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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


Comments on Performance—Effectiveness
Collecting Australian publications was ahead of target with 87 percent
of eligible Australian publications acquired.
Quality

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

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

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of important unpublished Australian materials.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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