The Year in Review: Turnbull 2014

Turnbull Library Record, Volume 47, 1 January 2015, Page 79

The Year in Review: Turnbull 2014

This was the first full year of service since returning to the refurbished building in 2012. Collections continued to grow, and were well served by the redesigned storage facilities. Collections were also well used, with increased digital access, increased reading room usage, and a growing number of distance enquiries. Promotional activities, online publishing and exhibitions all enabled the collections and services to be presented to expanded and diverse audiences. This report outlines some of the Alexander Turnbull Library's highlights for the year from July 2013 to June 2014.

Preserving the collections

Wellington was shaken by a series of substantial earthquakes in July and August 2013. The worst of these took place on Sunday 21 July and Friday 16 August. There were no personal injuries at the Library and no significant damage to collections. The earthquakes provided an opportunity to closely examine how the Molesworth Street building and collection facilities performed under duress. It was evident that the protection measures that were introduced when the building was refurbished held the Library in good stead. Following the earthquakes a number of additional protective measures were put in place. These include a new hanging system for large, framed paintings stored on open racks, and special ties for rolled collections. Locking systems are being implemented for cabinets, as is a system of special shelf shoes for the rare books collection.

Protecting the collections Protecting the collections not only relates to physical care (generally reported under Preservation Activities), but also to maintaining the intellectual integrity of collection items when they are used. This year the Library approved a new policy on the use and re-use of collection items. While the Turnbull has always sought to promote wide use of its collections,

in the digital age there are tensions between expectations of open, immediate use and re-use, and the need to protect the intellectual rights of content creators. The principles in the policy outline the Library's approach to re-use so that it can ensure appropriate protection of certain collections for legal, cultural or ethical reasons, while releasing more digital collections into the public domain for use without restriction. The first tranche of material to be released into the public domain under the new policy is the 'H' series. This is a collection of digitised photographs, taken by Henry Armytage Sanders, of New Zealand's time on the Western Front during World War One.

Developing the collections The Library acquired over 80,000 items during the year. Approximately 72,000 of these were published items, many received through legal deposit. The unpublished collections continue to be developed through donation and purchase in line with the Library's collection policy. Among the donated unpublished acquisitions is the archive of popular entertainment duo, the Topp Twins. The collection comprises Diva Productions Ltd's records relating to management of the Topp Twins' career, including correspondence, press clippings and publicity materials. There are also scripts and working files for the production of their television series, and recordings of their music.

The Library acquired an important portrait in oils of Wiremu Tako Ngatata (WT Tako) made around 1880 by Gottfried Lindauer. The portrait was owned by WT Tako himself and given to a friend, in whose family it remained until offered for sale. Lindauer often based his portraits on photographs, and the Library already holds a photograph which may have formed the basis for this portrait. Another interesting acquisition was an early printed broadside issued by the Horticultural Society of London. The item advertises the society's 1836 Horticultural Exhibition, the forerunner to what is now the annual Chelsea Flower Show. One of the categories in the exhibition was for 'the best single specimen of a New Zealand plant'. This is one of the earliest indications on record of the propagation of New Zealand plants in England.

The Library continues to collect an increasing array of born-digital material. Large or complex born-digital records were received as part of the collections from Downstage Theatre, former Poet Laureate lan Wedde, the Business Roundtable, and a range of photographers. The Library also has a large collection of harvested websites. Over the past 12 months, websites were collected relating to the local body elections, the Winter Olympics, and the World War One centenary.

Making the collections accessible Research services More than 72,000 visits were made to the Turnbull Library during the year. This includes users of the reading rooms, as well as visitors to the Turnbull Gallery and Lilburn Room.

Reading room enquiries numbered just over 14,000, a decrease from the previous year (17,000). The drop is attributed to regular researchers who are now familiar with the new layout, search stations, retrieval procedures and online ordering processes. The number of items requested for viewing in the reading rooms rose to nearly 58,000 compared to around 54,000 last year. Library staff responded to 6,839 research requests received via written letters, emails and the website's online request form. This is a significant increase on last year's number (5,250). It may be because of increasing awareness of the collections and services, or because of the ease of using the online 'Ask a Librarian' button. The Library will monitor this closely over the coming year.

Online catalogue records

An essential part of making the collections accessible is the work carried out by the Arrangement and Description team. The team sorts through newly acquired materials in all formats, describes them, and makes them findable. This year considerable effort was applied to describing oral history collections, and there was increased support to the music and manuscript curatorial areas. Nearly 20,000 online records were created and entered into the TAPUHI catalogue of unpublished collection items. This is a substantial drop from last year's figure and is attributable to unfilled vacancies.

Copying, digitisation and imaging The demand for staff-assisted research copying increased through the year with over 25,000 copies provided, an 18% increase over the previous year. Digital publication-quality copies totalled 10,328, a 5% increase. The Copying Programme added a Maori subject stream to promote access to Maori-related material. This is in addition to the existing copying programmes for Access and Preservation. Outputs were as follows: Maori, 947 images; Access, 4,547 images; and Preservation, 1,020 images.

