Annual report from the Chief Librarian, Alexander Turnbull Library July 2005 to June 2006

Turnbull Library Record, Volume 39, 1 January 2006, Page 88

Annual report from the Chief Librarian, Alexander Turnbull Library July 2005 to June 2006

Margaret Calder Chief Librarian Alexander Turnbull Library

Highlight This year’s highlight was our 2005 conference, ‘Research ... Libraries ... Collections ... Creating knowledge ...’, held in the auditorium of the National Library building on 2 and 3 September 2005. The purpose of the conference, which was supported by the Friends of the Turnbull Library, and the Guardians/Kaitiaki, was to examine the state of research in New Zealand, the support and resources available to enable research, and the developments required in libraries, archives, museums, and other collecting institutions to meet the needs of researchers in the twenty-first century.

The list of distinguished speakers was headed by Associate Professor Brian Hosmer, University of Illinois, Chicago, and Director, D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian History at the Newberry Library; also included were the Directors of the Royal Society of New Zealand, the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, the Hocken Library, Victoria University of Wellington Library, the Australian Scholarly Editions Centre, the New Zealand E-Text Centre, and the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies. Further papers and comment came from distinguished scholars in both the sciences and the humanities. Those attending declared the event interesting and informative, and—like all conferences most helpful in providing a place for discussion. For the Turnbull and National Libraries, the papers have provided a very good basis for continuing discussions with both government and academic institutions about funding for research, and the development of digital research repositories.

The Library’s collections The major development in acquiring and managing collections is occurring with digital publications; not only those we distinguish as ‘off-line’ (for example, DVDs, CDs, videos) but also those on-line (websites, e-journals, e-books). The extent of on-line publishing has exploded as technology has enabled everyone to be their own publisher, whether that is through participating in a wiki or a blog, or in establishing a personal website. The National Library’s statute of 2003 extended the provisions of Legal Deposit to include electronic (digital) publication, and the Library must accept responsibility for preserving in perpetuity all New Zealand’s published output in whatever form it takes. Work on the introduction of this extension of Legal Deposit has been taking place throughout the year, and the first electronic legal deposits under these provisions occurred in August 2006.

In parallel, work has begun on constructing both hardware and software for the acquisition and preservation of New Zealand’s digital information. The National Digital Heritage Archive will be priority business for the National Library for the next two to three years. The project will develop a repository that will ensure that New Zealand’s digital productions are collected and cared for as carefully as traditional media have been collected and preserved since Alexander Turnbull’s time.

While that new activity gets under way, acquisition of materials in more traditional formats continues but at an increased level. It is estimated that the annual increase in publication world wide—both books and serials—is nine per cent; this may be slightly lower in New Zealand, but there certainly are increases every year occurring at the same time as the growth in electronic publication. We are also learning to cope with the electronic forms of writers’ papers, and artists’ drawings—discs, hard drives, in digital photographs, and so on. The majority of cartoons added to the New Zealand Cartoon Archive are now received in digital form. The Library has learned over the years to cope with changing formats, and training and trialling are enabling staff to deal with these latest formats. During the past 12 months 73,086 items in both traditional and electronic formats were received into the Library’s collections.

Items from the collections are also lent for displays and exhibitions in institutions that can offer the same secure environmental conditions that are available in the Library’s gallery. A list of significant acquisitions—both gifted and purchased—follows later in this issue of the Turnbull Library Record, but worth noting here are Sir Alexander Godley’s annotated map of the Gallipoli peninsula, 1915 (purchase); the bronze bust of Michael King by Anthony Stones, 2006 (gift of the Friends of the Turnbull Library); portrait of Lt-Gen. Sir Duncan Cameron, by von Tempsky, c. 1864 (purchase); journals of travels to New Zealand by Thomas Laslett, timber purchaser for British Navy, 1833-1842, 1878-1882 (purchase).

