluate the Australian Libraries Gateway subject approach and a consultative group will be appointed to provide feedback. It will also provide feedback on the value of this service as an alternative to the Conspectus database currently maintained by the Library.
Contact: Australian Libraries Gateway (ALG)
National Library of
Australia
Canberra ACT 2600
Telephone: (02) 62621137
Facsimile:
(02) 62734535
email: alg@nla.gov.au
URL:
http://www.nla.gov.au/libraries/
Online Australian history sources
As part of its ongoing project to list Australian Internet resources the Information Services Section at the National Library has just released an updated version of its Internet subject guide, Australian History on the Internet. This can be found on the NLA site at http://www.nla.gov.au/oz/histsite.html
Since the earlier version was produced last year a greater number of sites of use to Australian history researchers have become available on the Internet. Amongst other types of information available, these sites provide access to library and research collections both in Australian and overseas, information about collections, advise about developments in institutions and give advance warning of upcoming conferences. Although most sites listed have been produced by institutions both in Australia and overseas, some others have been developed by enthusiasts with a passion for their topic. Whoever the producer of the site, all have been evaluated against a set of criteria to ensure their quality and relevance for research. These criteria can be found at http://www.nla.gov.au/oz/sites.html
Some sites to look at include:
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Online access to Australias oral history collections A new Internet directory serviceAustralias Oral History Collections: A National Directory, will soon be made available via the Australian Libraries Gateway. This service will simplify the search of tens of thousands of hours of oral recordings documenting Australian life, customs, politics and traditions. The Web-based version of a printed directory will provide users with details of almost 500 oral history collections held around the country, including the number and type of recordings held as well as contact information for each collection. Users will be able to search the database by collection name or holding institution, subject, regional area covered by the oral history recordings, as well as select dates (eg date of recording and life dates of interviewees). The published Directory (National Library of Australia, 1997) came out of the Towards Federation 2001 process, and was a first attempt to provide a comprehensive view of oral history collections in Australia. Australias Oral History Collections: A National Directory is currently being converted to a Web-based service and will be available in late October. As with the Australian Libraries Gateway, organisations with oral history collections will be able to report and update their details remotely. There are sure to be other collections to be included and we look forward to hearing about and including them in the service. Contact: Dianne Dahlitz, |
Move to Library Annexe completed
The National Library has recently completed the transfer of its
1980989 overseas serials collection to its recently built annexe at Hume,
A.C.T. Plans for the move were reported in the February 1998 issue of
Gateways.
Almost 30 shelf kms of material were transferred to the Annexe. A small number of Stack Services and Document Supply Services staff are now working full time at the Annexe retrieving, copying and scanning requested material from the Librarys two offsite warehouses. A courier service also runs throughout each day delivering requested material to the Librarys reading rooms.
Photo: A view of some of the shelves at the new Annexe with one of the hydraulic stockpickers in the distance
An Expanded Serial Consolidation Service for National Library
The National Library of Australia has used serial consolidation services for the supply of a limited number of serial titles since 1992. In that time the range of services being offered by an increasing number of vendors has expanded. As well, the number of serial titles being purchased by the Library has now stabilised.
We have already achieved benefits as a result of our use to date of consolidation services and we anticipate further improvements in the following areas:
The NLA is seeking to expand its use of serial consolidation services for a larger proportion of the purchased serial collection to approximately 90% of 2454 titles. Although we will be reducing the number of major vendors from over 20 to three or four, we will continue with some existing arrangements.
The Librarys requirements for consolidation services will be detailed within a formal 'Request For Tender' document to be released soon. The 'RFT' will be sent to library suppliers who currently offer consolidation services, for their consideration and quotation on estimated costs. It will also be made available via Transigo, which is an online Commonwealth Government tendering partnership with Telstra.
We intend to review the quotations and comments and choose successful vendors early in 1999 so we can implement services during 1999 for mid-year renewals and for the year 2000 renewals.