In addition, the Library undertook two significant copying projects with dedicated resourcing: World War One diaries and letters, 14,956 images; and the Chapman/Stout papers, 18,072 images. The Newspaper Microfilming Programme received a slight increase in funding, and modestly exceeded the planned volume of 250,000 pages (256,040).

The Turnbull Gallery

The gallery was successful in its second year of operation with quality exhibitions attracting good numbers. Over 8,500 visits were recorded; a pleasing result for a gallery of modest scale. Run-times for exhibitions were extended from eight to ten weeks. The accompanying public programmes received greater emphasis, and more online publishing took place, principally though blogposts and Facebook albums.

The Exhibition Programme received support from a number of groups and agencies. Thanks are due to: Alexander Turnbull Library Endowment Trust, Base Two, the Guardians of the New Zealand Cartoon Archive, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, the New Zealand Film Archive, Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School, the Centre for Research on Colonial Culture at University of Otago, and the Friends of the Turnbull Library. The Turnbull also extends its gratitude to the many individuals who gave their time and expertise to participate in the gallery events and activities. A list of exhibitions is included as an appendix.

Exhibition loans

It is pleasing to see an increasing number of loan requests for exhibitions, particularly after the Library's recent refurbishment when most of the collections were unavailable for this purpose.

During the year, 19 items were on loan to support exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout New Zealand. The Library lent a number of manuscripts and etchings for two exhibitions at Museum Theatre Gallery (MTG) Hawke's Bay following that museum's refurbishment and re-opening. Loans were also made to two exhibitions at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery, two exhibitions at the Adam Art Gallery, and a show at Tauranga Art Gallery.

Two diaries featured in the Auckland War Memorial Museum's exhibition Entangled Islands: Samoa, New Zealand and the First World War, along with over 30 reproduced images sourced from the Turnbull's photographic archive. Extended loans, arranged prior to the Library's refurbishment project, were returned from Te Papa Tongarewa and Auckland City Art Gallery.

Publishing The Library's annual journal, The Turnbull Library Record, was released in late June. Published in partnership with the Friends of the Turnbull Library, the 2014 issue was dedicated to commemorating World War One. Essays were contributed by Dr Monty Soutar, lan F. Grant, Barbara Lyon, Ewan Morris and Chris Bourke.

Rare Books and Fine Printing Curator Dr Ruth Lightbourne had an article published in the peer-reviewed London journal The Book Collector, Volume 63, No. 2 (Summer 2014). The paper discusses a rare example of an 18th-century William Scott binding held in the Turnbull collections.

Turnbull staff published 26 blogposts during the year on the National Library website. These online illustrated essays range from 800 to 2,000 words in length and typically focus on collection highlights covering a wide range of subjects. Over the year the blogposts attracted a readership of around 26,000 views, an 18% increase on the previous year.

The most popular essay, with around 4,000 views, was a piece written by David Colquhoun in April 2013 on the war diaries digitisation project.

Another World War One blogpost written by research librarian Amalaratna drew a particularly pleasing response. 'Foot-slogging in the desert' looked at an album of photographs taken by Corporal Leslie Robert Pepperell who served in Egypt, Gallipoli and the Western Front in World War One. The post received numerous comments, and attracted the interest of the New Zealand Herald. The newspaper published a story which was noticed by Corporal Pepperell's granddaughter who then visited the Library. She viewed the album for the first time, and provided family information to enrich the record.

Outreach

The Library's outreach activities include the work of the National Preservation Office, the Oral History Advisers, and the Maori Heritage Programme Adviser (located in Auckland). The outreach team also have responsibility for coordinating tours, special events and programmes to promote the Library's services.

The National Preservation Office

The National Preservation Office (NPO) received 104 written requests about subjects as diverse as the long-term care of overhead transparencies, disaster salvage guidelines, and the display and storage of textiles. Enquiries are typically from galleries, libraries, archives and museums, as well as iwi and hapu, and individuals. Seven advisory projects were undertaken involving site visits, assessment of collections, and development of preservation plans by the NPO Field Conservator, Vicki-Anne Heikell. These advisory projects covered government, iwi and community organisations.

Seven NPO workshops and training courses were delivered. Two workshops were in collaboration with Te Papa National Services Te Paerangi and were hapu focused. The NPO co-ordinated a Ngati Porou roadshow held in Ruatoria involving Turnbull specialists, Department of Internal Affairs Community Advisers, as well as representatives from Archives New Zealand, Te Papa's National Services Te Paerangi, and Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

The Field Conservator delivered teaching to Te Wananga o Raukawa for the Puna Maumahara Diploma and Bachelor programmes on taonga preservation. A workshop was co-presented at the LIANZA 1 conference in Hamilton, and a paper presented at the annual NZCCM 2 conference in Auckland. A paper was also published in the IFLA 3 International Preservation News 61: Strategies of Conservation and Cultural Identities.

The NPO published and updated a number of online guides on the National Library website. This included a web-edited version of the Caring for Family Collections fact-sheet, along with Maori- and Samoan-language PDF versions. The revised Caring for Taonga - Photographs was published, and both web-edited and PDF-download versions were made available from the website. There were 2,362 views on the Caring for your Collections page (comparable to last year), and 4,690 page views of other preservation guides (a slight increase on last year).

