The Australian Library Journal
volume 48 issue 3
[editorial] J Levett
History of the book in Australia: impacts of public policy in the second half of the twentieth century
Russell Cope
To the memory of Dietrich Hans Borchardt, bibliographer and friend, 1916-1997
This article, based on a paper delivered at the 1997 HOBA (History of the Book in Australia) conference, discusses the implications of the term 'history of the book in Australia'. Consideration focuses on official publications in Australia and the impact
of the 1964 Report of the Erwin Joint Select Committee on Government and Parliamentary Publications. The place of official publications in the collections of major libraries and their value as items for international gift and exchange between libraries are
discussed. Next, the role of public institutions is considered, especially that of the National Library of Australia's attempts to develop the 'national collection'. The idea of the Distributed National Collection is reviewed, and the need for clarity on
what is understood by a 'national collection' is stressed. A case is stated for a non-parliamentary committee of inquiry into problems of acquisitions and resources now confronting Australian libraries generally and the National Library in particular. The
article concludes by examining the future of the important nineteenth-century collections of the Australian parliamentary libraries. A note of caution is sounded against taking 'use' as the guiding criterion for deciding whether to sell off or discard
books from these libraries.
Manuscript received January 1999 - this is a refereed article
Downsizing: fat reduction or fool's gold?
Phil Teece
Wealth is everything, people are absolutely nothing? What? ... in truth then, there is nothing more to wish for than that the king, remaining alone on the island, by constantly turning a crank might produce through automation, all the output of
England'. (JCL Simonde de Sismondi, 1819)
Employment prospects for librarians are being complicated by the spectre of 'downsizing', a major managerial fad of the 1990s. Australia continues to embrace it enthusiastically. Yet comprehensive overseas research, together with emerging Australian data,
makes clear that downsizing is already a failed policy prescription. More often than not it has negative rather than positive effects, in terms of both equity and efficiency. If Australian organisations can move beyond job-shedding as an instant-coffee
solution to all their cost and productivity problems, the future for librarians in this country can be an attractive one. While the current mania with downsizing deflects our gaze, there are some encouraging signs for both long-term job prospects and a
better appreciation of the value of the work that librarians do.
Manuscript received March 1999 - This is a refereed article
An [un]likely partnership! Transcultural psychiatry and information professionals
Carolyn McSwiney, Diane Gabb, Marie Piu
The academic library cannot remain immune to the extraordinary dynamic of the internationalisation of education, and its impact on the Higher Education Sector (HES). Universities and tertiary institutions in Australia have responded to the needs of a
culturally diverse student cohort - whether on- or off-shore - in a number of ways. This paper focuses on a particular action-research program designed by psychologist/educators of the Victorian Transcultural Psychiatry Unit/Centre for Cultural Studies
in Health (VTPU/CCSH) working closely with an academic librarian/researcher with extensive experience in international education. The program was developed in response to the University of Melbourne Libraries' endeavour to translate the university's
Cultural diversity awareness policy into practice in the library workplace. If frontline library staff can operate with confidence in an internationalised workplace, the entire university sector - operating in on-campus or distance education mode - will
benefit. Outcomes of the study indicate that the benefits of the program have the potential to extend beyond a single institution, or the needs of a specific international cohort. [Paper presented at the ISANA Conference: ISANA beyond 2000: renewing the
vision, Canberra, 1-4 December 1998]
Manuscript received March 1999 - this is a refereed article
www.nla.gov.au/pandora: Australia's internet archive
Ian Morrison
This article outlines the progress of the National Library of Australia's PANDORA Project - Preserving and Accessing Networked DOcumentary Resources of Australia - and explores some of the issues arising from the project's selective approach to
archiving internet sites, with particular emphasis on the approach taken by the State Library of Victoria as a partner with the National Library.
Manuscript received March 1999 - this is a refereed article
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