If you require further details on the National Librarys existing arrangements and future intentions, please contact:
Stephen Lacey
Manager, Serial Orders
National Library of
Australia
CANBERRA ACT 2600
AUSTRALIA. Tel:+61(02) 62621321
Fax:+61
(02) 62734322
email: slacey@nla.gov.au
The Reference Service Review Committee, chaired by Professor Mairéad Browne, was commissioned by the Director-General earlier this year to evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of the National Librarys Reference Services as they currently work and to assess the Reference Services preparedness for the next decade.
The review committee issued a public call for submissions in May which resulted in contributions from 19 interested individuals or groups on many aspects of the reference service. Library staff will respond separately to people or groups raising particular issues.
Advice is also being taken from a range of experts on many matters that will directly or indirectly impact on end users of the reference services, e.g. on Kinetica, the NLAs collecting policies, the Distributed National Collection, a range of commercially available electronic services and document delivery trends.
The committee has also commissioned two consultancies to supplement its work. The first is for a research paper on trends in the funding and direction of research in Australia with implications for the National Librarys reference services. The second is for a major survey of the users of the reference services, including those contacting the Library by telephone, fax and email, to assess their satisfaction with the service received and to ask questions about their anticipated future needs. This survey will be conducted during late September and early October.
During November the committee will synthesise the data and materials from all these sources and draft its report. Professor Browne expects to deliver a final report to the Director-General in mid-December 1998.
For further information about the review see http://www.nla.gov.au/refreview/. To contact the committee phone Susan Carey 02/6262 1674 or email scarey@nla.gov.au.
Volunteers reach out to the public
In April 1998 resources became available for the development of the Librarys first Volunteer Guide Program. The aim was to have the guide program operational by the beginning of August to coincide with the opening of the exhibition Paradise Possessed: The Rex Nan Kivell Collection.
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Volunteer guides on graduation day, 7 August 1998, with Dr Jan Lyall, Assistant Director-General Cultural and Educational Services, Morgyn Phillips, Acting Director of Public Outreach and Gillian Gregory, Volunteer Manager |
An information night about the program was held in early June. The evening was very successful, with over 70 people attending. In the following week, 60 applications were received by people fired up at the prospect of becoming guides for the National Library.
Eighteen volunteers, from diverse backgrounds and ranging in age from young students to retired people in their early fifties and sixties, were selected. The enthusiastic volunteers commenced a comprehensive training program, held over seven consecutive Fridays from 26 June.
The main components of the training program included information sessions about the National Library, including volunteering, and sessions on public speaking and interpreting works of art. The volunteers especially enjoyed weekly talks by the exhibition curator about Paradise Possessed. The training also included weekly practical sessions during which the volunteers gave talks and received feedback.
The aim of the Volunteer Guide Program is to increase access to the Librarys collections through interaction with the public in the Exhibition Gallery and Visitor Centre. It also aims to equip volunteers with the skills to inform the visiting public about the National Librarys collections and services with the hope of increasing public awareness about the role of the National Library.
The volunteer guides offer a service to visitors that the National Library would otherwise be unable to provide. Acting Director of Exhibitions, Richard Stone, says: The volunteerswho have been well prepared and are extremely knowledgeable on the exhibitionenhance the publics appreciation of that exhibition. They provide a human face to the visitors experience in the Librarys gallery.
Feedback from the visitor comment book in the Exhibition Gallery substantiates that the volunteer guides have achieved the goals of this new program. Visitors congratulated the guides on their informative and interesting talks about the exhibition and the National Library, their warm welcome, and their enthusiasm and obvious joy in communicating the story of this exhibition.
According to Volunteer Guide, Allan Rice, there is no doubt that the public are grateful for our presence, responding warmly to the opportunity to ask questions; and they feel personally welcomed in a way that seems to be unusual in our national institutions. Guiding is tremendous funits a great pleasure and privilege to be able to welcome members of the public to the gallery and increase their pleasure and understanding of the exhibition. For me, this is the ideal way to spend my retirement.
The volunteer guides are looking forward to further training and to continuing their role as ambassadors of the National Library. Future projects include assisting visitors with general enquiries about the Library and guiding visitors through the next exhibition, Birds!, which will open in March 1999.
