Alexander Turnbull Library

Turnbull Library Record, Volume 11, Issue 1, 1 May 1978, Page 46

Alexander Turnbull Library

J. E. Traue

Report by the Chief Librarian for the Year 1976177

The Alexander Turnbull Library collects, maintains and makes available within the Library research materials on New Zealand, the Pacific, English literature, John Milton, early printed books, and the development of the art of printing. It is responsible for the national collection of library materials relating to New Zealand and for the production of the New Zealand National Bibliography. BUILDING THE COLLECTIONS The past year has been one of consolidation after the accelerated growth of the collections in the last few years. The Library continues to receive under the compulsory deposit provisions of the

Copyright Act a comprehensive range of materials published in New Zealand and to purchase materials overseas relating to New Zealand. Financial and staffing constraints have affected other areas of collecting. Funds available for purchases have not kept pace with increased costs and fewer purchases have been made of New Zealand paintings and drawings and of materials for the Pacific, history of printing, fine printing and English literature collections. The growth of the New Zealand manuscript collections has been affected by staffing constraints and the number of collections added declined during the year. Donations increased from 639 in the previous year to 672 but a high proportion of the donations of manuscripts were in the well-established collecting areas developed in the previous few years, such as war history, the music archive, women’s history, political papers and business and church archives. Several proposals developed by the staff for strengthening subject areas by mounting major campaigns to attract donations and loans for copying are being held over until adequate staffing and accommodation become available. Additions to the manuscript collections continue to be announced to research workers through the Turnbull Library Record and Archifacts.

Two major purchases were made to strengthen the map collections; the first of George Augustus Selwyn’s copy of the James Wyld map of New Zealand (ca. 1846) with illustrations and annotations in the Bishop’s hand, and the second of eight rare maps of the Pacific from the Tooley Collection purchased from the National Library of Australia. The art collection benefited from several major gifts and loans. From the estate of Cranleigh Barton of Christchurch the Library received a bequest of 357 watercolours and from the estate of Frances Mary Hodgkins several sketchbooks and 209 watercolours by William Matthew Hodgkins. A collection of watercolours by Sir Frederick Weld was placed in the Library on long-term loan by the Scrope family of Blenheim. The Library has been developing an archival collection (papers, letters, newspaper clippings, sketchbooks, drawings, exhibition catalogues, and the records of art societies and galleries) on New Zealand art and artists to satisfy the growing demand from art historians for such material. During the year this collection was significantly strengthened by the deposit of the papers and sketchbooks of Rita Angus, a donation of drawings by Robert Field, a collection of drawings, clippings, catalogues and letters from the estate of Sam Cairncross and the long-term loan of several sketchbooks of Frances and Isobel Hodgkins. The photograph collections have been enriched by several major donations and the purchase of a collection from Charles Fearnley and a portfolio by Paul Hewson have strengthened the Library’s collection of contemporary photography.

The collection of early printed books was augmented by a group of 289 English broadsides published between 1640 and 1710 purchased by the Endowment Trust. The Trust also provided funds for the purchase in England by Mr V. G. Elliott of 84 titles for the Milton collection. The Library placed an order for the microfilm edition of the Thomason Tracts in the British Library, a collection of over 22,000 pamphlets, newspapers and manuscripts issued in Britain between 1640 and 1661. This microfilm edition, a special supplement to the microfilm of publications listed in Wing’s shorttitle catalogue 1641-1700, will strengthen significantly the Library’s resources for seventeenth century studies. The Friends of the Turnbull Library marked the quincentenary of printing from movable type in England by presenting the Library with facsimiles published by the Scolar Press of three of Caxton’s books.

During the year consultants were engaged by the Library to report on the development, organisation and use of two special collections. Professor Arthur Pollard from the Department of English at the University of Hull was made available by the British Council to report on the potential of the English literature collections for advanced research and Mr J. M. Thomson, the distinguished New Zealand-born musicologist, was employed by the National Library to advise on the Archive of New Zealand Music. The Library is once again indebted to those who have contributed by donation to the growth of the collections and acknowledges their generosity. A full list of donors is published in the T urnbull Library Record . The role of the Alexander T urnbull Library Endowment Trust in purchasing highly priced books, manuscripts, maps and pictures for the Library and in making funds available for related activities is noted elsewhere in this report.

