Environment
The Library’s collection reflects the community’s hybrid approach to producing creative works and new knowledge. Early assumptions that digital would supplant physical books and other collection types have proven entirely false; the Library must simultaneously acquire physical and digital material, and sustain the skills and infrastructure to manage, preserve and provide access to both.
The Library has focused on building efficient and highly automated digital collecting systems, and has continuously refined work flows to fulfil our collecting mandate in this complex environment. We are intentionally shifting our collecting practice from physical to digital, where this is possible and more efficient.
Challenges remain:
- personal and organisational archives are larger than ever, combining physical and digital components;
- digital content requires specialist skills and infrastructure for long-term preservation; and
- social media content is too vast and dynamic to be collected systematically.
Priorities
- Build a comprehensive collection of Australian publications so that Australians—now and in the future— can participate fully in the creative and knowledge economies, using Australian content.
- Build a rich collection of Australian pictures, manuscripts and oral histories, enlivening the national story with the unique voices and viewpoints of individuals and organisations.
- Collect works from overseas, particularly Asia and the Pacific, that enrich the Australian community’s understanding of its place in the region.
Actions 2018-19
- Shift collecting effort from physical to digital across published collections, leveraging the Library’s digital library platform to develop, preserve and provide access.
- Strengthen collections that better reflect Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
- Integrate and streamline description of published and unpublished collections to reduce processing time and improve access.
2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
---|---|---|---|
33,000 Australian published works collected, including digital | # of Australian published works collected, including digital^ | # of Australian published works collected, including digital^ | # of Australian published works collected, including digital^ |
# of Australian unpublished works collected, including digital^^ | # of Australian unpublished works collected, including digital^^ | # of Australian unpublished works collected, including digital^^ | # of Australian unpublished works collected, including digital^^ |
# of overseas works collected, including digital^^ | # of overseas works collected, including digital^^ | # of overseas works collected, including digital^^ | # of overseas works collected, including digital^^ |
Qualitative evaluation of the relevance of the collection to researchers TARGET GROUP: RECIPIENTS OF NLA FELLOWSHIPS AND SCHOLARSHIPS |
Qualitative evaluation of the relevance of the collection to researchers |
Qualitative evaluation of the relevance of the collection to researchers |
Qualitative evaluation of the relevance of the collection to researchers |
^ Target is equivalent to or greater than previous year. ^^ No target is set. Trend data will reflect end of year acquisition outcomes.