For further information, please contact the Volunteer Manager, Gillian Gregory, on tel: 02 6262 1207, or email: ggregory@nla.gov.au.
A historical perspectiverecent acquisitions of note
One of the National Librarys most impressive collections is the Coedes Collection on French Indochina. Using money from its acquisition trust fund, the National Library has recently acquired a small number of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century works which are contemporary with, and complement items in the Coedes Collection.
Among the items is Jean Delacours Les oiseaux de lIndochine (4 vol), published in Paris in 1931 and the fruit of five expeditions to the region made by the author over an eight-year period. The work is the first of its kind on the birds of Indochina, and is beautifully illustrated.
Other works include accounts of Annam and its inhabitants by the French traveller and explorer Jules Leon Dutreuil de Rhins, and by Jules Silvestre.
Two contemporary travellers accounts are provided by Henri Philippe Marie, Prince dOrleans and Ferdinand Francois Phillippe Marie, Duc de Montpensier. The latter travelled from Saigon to Angkor Wat by automobile in 1910, a journey which must have been a first for motoring in this part of the world.
Research relating to Australia has also been enhanced by two recent acquisitions. A very rare 1800 edition of Jacques Julien Houten de Labillardières Relation du voyage à la recherche de la Perouse, fait par ordre du gouvernement francaise pendent les anees 1791, 92, 93 et 94 , printed in London in two volumes and including a separate atlas of striking plates, is a valuable addition to the Librarys collection of voyages and descriptions of this part of the Pacific. Labillardière was the naturalist on the dEntrecasteaux expedition that vainly searched for La Perouse. Of particular interest are the descriptions of Tasmania. The atlas contains a map of the region, including New Holland, and engravings of the inhabitants of the South Pacific as well as detailed illustrations of botanical specimens.
The mysterious Terra Australis, the unknown south land, is drawn as the ancient geographer Pomponius Mela imagined it as part of a map of the known world in a 1722 edition of Melas two volume work De situ orbis libri III which the Library recently acquired. The early notion of a fifth continent was influential on early explorations to prove that an undiscovered south continent existed. It was believed that there had to be undiscovered land masses in the southern part of the hemisphere to balance those of the northern half.
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Indonesian newspapers The National Library of Australias Regional Officer based in Jakarta has recently reviewed the Indonesian newspapers acquired for the National Library as part of its Indonesian Acquisitions Program. The Library is now seeking comment on the recommendations of this review from Australian libraries and academics who have an interest in this matter. If you would like to receive a copy of the six-page review, please contact the Regional Officer, Oliver Mann at: omann@indo.net.id and provide him with your postal address. Please send comments on the review to Marie Sexton, Principal Librarian, Asian Collections, National Library, Canberra at msexton@nla.gov.au |
Peter Lindsay, one of the librarys most distinguished donors, died in Sydney in August at the age of 90. In 1976, he gave the library about 800 etchings and woodcuts by his father, the famous Australian artist Sir Lionel Lindsay (1874-1961). He is pictured here at the presentation with Dr George Chandler (left), the then Director-General and Ms Margaret Murphy, Pictorial Librarian. The collection is a complete record of his fathers printmaking, including prints and proofs in various stages of completion. They are of particular value to people studying the printmaking process.
Peter Lindsay also gave the library a collection of his
fathers photographic negatives and prints.
He later donated papers relating to his father, including correspondence, notebooks, articles about the Lindsays, press cuttings and printed items.
In 1979, the library acquired some letters and other items from Peter Lindsays own collection. Many of these concerned his great-grandfather, Reverend Thomas Williams, a Wesleyan missionary.
Williams served in the Pacific Islands from 1840 to the early 1850s and then went on to practise in several circuits of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Victoria.
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Sir Lionel Lindsay, 18741961 |
Sir Lionel Lindsay, 18741961 |
Patrick OFarrell and the Irish in Australia
The Library has recently purchased a substantial collection of pamphlets, printed ephemera, manuscripts and personal papers assembled over many years by Patrick OFarrell. It constitutes a formidable body of source material on the Irish in Australia, the Catholic Church in Australia and related subjects.
