Annual Report from the Chief Librarian, Alexander Turnbull Library, July 2003 – June 2004

Turnbull Library Record, Volume 37, 1 January 2004, Page 89

Annual Report from the Chief Librarian, Alexander Turnbull Library, July 2003 - June 2004

Margaret Calder

The Library’s Collections Records of ballet in New Zealand were significantly increased by a generous gift from the Royal New Zealand Ballet which included programmes, posters, photographs, scores, and sound recordings, as well as business records. Poul Gnatt’s papers recording his seminal influence in New Zealand were donated by Mrs Rigmer Gnatt, and the posters and programmes collected by Keith Woods, together with his own photographs and films recording dance and theatre, particularly in Auckland from the 1950 s to the 19905, were acquired from his daughter.

The Archive of New Zealand Music continues its major task of preserving the creative works of New Zealand composers; this year Gareth Farr and Ivan Zagni presented scores, correspondence and scrapbooks recording their careers. Personal papers recording New Zealanders’ experiences in World War I and in World War II were acquired, as were collections of correspondence from the wellknown, ranging from Allen Curnow’s letters to members of his family, to the lessrecorded experiences of the McClatchie family, settlers in the 19 th century in the Chatham Islands. With the encouragement of Vincent O’Sullivan, John Mulgan’s widow, Gabrielle Day, generously deposited letters by Mulgan and related documents.

Texts in twenty-first century off-line formats - CDs, DVDs - continue to increase as a proportion of published works acquired. Trial work with on-line New Zealand information resources has also begun, without interrupting the acquisition and preservation of items in the traditional formats of books, newspapers and periodicals, and the many forms of ephemera - menus, programmes, posters, catalogues, ‘junk mail.’ 2003/04 saw the end of the three-year funding trial. Sufficient funds were available to augment the collection of early cartographic publications documenting European exploration into the Pacific, and the gradual emergence of South Pacific islands and New Zealand on charts. Funds were also expended in purchase of drawings and paintings; portraits of Tilli Frankel, Tony Fomison and Alfred Hill were acquired; and sketches of Maori settlements at Pipiriki in 1875, Hauraki in 1856, and Akaroa in 1840, augmented records of the landscape of New Zealand in the 19 th century.

Use of the Library As is traditional, the best measure of use made of the collections is in the number of citations in all sorts of publications, exhibitions, and entertainments; approximately 340 citations were recorded in the calendar year 2003. The number of visitors to the Library totalled 27,716, generating requests for the production of a total of some 192,000 items, with a fairly even split between those used on-site and those copied and able to be taken away. Written enquiries

totalled 3672, and the turn-around time for these was maintained on average at twenty days. In addition some 24,680 people visited the exhibitions on display in the Gallery. Tours from polytechnics and universities continue to increase, and we are developing a programme for Curators and the Field Librarian to visit institutions beyond Wellington to discuss courses and related resources.

Exhibitions this year were particularly successful -‘A barbarous measure: the poll tax and Chinese New Zealanders,’ and ‘Kahungunu ka moe .. .ka puta.. .te hokinga mai o te whare wananga.’ The former was shown in Auckland and Hamilton, the latter in Masterton, both in addition to the Wellington seasons, and at all venues attracted very good visitor numbers. Each will go to another venue in 2004/05. Digitised items continue to attract significant numbers - Papers Past was again accessed by 135,730 visits, and Timeframes, despite its unimproved state, is still being used as the first point of research for those seeking images. Trials for access via digitised copies also took place using glass plate negatives, but work to digitise manuscripts and books is currently precluded for want of appropriate software display systems.

The Library’s staff As we have come to expect, we again experienced low turn-over, but did accept resignations from two valuable conservators, John Duffy and Vasare Rastonis, and from Robert Petre, the Special Printed Collections Curator. We have been able to appoint two additional staff to begin the planning for change required for the acquisition, preservation and provision of access to digital resources. These positions will be the focus for the up-skilling of all staff to enable the library to move confidently into the development of the ‘hybrid library.’ The position of National Preservation Officer, Maori, was filled by Tharron Bloomfield after completing his scholarship study at the University of Canberra. Training courses in facilitation and in te reo were undertaken on a voluntary basis by a number of staff, and management training was arranged for senior staff. Professional courses and conferences attended by Turnbull staff included those of PARBICA, ARANZ, NOHANZ, and LIANZA within New Zealand, and conferences related to conservation activity overseas. Attending these overseas conferences is essential for staff development in areas where there are few or no local or national colleagues.

Accommodation Agreement has been reached with other sections of the National Library that the very stable environment of the State Services Commission building’s basements will be the preferred additional location for the Alexander Turnbull Library’s collections in Wellington. This agreement, together with some transfers of copied material to Wairere House in Wanganui, should provide sufficient space for the immediate future. Long term planning continues through the Collection Management and Development Section of the National Library of New Zealand. Accommodation,

as is usual in a research library, is a continuing difficulty, as more material is published and acquired and none is deaccessioned. The 2003 legislation requires the Turnbull collections to be preserved ‘in perpetuity.’

Preservation of the collection This year saw preparatory work for increased activity in the acquisition and the preservation of digitally-borne material, both that made available through the Internet and that which comes as ‘packages’ on hard-drive, CD, CD-ROM, DVD, discs, and tape. In 2004/05 the initial stages for the build of a digital repository and the implementation of processes for preservation and access will begin.

This year the first draft of a Preservation Policy for all the collections of the National Library was completed. The special emphasis on the Turnbull collections by Preservation Services staff is a major feature of the policy, which is expected to be approved in the very near future. Microfilming of newspapers and fragile serials continues, and this year has seen the beginning of a microfilming project for Rewi Alley’s papers, in collaboration with the commercial publisher Adam Matthew Ltd (UK), and with the support of the copyright-holders, the Chinese Peoples’ Association for Lriendship with Loreign Countries. Microfilming continues to play a major part in preservation and access strategies.

Other activities This year’s highlight was the inaugural meeting of the statutory body, the Guardians/ Kaitiaki of the Alexander Turnbull Library. Dr Lydia Wevers accepted the position of Chair of the group, which comprises herself, Dr Judith Binney, Dr Patu Hohepa, Dr James Ng, and Theresa Graham. Two meetings were held, reports prepared for the Minister, and consideration given to planning a programme to support the purposes of the Guardians, as specified in the National Library of New Zealand/Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa 2003 Act.

Another significant step forward lay in the amalgamation of trust deeds for funds managed by the Endowment Trust Board. Under the experienced eye of Mr L.A. Cameron, and with the generous assistance of Andrew Butler, of the Crown Law Office, the new trust deed provides flexibility for the board to approve grants and brings the provisions of the deed into the twenty-first century. Special mention must be made of the work of the National Preservation Office, staffed by Jocelyn Cuming and Tharron Bloomfield; their good work in Niue following the devastation of Cyclone Heta helped preserve valuable government and personal records, and their assistance in Palmerston North after the Manawatu/Rangitikei floods was also greatly appreciated.

My thanks, and those of the staff, are inadequate to acknowledge the consistent generosity of committee members of the Friends of the Turnbull Library under their Chair, Rachel Underwood, of the members of the Turnbull Endowment Trust, chaired by Mr L.A. Cameron, and of lan Grant and colleagues of the New Zealand Cartoon

Archive Trust. I also acknowledge with deep gratitude the continuing support of all my colleagues in the Turnbull and National Libraries, particularly to Philip Rainer, Lynn Benson, Pam Najar and my Personal Assistant, Colleen Slater, and to the National Librarian, Penny Carnaby.