Ninth Australian Library History Conference

On 25-27 June 2009 David Verran presented an abstract to the Ninth Australian Library History conference in Melbourne on Government promotion of public libraries in New Zealand, 1869 – 1935.

I had three goals to achieve whilst there:

1. The first was to visit the Victorian Archives Centre (also known as the Public Record Office and have an in depth conversation with them about the practical applications of Web 2 technology. As with us, they are progressing the provision of wikis and public accessibility to database content, with the aim of facilitating online hosting of audio and visual content from Victorian residents - akin to the Kete pilots we have underway here.
   
   
2. The second was the State Library of Victoria and to eventually leave with a bundle of leaflets etc from their Genealogy Librarian. What was satisfying was the acknowledgement that what they were doing is what we were doing, that we both share similar problems, but in some ways we have moved further into digitisation. I was nevertheless taken aback when it was suggested that once you digitise something then you can discard the original index! What they did have also, which we don't, is a voiced activated people summoning system called Vocera (an IBM system).
   
   
3. The third was the main official reason for attending: the Ninth Australian Library History Conference - subtitled 'Collections, characters and communities'. In reality it should have been renamed the Australasian Library History Conference, as it was attended by both myself speaking on nineteenth and early twentieth century New Zealand library history, and by Mary Ronnie who delivered the 2009 Foxcroft lecture - Carnegie down under, a century of the Dunedin Public Library. The proceedings will be published, and it was great to give a New Zealand library history perspective to the conference

The conference

The first conference devoted to Australian library history dates from 1984 and in 2009 with two speakers from New Zealand and two Carnegie Corporation researchers from the United States of America the ninth became effectively an Australasian one. I hope that the tenth will be officially called an Australasian Conference.

Back in 2004, I attended the first international conference on the history of mechanics’ institutes, which was held at exactly the same venue and in the same room. Thus, when I spoke this time on government promotion of public libraries in New Zealand, from 1869 to 1935, I felt I was continuing the story from the 2004 paper I delivered.

To a New Zealander, papers on interloan for Australian special libraries, a history of the law librarians’ association in Australia, and personalities at the Victorian Supreme Court Library had few points of similarity. However, many will know of the Carnegie Corporation and it’s funding of 18 New Zealand public libraries, including Thames and Dunedin, along with the financial support given to the far-reaching Munn-Barr report. John Barr from Auckland City Libraries joined Ralph Munn from Pittsburgh to investigate New Zealand libraries in 1934, and issue this crucial report. The two American researchers attending this conference are trawling through the various repositories of Carnegie Corporation archival material, and their contribution was most interesting in establishing points of comparison with Australia.

Four papers made at least part reference to the Munn–Pitt report, which is the equivalent report for Australia, and it was very useful to make cross comparisons. What was also interesting was hearing about mechanics’ institutes particularly in Victoria. Mechanics’ institutes virtually died out here in New Zealand by the late nineteenth century, and eventually local council funded public libraries replaced them. Auckland City Libraries started out in 1880 in the former premises of the Auckland Mechanics’ Institute, to 1887, and inherited the Institute’s remaining book stock, along with of course Sir George Grey’s gift of books and those from the old Auckland Provincial Council library.

What is also of note are some of the strong personalities who dominated the Australian library world, and who have had significant biographies written about them, such as John Wallace Metcalfe and Geoffrey Remington. Geoff Alley is the New Zealand equivalent.

Some may remember the circulating libraries, or book clubs. One speaker had done extensive research on their geographic distribution in Melbourne and had located over 1800 separate libraries. Whether this is worth doing here as well is a mute point.

Nevertheless, it is the ongoing contacts that you make at conferences that matter, and some recalled my speaking at the 2004 conference – it was great to catch up.