Patrick OFarrell recently retired as Professor of History at
the University of New South Wales, where he worked for almost 40 years. His
early research interests had been in the field of labour history, but from the
1960s onwards most of his research concentrated on Ireland and the Irish and
the Catholic Church and Catholics in Australia. Among his many books are The
Catholic Church in Australia: A Short History 17881967 (1968),
Irelands English Question (1971), England and Ireland since
1800 (1975), The Catholic Church and Community in Australia (1977),
Letters from Irish Australia 18251929 (1984) and Vanished
Kingdoms: Irish in Australia and New Zealand (1990). For many years he
edited the Journal of Religious History and the Australasian Catholic
Record.
Professor OFarrell has had a long association with the Library and on several occasions has assisted it to acquire rare IrishAustralian printed items, as well as some of his own papers. The collection just acquired filled 32 cartons. Among the printed items were about 50 large files of newspaper cuttings on Irish affairs, taken from both Irish and Australian newspapers, the bulk of them dating from 1886 to 1925. There are two very long sequences of pamphlets, one of Irish imprints, the other of Australian, extending from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. The majority were not held by the Library. They included good runs of reports of the Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society (190328) and the St Patricks Day pastoral letters of the Archbishop of Sydney (18961932). There are also many copies of articles, conference papers and theses on Australian and Irish history.
Patrick OFarrell has been not only a great collector of printed works, but also of manuscript material. He has acquired substantial sets of copies from archives, such as transcripts of hundreds of letters of Irish emigrants to Australia that are held in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. He has also acquired original papers from Irish Australians, most notably Albert Dryer (18881963), a Sydney bookseller who was active in numerous Irish organisations and who corresponded with Irish nationalists. These archives within the archives include papers of Archbishop Michael Kelly and the poet priest Patrick Hartigan (author of Around the Boree Log and Other Verse) and minutes, correspondence and records of the Irish National Association of Australia and the Australian League for an Undivided Ireland.
Finally, Patrick OFarrells own papers include drafts of several of his books, articles and book reviews, reference files, correspondence with academics and students, and his files on many of the journals, conferences, and associations with which he has been involved since the 1960s. There will always be great research interest in the Irish in Australia and the OFarrell Collection is one of the finest sources on the subject.
Bali and Lombok visit a success
Oliver Mann, the National Librarys Regional Officer based in Jakarta, made a representational and acquisitions visit to Bali and Lombok in July. These two provinces were selected because it was seven years since the Library had visited there, and they are two areas which have been relatively unaffected by the recent economic and political troubles that have beset Indonesia.
Oliver was afforded a very warm welcome on each of his visits to government institutions, and quickly sensed that such courtesy calls by a representative of an Australian national institution are highly regarded in the provinces. On one such visit Oliver discovered a variation of his name on a whiteboard entry for visitors that day: Mr. Oli Verman!
The National Library of Indonesia has a branch (perpustakaan daerah) in each of the 27 provinces of Indonesia. They fulfill both reference and lending functions, and provide mobile services to outlying areas. Oliver made calls to the perpustakaan daerah in Denpasar (Bali) and Mataram (Lombok). In both locations he acquired current and previous issues of the annual provincial bibliographies published by the perpustakaan daerah, along with other local publications from government departments.
Oliver visited the government universities in both cities (Universitas Udayana in Bali, and Universitas Mataram in Lombok). At both institutions, current issues of their annual research bibliographies were acquired, and at Universitas Mataram current and back issues of their social science research journal, Piramida, which examines issues relevant to Lombok and the neighboring island of Sumbawa. At Udayana Oliver was able to offer some advice on efforts to have the University Librarys Balinese bibliography produced in CD-ROM format.
