National Library of Australia
National Library of Australia 2003 Annual Report National Library of Australia 2003 Annual Report
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REPORT ON OPERATIONS

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Contents
Director General's Review
Corporate Overview
Report on Operations
Financial Statements
Appendices

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

CHART - Performance Outputs

Effectiveness

CHART - Effective collecting          CHART - Access to the collection

CHART - Effective Access to the Collection

Comments on Performance—Effectiveness

Collecting Australian publications was ahead of target with 87 percent of eligible Australian publications acquired.

Quality

CHART - Items checked in, catalogued or indexed          CHART - Percentage of collection maintained

Comments on Performance—Quality

The target for the percentage of items checked in, catalogued or indexed within standards and timeframes was met.

The Library aims to store all collection materials in suitable environmental conditions. The target of 85 per cent reflects what can be achieved with existing air conditioning. The target was substantially met with an average performance of 84 per cent. During the year the Library developed a detailed plan for phased improvements to humidity control that is expected to raise performance when implemented.

Quantity

CHART - Collection items stored and maintained         CHART - Collection items acquired and/or processed or digitised

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

CHART - Cost per collection item maintained        CHART - Cost per collection item acquired and/or processed

Key Issues and Developments

Developing the collection

  • Trends in publishing reflect the endurance of traditional print formats and a rapidly expanding array of electronic materials. The acquisition of both print based and electronic publications was strong throughout the year. In addition, it was a very successful year for the acquisition of important unpublished Australian materials.
  • Notable acquisitions included the extensive personal archive of Peter Sculthorpe, Australia’s most internationally recognised living composer, which included personal papers, musical sketches and scores, and artworks spanning his 60-year career; and the first part of the Wolfgang Sievers’ extensive photographic archive, which records aspects of Australian architecture and industry from 1938 to 1993. In addition, the second instalment of personal papers of Eddie Mabo was acquired from his widow, and a highly significant manuscript map of the Derwent River, Tasmania, drawn in February 1802 by Nicolas Baudin during Freycinet’s first voyage, was purchased at auction.
  • Many early published works associated with the European discovery and exploration of Australia were acquired, including a very rare atlas documenting the voyage of Russian explorer Fabian Gottlieb Benjamin Thaddeus von Bellingshausen to the Pacific and Antarctica 1819–21.
  • PANDORA: Australia’s Web Archive continued to grow strongly with 1500 new titles added, more than in any previous year. Improvements to the Digital Archiving System that supports the archiving workflow, as well as an increase in the level of contribution from the Library’s archiving partners, contributed to the growth. In addition, collecting government online publications was improved by negotiating access agreements with a number of government agencies. Work on extending Legal Deposit provisions to publications in electronic form continued throughout the year. To assist with clarifying issues associated with the deposit of commercial publications, an agreement was signed with CSIRO Publishing to test the deposit of issues of electronic journals over a 12-month period.
  • Access to overseas electronic resources was significantly enhanced with the provision of an electronic journal service that provides access to the full text of nearly 4000 journals, and indexes a further 4000 titles.
  • The Library’s overseas print collections were strengthened by the purchase of a number of very important and large overseas microform collections, most notably Early English Newspapers which comprises more than 1300 seventeenth- and eighteenth-century newspaper titles. The collection is an important source for the study of contemporary history, literature, drama and philosophy. A large number of Australian newspapers on microfilm, which extend the Library’s coverage of regional titles, were also purchased.

Providing access to the collection

  • The Library selected the Voyager Integrated Library Management System to replace its current collections management system and online catalogue. The system will be implemented in the second half of 2003 following extensive testing. It will deliver enhanced functionality and make it easier for users to search and access the collections.
  • Extensive work on the structure and design of the Library’s website during the year will also make it easier for users to search for and find information about collections and services, and to obtain copies of items in the Library’s collections. The restructured website will be implemented in late 2003.

Maintaining the collection

  • While formal collaborative agreements were already in place with the Australian War Memorial and the National Science and Technology Centre, following the January bushfires the Library signed a Memorandum Of Understanding with other Australian Commonwealth cultural collecting institutions regarding cooperative responses to disaster threats.
  • The Library’s collection maintenance activities are undertaken to ensure the collection remains accessible for use. In some cases this is best achieved by providing copies of collection items. The Library released a new preservation copying policy setting out when digitisation or microfilming will be used to enhance access to library material.
  • Ongoing development of infrastructure and tools to support long-term accessibility to electronic resources remains a priority. Significant developments during the year included a review of the Library’s compliance with a number of emerging international standards, and a move away from physical carriers to digital mass storage for many of the electronic collections.
  • Following the completion of a study on collection storage environmental conditions, the Library considered a range of options to implement a cost-effective Environmental Management Plan. Tasks were listed in priority order to allow for progressive improvement in climate-controlled storage. Priorities took into account the cost estimates for the work, assessment of the importance of the collection material stored and the impact on the Library’s operating budget for increased maintenance costs.
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