CONSERVING THE COLLECTIONS Several collections in the Library, namely the collection of New Zealand printed matter (books, pamphlets, serials, newspapers, maps, prints and printed ephemera), the works on Pacific discovery and exploration, the New Zealand and Pacific manuscripts, the photographs, the New Zealand and Pacific pictorial collection and the early printed book collection have the status of national research collections and several are regarded by the library community as the collection of final resort for New Zealand. The Library has an obligation to ensure that such collections are preserved in good condition for the foreseeable future. The effects of heavy and sustained use of the collections were apparent some ten years ago and as a result a conservation officer was appointed, a conservation laboratory established, a number of conservation programmes planned and several established. During the year another programme has been established to set aside one copy in fine condition

of the most important books published in New Zealand or about New Zealand. These copies are withdrawn from use, reconditioned where necessary, wrapped and stored for permanent preservation. Other conservation projects to protect unique works of art and manuscripts, newspapers and other works on paper which are known to be in danger have made little progress during the year because of staffing restrictions. The facilities of the Conservation Laboratory continue to be underused. The pressures on the collections have more than doubled in the last ten years and all indications are that the number of users will increase and that they will use more bound volumes, pictures, maps, photographs and original manuscripts. The highest conservation priority is for a greatly expanded effort to preserve the national collection of newspapers by microfilming. The present newspaper microfilming operation is grossly understaffed and barely capable of maintaining the modest programme inaugurated two years ago.

RELATIONS WITH THE LIBRARY’S PUBLIC During the year considerable progress was made in defining the objectives of the Library, in identifying the various publics served and in planning the publications and other services most appropriate to each group. As a national research library the Alexander Turnbull Library has responsibilities to a wide range of groups including research workers (whether from academic institutions or not), interested laymen, casual visitors and the general public of New Zealand. Each group has different needs and the Library’s policies and services need to be shaped accordingly. All sections of the Library providing services to the public reported increases in demand this year. The trend towards greater use of illustrations in books and the popularity of volumes composed almost entirely of illustrations have both increased in the past year and placed more pressures on the collections of pictorial materials. Increasing demands coupled with staffing and financial constraints have obliged the Library to reassess its priorities. With considerable reluctance several well-established services were discontinued and others severely curtailed. By these measures and the diversion of staff from other less urgent tasks it was possible to maintain a broad range of services during the year and to keep a reasonable balance between collection building, conservation, bibliographical control and services to the public. The demand for services is beginning to outstrip resources and the Library will have to consider measures to restrain some uses of its collections. The number of exhibitions in the Library was reduced this year by a third but by extensive use of radio, television, press and local poster publicity the number of viewers was increased. For the first

time a Donors’ Exhibition was mounted displaying a representative collection of gifts of books, manuscripts, pictures, maps and photographs made by 566 donors over a period of fifteen months prior to the exhibition. Donors were invited to a preview the day before the official opening. The Library is grateful to the Friends of the Turnbull Library who provided funds for the catalogue and the two social gatherings. The 1976 Turnbull Library prints, launched in September at a special reception, were backed by a special exhibition of paintings by General Gold and his contemporaries among military artists with relevant manuscripts and other material. The Caxton quincentenary was celebrated by an exhibition of examples of English printing. The final exhibition, entitled ‘Aotearoa Takes Shape’, traced the emergence of New Zealand on world maps. During the year the Library lent items for the Auckland City Art Gallery’s touring Van der Velden exhibition and for ‘Painting in Taranaki’ at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth; the Howard Malitte Antarctic paintings and drawings were sent on long-term loan to the Canterbury Museum for its new Antarctic Wing; and a range of Piranesi etchings was lent to the Auckland City Art Gallery for an exhibition.

Publications included two issues of the Turnbull Library Record published by the Friends of the Turnbull Library, the 1976 Print series of four watercolours by General C. E. Gold published by the Endowment Trust, the regular monthly issues of the New Zealand National Bibliography and its 1975 cumulation, and the retrospective New Zealand National Bibliography 1890-1960, volume IV, P-Z. Work on the National Register of Archives and Manuscripts in New Zealand (the successor to the Union Catalogue of New Zealand and Pacific Manuscripts) has continued. A new service was provided to academic research workers by the publication of a list of manuscript collections available for research which was distributed to university departments of history, geography and political studies. Detailed accounts of the Library’s acquisitions and of other activities are recorded regularly in the Turnbull Library Record.