In Denpasar a visit was made to the Bali branch of the Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasathe government institution devoted to the study, research and development of Indonesian language, linguistics and literature. As with the parent body in Jakarta, this branch, set in picturesque surroundings of irrigated rice fields (sawah) on the outskirts of Denpasar, is a prolific publisher and generous donor. It also has an interesting historical collection of lontar palm leaf books. Many monograph titles were acquired, and issues of two new linguistic journals, Aksara and Nuansa.
Every acquisitions trip has its disappointmentson this occasion, in Bali, very little material was obtained from the museum and the fine arts institute. Conversely, a very fruitful contact was made with a staff member at the museum in Mataram. He provided the Library with a wide range of publications on the culture of Lombok, and the museums journal, Buletin Museum NTB.
Apart from government institutions Oliver scoured the main bookshops in Denpasar and Mataram (about 12 shops in all) and the principal art galleries in Ubud, Bali. Commercial publishing with a Balinese cultural and religious focus is quite well developed, much more so than is the case in Lombok. Indeed, there are distinct cultural, religious and economic contrasts between the two islands even though they are only 100km apart.
During the visit to Bali and Lombok, over 100 titles were acquired for the Library and the five participant libraries in the Indonesian Acquisitions Program. None of these were obtainable through outlets in Jakarta, again highlighting the fractured and regional structure of publishing in Indonesia.
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Enquiries regarding resources in the Librarys Indonesian
Collection can be directed to Tieke Atikah tatikah@nla.gov.au, Oliver Mann can be contacted at omann@indo.net.id, |
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Photo: A very warm welcome at each institution... Oliver is pictured here with Dr I Gusti Bagus Ngurah Ardjana and staff at the Balai Penelitian Bahasa in Bali |
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Sir Donald Bradman, the most celebrated Australian cricketer of all time, turned 90 on 27 August 1998. The National Library holds 52 albums packed with reproductions of photographs, newspaper cuttings, cables and letters covering Bradmans career from 1925, when his fame began to extend beyond the Bowral district, until his final Test match in 1948. The albums have been used by numerous cricket historians, most recently by Mike Coward and Richard Mulvaney for the book Sir Donald Bradman A.C. (Sydney, Pan Macmillan, 1998). The portrait is of Bradman photographed wearing his first touring blazer, in England in 1930. |
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Digitising rare maps: a trial project
Increasing demand from publishers and researchers, together with technological developments such as the Internet and digitisation suggests that now is an appropriate time to investigate options for making the National Librarys rare or pre-1900 rare map collections more accessible. The collections, amounting to almost 8,000 items relating to the Australasia area, is currently limited to personal visits or the ordering of photographs, sight unseen. The material is not permitted out on interlibrary loan due to fragility and rarity.
In March 1998, a trial project was commenced with a selection of 25 maps from the Rex Nan Kivell rare map collection to determine the most appropriate and cost-effective technology available in Australia to provide Internet-based access to digitised images of these maps and their associated bibliographic records.
The in-house trial proposed to assess the most appropriate of the two options currently available:
The trial was also concerned with the quality of the resulting image from both a user's point of view and from a preservation of image view, the cost-effectiveness of the optionsboth in labour saving and software purchaseand the nature and quality of products that can be derived.
All 25 maps, ranging in size from A4 black and white to double-length, A0 width folded and coloured, were photographed onto 4 x 5 transparencies and scanned in by Scott4 using Professional PhotoCD at Base64. The same maps were also digitally scanned using a Sinarcam Compact Digital camera, with the large-format maps scanned in sections to improve clarity.
The digitised maps were then made available for viewing via the Internet using the software product MrSID (Multi-Resolution Seamless Image Database). MrSID was developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA, for military purposes and allows images to be stored in a very compact format to reduce both storage requirements and more importantly the time needed to transmit an image across the Internet. MrSID also interactively zoom and pan sections of these images across the Internet without having to download the entire image to the local computer.
Use of the Sinarcam camera did not prove to be totally successful, particularly with the larger format items, producing inadequate resolution levels. Further filming was done on a sub-sample of the selected maps, across the whole range of sizes, on the Dicomed Digital Scanning Camera Back and proved to be more successful.