The Library’s research services The special support provided to recipients of research funds was extended through 2005 to Joanna Woods, the National Library Fellow for 2005, and to Chris Bourke, who is the recipient of this award for 2006. The Friends of the Turnbull Library grant for 2006 was awarded to Alex Bremner. (For further information about the research projects undertaken by Chris and Alex, refer to page 95). No Fulbright award was made for 2006, but we are expecting to receive a Fulbright scholar in 2007. Changes to the funding from the Library and from the Fulbright Foundation will probably lead to the 2007 award being our last ‘Fulbrighter’.

Researchers using the Library in-person, by correspondence (including email), and by telephone numbered 28,063, and 195,091 items were issued. The statistic that provides the most compelling evidence of the use researchers make of the library is the list of citations and acknowledgements made in published works. Although publication may follow the conclusion of the research process by some months or years, the annual number of citations and acknowledgements is a demonstration of practical use, whereas numbers of researchers do not necessarily indicate a tangible outcome. From July 2005 to June 2006, 341 citations were located in books, serials, reports, programmes, catalogues, newspapers, websites, e-journals, sound recordings, videos, films, TV documentaries, advertising, and promotions, and last but not least, postage stamps. This figure does not include the almost daily use of images by the Dominion Post, Wellington’s daily newspaper.

As reported in last year’s Turnbull Library Record, staff from the Library were working with colleagues from Te Papa and from Archives New Zealand on a travelling exhibition,

eventually named Treaty 2U. So successful was this, that government has allocated additional funds to extend the tour during 2006/07.

The Library’s other services Preservation Services, covering both conservation and restoration activities and Copying and Image Services, is currently fully staffed, and has the expectation of welcoming an audio-visual expert to cope with the increasing number of audio-visual publications acquired by the Library. The Copying Services review, begun last financial year with the objective of determining the future equipment and range of services that would increase efficiency and allow for greater volumes of unique material to be digitised, has led to further work to ensure best practice. Managing that work without interrupting the copying services required by researchers and the conservation needs of the Library causes the work associated with review and renewal to proceed rather slowly.

Further digitisation projects were undertaken this year, notably the journals (under all the variant titles) of the Royal Society of New Zealand up to 1961, and a sequence of photographs, 1950-51 from the Evening Post collection.

The services provided by the two conservators in the National Preservation Office continued through visits to institutions and marae, via workshops and symposia, and by the production of brochures and books which are aimed at providing information for the preservation of specific formats. These publications can be obtained without charge from the Office.

Additional funding made available to the Conservation Section enabled processing of some photograph negative collections so that the storage conditions in which they are held could be improved, and very basic records made to enable access. The work of the Sound Conservator has been greatly enhanced by the introduction of the Quadriga equipment and system which allows for the digitisation of analogue media and consequent preservation.

The Library’s staff This year we lost two long-serving and expert staff in Janet Horncy, Reader Services Librarian, and Jill Palmer, Music Librarian and Archivist. Janet served in both the National and the Turnbull Libraries having started her career in 1969 and moving to Turnbull in 1971. As well as her experience and knowledge, Janet was also known to both staff and readers as a collector— with her husband—of mechanical toys, an aficionado of films and jazz, but even more for her helpful, smiling work behind the Research Centre desk. The highlight of Janet’s farewell reception was a song, composed and sung by Janet, reflecting on her work and her colleagues; the packed house received this offering with wild applause.

Jill was the Turnbull’s first Music Librarian, appointed to that position in 1980, responsible for ensuring the collections of New Zealand published music were comprehensive, but also for the acquisition and processing of unpublished materials recording the history and development of New Zealand music. She administered the Lilbum Trust as well as serving —initially with Douglas Lilburn—on the Music Advisory Committee to the Lilbum Trust. Her farewell reception was attended by most Wellington music librarians, especially members of lAML, the professional body that Jill also served on in a variety of capacities.

These staff members, with all their experience and knowledge, are impossible to exactly replace but they have left behind them at least some of that knowledge in the records they created, the reports and letters written, and the training passed on to other staff. I would like to again wish them both well in their retirement.

Training in supervision, communication, and relationship building was offered to midlevel staff; the results have been generally satisfactory.

