The Australian Library Journal
volume 47 issue 4
[editorial] John Levett
Lost memory: the paper drives of World War II
Bruce Smith
'The story of random destruction of records during the war years is far from complete.'
The author reviews the wholesale destruction of priceless and irreplaceable records as a consequence of the misplaced enthusiasms and priorities of wartime; he suggests that the full extent of such losses has yet to be measured.
The proto-profession of librarianship: the Richmond Public Library 1884
Brian Hubber
'...the essential joy for me was to rummage around in a dusty municipal archive, to spend hours poring over crumbling letters written in spidery Victorian hands...'
Author's note: the content of this paper is unashamedly antiquarian. The investigation has been conducted according to historical theory and practice, but the essential joy for me was to rummage around in a dusty municipal archive, to spend hours
poring over crumbling letters written in spidery Victorian hands, and basically to pry into the private thoughts of a number of people who in April 1884 happened to apply for the job of Librarian at the Richmond Public Library.
Libraries, new managerialism and economic rationalism: remarks on the upheaval in Victoria
Hans Lofgren
'...a labour market characterised by the shrinking of the pool of traditional middle-class jobs and a widening gap between internationally oriented professional elites and an expanding segment of low-paid, part-time, precariously employed workers...'
The author examines some of the implications of the introduction of Compulsory Competitive Tendering to Victorian public libraries and 'the revision or abandonment of previously dominant ideals of public administration as new models and practices have
been embraced'. He concludes that 'The problem with CCT is not poor specification writing but the very notion that a contractual relationship is the appropriate mechanism for the provision of libraries and similar human services.'
The Development of the Australian Manuscripts Collection at the State Library of Victoria
Jock Murphy
'If we look back on the development of the collection, it is evident that each generation has brought different views about what it has been appropriate for the Library to acquire. Those attitudes tell us much about social values and about perceptions of
what our history should comprise.'
The author reviews the early development of the collection and concludes that although it may have taken a little while to find its feet, it is now a most significant resource in its own right, due in no small measure by the stimulation provided by
Victorian historians.
The history of Australian record-keeping: a framework for research
Michael Piggott
'...it certainly does not hurt for archivists to be shown, from historical illustrations, the direct links between the preservation or loss of records and the shaping of our view of the past...'
The author argues for a fresh and renewed approach to the study of record-keeping in Australia, and sets out some of his aspirations for the directions which future research might take.
Library Education in New Zealand: the role of the New Zealand Library Association
Mary Ronnie
'The Association was represented on advisory committees, and still is, but there is little evidence that these are other than channels of information. There is no system of accreditation, and little likelihood of it.'
The very name given to the NZLA in the title of this paper suggests that it deals with the past. And this I believe it does. Early in the 1990s the Association, in search of a larger market, inserted the ubiquitous word 'information' into its name, but
long before that happened its influential days were over. However, its past contributions were so considerable that policy decisions made long ago are still important in the education of librarians in New Zealand, despite many changes for the changing
times.
The Library Association of Australasia: a Centenary Assessment
Michael Talbot
'This is perceptive criticism. There was no dearth of projects the Association could have adopted, or worked towards. But it did not, and it paid the price.'
This paper is not new work. It is based on a thesis I completed in 1985. The reason I was asked to speak is because it is a hundred years since the formation of the Library Association of Australasia. And the reason I accepted is that - while I have
dealt with the question of whether it was a professional association or not at the first of these forums in 1984 - I have never published a more detailed overview of the Association and its achievements.
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