Results from the trial are currently being assessed and a report is being prepared for further consideration. It is likely a further trial may be required before proceeding to scan the complete collection of around 1,000 maps. However, the trial has shown that it is possible now to undertake such a project. Improvements to the camera technology and compression software which are occurring at present can only make such a project easier to undertake in the future.
A recent article by David Allen, 'Creating and distributing high resolution cartographic images' (URL: http://www.rlg.org/preserv/diginews/diginews2-4.html) provides a valuable summary and assessment of a number of the projects being undertaken around the world to digitize cartographic images and the problems that have been faced. Most notable of these has been the project currently underway at the Library of Congress (URL: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/pmhtml/pandigit.html). However, a similar project has yet to be attempted in Australia.
Further information regarding the project may be obtained from Maura OConnor, Map Curator, National Library of Australia. (email: moconnor@nla.gov.au)
The Big Picture with Apologies to Tom Roberts
As part of the Librarys collecting intention to document
events relating to the centenary of Federation, a painting depicting a
modern-day opening of the Federal Parliament was acquired from the artist, Bill
Leak.
The painting is based on the well-known work by Tom Roberts, the Opening of the First Parliament of the Commonwealth, or the Big Picture, as it came to be known. In stark contrast to the sombre group of officials in Roberts painting, Leak caricatures 50 celebrities who may have been in the audience if the opening were held today. In place of the Duke of York, royalty in the form of Dame Edna Everage is depicted delivering the proclamation to an audience of pop singers, actors, sports personalities, artists, entrepreneurs and entertainers who have reached prominence beyond their fields of endeavour largely through exposure in the media. The painting is a satire of the prominent role of celebrities in Australian society, and questions the nations identity on the eve of the centenary of Federation.
The acquisition complements the Librarys holdings of a preliminary sketch by Tom Roberts, Sketch for Opening of Federal Parliament (PIC R58), and a print of the finished work, Opening of the First Parliament of the Commonwealth (PIC S10716)
Bill Leak, 1956
The Big Picture...with Apologies to
Tom Roberts 1997
watercolour with ink detail overlay on clear plastic;
46 x 60 cm on sheet 54 x 64 cm
National Library of Australia R11524
Treasures of the National Library
In July, the Library held five lunchtime sessions to introduce to the public some of the rich research resources of the Library. The sessions were intended to make known to users and visitors some of the less spectacular and less well known research resources in a variety of formats, some Australian some overseas. Scheduled for one hour, people were so fascinated by the range of resources shown that they had to be urged to leave after two hours!
Each session was introduced by a reference librarian from the particular collection area, providing background to the collections, then focussing on the items chosen for display. Selections were made from the printed collections, including newspapers, sheet music, Asian materials and pre-1700 books. From the Pictorial Collection: oils, watercolours, drawings, prints, cartoons. From the Manuscript Collection: diaries, private documents from prime ministers, letters, literary manuscripts. Oral historytapes and transcripts, folklore and significant Australians. Mapscontemporary, rare sixteenth- and seventeenth-century maps, globes, and manuscript maps of cave systems. Altogether, a huge array of wonderful research resources.
During the month, 245 people attended the sessions, most from the ACT, but they included many interstate visitors. There were known researchers, potential users, specialists, curatorial staff from collecting institutions, interested public, visitors and tourists, Friends of the Library and some volunteer guides and members of staff.
Excellent publicity was given to the series in local newspapers and local television. The evaluation sheets for many attendees also revealed that interviews with the presenter on a local radio station at 6.30am on the day of the sessions were an effective source of information.
The response by the media to the series was immediate and very keen and comments from visitors were positive. A second series of Lesser Known Treasures sessions, featuring slightly different content, will be held each January Wednesday in 1999 from 12.30 to 1.30pm .