We have been fortunate in attracting energetic temporary staff, quick to learn, and eager to help to fill gaps as staff leave or move into new positions, but the difficulties of attracting expert, permanent, full-time staff are becoming more worrying. The necessary combination of knowledge of the collections, familiarity with technological developments, and the ability to apply the principles that are the basis of information and library management, will no doubt become more readily available, but during the transition phase made necessary by the increase in digital formats, potential employees with this range of knowledge and experience are in short supply.

Senior staff attended a “planning day” where discussion centred on improving research services. A number of recommendations were agreed and are being worked on; included are more efficient and informative reader registration, reader education programmes, introductory sessions, and better co-ordination between sections.

The Library’s accommodation This year further movement of collections into the very stable sub-basement has taken place, as has transfer of paper copies of newspapers and some photographic materials to Wairere House in Wanganui. The approval of additional government funding to the National Library to allow for consideration of additions to, and/or re-development of the Wellington building, will mean major work for managers and curators as we meet the demands of twenty-first-century collections and users in a building designed some thirty years ago. Cabinet approval must be obtained before any architectural plans and building can get under way, but it is hoped that significant work might be completed in the next three to five years.

Preservation of the collections Again this year some additional funding allocated to Preservation Services enabled the staff of the section—under the very capable management of Pam Najar—to exceed their target figures for items stabilised, re-housed, and/or conserved. Mrs Najar has also produced a draft Disaster Recovery Plan and revised the Conservation guidelines for use with all National Library collections. We are particularly fortunate in having a full complement of conservators covering the major formats held in the Turnbull —paper, photographic media, sound and music, books —together with experienced and committed technicians. Business plans for the year’s work are established by each conservator with the appropriate curator and monitored throughout the year, thereby ensuring that work targets are met and the collections are both kept in optimal conditions and handled in the most appropriate ways.

Other activities The Oral History Centre continues its very productive collaboration with the Oral History group at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, assisting in the interviews with veterans of World War 11, and accepting for preservation the oral history tapes and videos that are the basis for the series of books—mostly by Megan Hutching—which the Prime Minister, Hon. Helen Clark, has encouraged for the past few years. The ‘hand-over’ of the collections has become a tradition at the time of the book publication; they are always an occasion for

reunion of the men and women who may not have seen each other very frequently over the years, as well as a time for honouring their deeds.

The National Library continues to support book launches; this year the publication of No Better Death: The Diaries and Letters of William G. Malone (Auckland, 2005) and of Douglas Lilbum: His Life and Music (Christchurch, 2006) were of particular interest because the papers on which these two books are based are held in the Turnbull.

Our annual ‘donors’ day’ was again very successful; the theme in 2005 was New Zealanders at war in the twentieth century, and attracted the usual full house. These occasions take the form of a number of presentations given by the curators of various sections, associated with a walk through parts of the Library not usually open to readers, followed by morning tea and the chance to ask the questions ‘you’ve always wanted to ask but haven’t got round to’. The numbers have to be limited unfortunately, but those who do visit are always very appreciative.

The Library’s partners The Guardians/Kaitiaki of the Turnbull Library —the statutory group charged with the responsibility of reporting to the Minister responsible for the National Library on the ‘work and health’ of the Turnbull Library —met three times during the year, and were especially interested in the accommodation of the Library for both staff and collections, and the success—or otherwise—of the Letter of Agreement between the National Librarian and the Chief Librarian, and the promotion of the Library.

The Guardians are currently chaired by Dr Lydia Wevers, and members are Dr Patu Hohepa, Dr James Ng, Dr Judith Binney, and Theresa Graham. These are all founding members and are expected to complete their service during calendar year 2006. Dr Wevers’ clear leadership established the group in such a way as to ensure that their work is beneficial to the Minister as well as to the National Librarian, and to Turnbull staff; I wish to record my thanks to all the members for their invaluable advice and support.