Contact person: Averill Edwards, (02) 6262 1604 or email aedwards@nla.gov.au
Arcadian Quest
In the Librarys latest publication, Arcadian Quest, art historian Elisabeth Findlay presents a rich and diverse selection of Westalls watercolours, oil paintings and sketches from the National Librarys collection. ISBN 0642 10798 x hb, 240 X 200 mm, 84 pp, RRP 34.95 |
Australian Joint Copying Projectnew handbook
An extraordinary array of historical records relating to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific are described in the latest AJCP Handbook. Ranging in time from 1560 to 1988, they include the records of missionary societies, scientific organisations, businesses and regiments, journals and logs of ships, letters, diaries, the papers of governors, soldiers, seamen, convicts, explorers, travellers, politicians, clergymen, pastoralists, academics and feminists.
Edited by Ekarestini OBrien of the Manuscript Section, Part 8 of the AJCP Handbook contains 512 entries summarising the 3105 reels of microfilm that make up the Miscellaneous Series of the Australian Joint Copying Project. The project originally concentrated on the holdings of the Public Record Office in London, but in 1958 it turned its attention to the London Missionary Society and missions that were active in the Pacific. As the years passed, more and more time and resources were devoted to filming non-official records held throughout Britain and Ireland. Some were in famous institutions such as the British Library, Bodleian Library and the National Maritime Museum, while others were in city record offices, small societies or in private homes. By the time the AJCP Office in London was closed in 1993, the project had covered all but a handful of the main archival repositories in Britain.
Earlier editions of Part 8 of the AJCP Handbook appeared in 1980 and 1984. They are now superseded by the third and final edition. The entries necessarily vary in the level of detail, but they give a good idea of the nature and scope of the records filmed, as well as referring to the existence of more detailed unpublished listings. There is a comprehensive name and subject index.
Complete or partial sets of the AJCP film are held in numerous libraries and archives in Australia and New Zealand. The new Handbook is an essential aid for staff in those institutions seeking to make sense of the microfilm. It will also be of value to historians and other researchers who are looking for sources on a great diversity of subjects and who may not have the time and resources to travel extensively through the British Isles. The price of the Handbook is $40 and it can be purchased from Sales and Distribution, National Library of Australia.
Jörn Utzon, one of the greatest architects of our modern age, was born in a small village in Denmark on 9 April 1918. On completing his study in 1942 Utzon started work as an assistant architect in the same year he married Lis Fenger. Utzon travelled extensively in the late 1940s, these study trips shaping his architectural style. Returning from his travels in 1950 he started his own practice in Copenhagen.
Utzons association with Australia first began in late 1956, when he read about the international design competition for the Sydney Opera House in a newspaper. A year on, at the age of 38, Utzon won the competition, later moving his family and practice to Sydney. Following unresolved difficulties with the New South Wales Government in 1966, Utzon was forced to resign from his appointment halfway through the project. He and his family returned to Denmark and the Sydney Opera House was completed by others.
Utzon continued his practice, achieving recognition as a leading contemporary architect. Today Utzon and his wife Lis reside in Spain and his practice continues in the association he formed with his children.
As recognition of his contribution to Sydney, Utzon was presented with the Keys to the City by the Lord Mayor of Sydney on 11th July 1998.
The history of the Sydney Opera House is one of controversy. In 1974 the National Library acquired the papers of Professor Ashworth, a member of both the Executive and Advisory Committees of the Opera House. The papers, which are held in the Librarys Manuscripts Collection, provide a complete record of the long and contentious history of the Opera Houses design and construction. The material includes reports and minutes, contract agreements, correspondence, drawings and photographs.
Paradise Possessed: The Rex Nan Kivell Exhibition
The Library Shop stocks souvenirs of this remarkable exhibition. There are postcards, posters, bookmarks, greeting cards, wrapping paper and gift tags, all beautifully illustrated. Also available is the publication Paradise Possessed: The Rex Nan Kivell Collection, consisting of essays that place the collection and the collector in perspective.
If a visit to Canberra is out of the question, view the exhibition via the Internet. The souvenirs are to be found at http://www.nla.gov.au/pub/nankivel/
Enjoy!
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Posters based on images from Paradise Possessed: The Rex Nan Kivell Exhibition |
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