The Friends of the Turnbull Library, under their energetic President, Rachel Underwood, continue their many activities in support of the Library. The grant now available to support a scholar using the Turnbull collections and services is proving to be popular, particularly with independent scholars; the monthly lectures cover a wide range of topics and attract a good audience; the newsletter keeps members informed about the activities of the Friends; the annual, Off the Record , is a most useful promotional publication —all these are undertaken by generous volunteers, and the staff and I are most grateful for that never-failing support.

The Turnbull Library Record is now managed by Library staff, led by Philip Rainer, Manager, Research Centre. The Friends support this publication through purchase of copies for their members, and by providing advice as to referees for submitted articles.

The Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust also continues its good work in managing funds for the Friends as well as for the Ilott and Lilbum Trusts (for the support of oral history and for New Zealand music). Recent changes to the trust’s deed will enable funds to be spent on research as well as on acquisitions for the collections. Current members are Dr Brian Opie, Dr Erik Olssen, Ms Judith Fyfe, and chair, David Underwood.

The New Zealand Cartoon Archive Trust, chaired by founder lan Grant, is winding down its activities, having brought into the Library major collections from both past and present editorial cartoonists. In addition Mr Grant has written and/or published several

studies using cartoons on aspects of New Zealand’s history and culture, some of which were based on very successful travelling exhibitions. Remaining funds from the Trust will be handed over to the Endowment Trust so that they can continue to be used for the benefit of New Zealand cartooning and the Archive’s collections.

The Library has continued its association though its Agreement with the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, and this year also signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the New Zealand Centre for Photography, which shares use of Shed 11 with the Portrait Gallery. The Library is pleased to support the work of these groups whose interests are complementary to those of the Turnbull.

Penny Carnaby, the National Librarian, accepted membership as a Trustee of the Council for the Humanities, and I have continued serving on the board of the Humanities Network; these groups have complementary interests to those of the Library, and both Penny and I are pleased to support the important work they do to elevate the status of the Council to a position comparable to that enjoyed by the Royal Society of New Zealand, with the hope that humanities research might be as well funded as that available for scientific and technological research.

I have continued membership of the Advisory Committee of the Sound Archive/Nga taonga korero, and this year assisted Radio New Zealand in appointing a replacement for Rachel Lord, the Director, who resigned to move overseas. The work of the Archive complements the work of the Library’s music and oral history work, as well as employing expert staff in the area of sound conservation who are much needed technical colleagues for our sound conservation staff.

A new partnership with the Blumhardt Foundation and the Dowse gives the Library the responsibility for preserving the records and documents which complement the art and craft works that will be held by the Dowse.

The Chief Librarian is an ex officio member of the advisory group to the Stout Trust, meetings of which are usually held annually. The archive of the publications made possible by the Trust is held by the Turnbull.

Conclusion Once again the sheer amount of work completed by the staff is more than satisfactory and the very small number of complaints received leads me to think that quality standards are being upheld. I am very grateful for the support I personally receive from all my colleagues both within the Library and from the many groups with which the Library is associated. I look forward to improvements in the next year to research services, to increased access to collections through digitisation projects, as well as the maintenance of, and improvements in the traditional work of the staff.

As I will be leaving the Turnbull in early 2007, this is the last annual report I will write for the Turnbull Library Record. I was privileged in 1990 to be appointed to the position previously held by exemplary librarians who had ensured that the Turnbull flourished through good times and bad, and who brought to the Turnbull Library and to the profession of librarianship in New Zealand good and innovative ideas, a respect for, and adherence to, international standards, and a determination to uphold the principles of the profession. I leave knowing that the Turnbull is in the good hands of expert managers and staff who will carry on the best traditions of librarianship, committed to free public access to information,

the accumulation and preservation of collections to support research and the creation of knowledge, and who take pride in serving New Zealand through their work. My time at the Library has been enriched and any burdens lightened by the unstinting support of colleagues throughout the National Library, but especially those in the Turnbull, from readers and donors, and particularly from the Chair and Committee of the Friends of the Turnbull Library, from members of the Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust Board, and—most recently—by members of the Guardians/Kaitiaki. I thank you all, and I look forward to applauding your future achievements in a constantly changing library world.