The Field Conservator also published a well-received blog on the National Library website, describing a two-day preservation workshop in the Northland community of Mitimiti.

Oral history training programmes

Oral history training workshops and advisory sessions continued to be offered to community groups around New Zealand. Programmes were held in Auckland, Wellington, Murupara, Napier, Torere, Hamilton and Ruatoria. Oral History recording equipment was loaned to 95 trained oral historians based in Wellington.

Heritage Programme Adviser Maori (Auckland) The Heritage Programme Adviser Maori encourages iwi, hapu and whanau to access the collections and services of the Alexander Turnbull Library, through direct liaison and indirectly through other information providers. Highlights of the year included:

• meetings with Ngati Paoa to identify relevant Turnbull materials, and the possibility of involvement in creating an iwi archive • delivering programmes to Maori and Pasifika students, in particular for Samoan Language Week 20f 4 • hosting Auckland Museum 'Urban Life' interns • active participation in Te Ropu Whakahau Te Hikuroa Working Party to develop school resources and programmes on Maori and World War One, focusing on Auckland resources (and drawing on National Library digital material) • working with Maori specialists from several Auckland libraries, archives and museums to deliver the Tuakana-Teina pilot programme to a class of secondary school students from Nga Kakano Reo Rua. Each student developed a piece of work (story, poem or song) in response to the Turnbull Library's online collections, and published their work online.

Liaison and promotion The Library ran regular promotional activities, including the following: • Educational visits - 1 , 1 62 secondary and tertiary students from 48 educational institutions visited on organised tours. Most groups were studying history or geography, and were introduced to research methods and shown original materials. Two schools requested and received tours in Te Reo. School groups came from Wellington region, Hawera, Auckland, Levin, Rotorua, Havelock North, Hastings, Greymouth, Palmerston North and Stratford. Tertiary groups came from Victoria University (various faculties), Massey University, Whitireia, and the International Pacific College (Palmerston North).

• Seminars - The Turnbull offered in-depth seminars for 112 students from Victoria and Massey universities. Examples include VUW HIST 323 Colonialism and Post-colonialism: Early Maori Text and Context looking at 19th-century Maori writing; VUW School of Information Management looking at the Turnbull's Arrangement & Description practice; VUW Postgraduate Museum Heritage Studies looking at historical photographic processes and an introduction to using manuscripts, oral history and pictorial collections for research; and VUW Art History studying Cultures of Collecting.

• Lectures and events - Over 20 promotional events were organised. The events related to the Turnbull Gallery exhibitions, showcased new publications based on Turnbull collections (e.g. Letters of J. C. Beaglehole), or shared Library staff expertise (e.g. Family History lecture series). The Library also supported the speakers programme associated with the Wellington Museum of City and Sea exhibition on the 1913 Waterfront Strike, and at the New Zealand Society of Genealogists' conference in May 2014. • Festivals - the Library was well-represented in the Auckland Heritage Festival in October 2013, and the Ngapuhi festival in Kaikohe in January 2014.

Other activities and highlights World War One commemorations The National Library is involved in a range of initiatives relating to World War One centenary commemorations. The Turnbull's main contribution has been to make relevant collection materials more accessible. Two hundred and fifty music scores, and nearly 200 war diaries and letters were digitised, along with a significant collection of oral histories. 4 Material from the photographic archive, including new acquisitions, was also digitised and added to the substantial amount of pictorial material already available online.

Turnbull is a content partner in a project called War Stories. The project, led by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, involved the production of a series of short video stories for broadcast on television. The series is being produced by AC Productions with funding from New Zealand on Air. The videos draw significantly on material freely provided from the collections of the Turnbull Library and Archives New Zealand, and are scheduled to air on TV3.

The Library also published an extensive online research guide and three blogposts, and work is underway on a number of World War One-related exhibitions.

Iwi engagement The Turnbull Library has continued to participate in discussions with a number of iwi involved in Treaty claims settlements. The discussions are facilitated by the Office of Treaty Settlements, and also involve Te Papa Tongarewa and Archives New Zealand. Documents were signed with Tuhoe and Ngati Haua relating to collaborative approaches to the care and management of taonga, and discussions commenced with groups from Ngati Kahungunu and Pare Hauraki.

Pasifika The Library was delighted to receive a request from the Museum of Samoa in Apia for the use of images from the Turnbull collections for reproduction in their exhibition Folauga a Samoa, Voyaging is a Part of Us. The Chief Librarian was involved in the opening of the exhibition in Apia in November. The two institutions continue to discuss ongoing ways in which Samoan material held by the Turnbull can be connected with the people of Samoa.

In August, Mark Crookston, the Turnbull's Digital Collections Strategy Leader, travelled to the Solomon Islands to present at the conference of the Pacific Branch of the International Council on Archives (PARBICA). The topic of his paper was website archiving and the possibility of creating a permanent record of the role and influence of the Internet on Pacific Island nations. The paper was well received and discussed widely.

The Solomon Islands conference followed on the heels of a visit to Tuvalu in June. Mark Crookston, along with Talei Masters from Archives New Zealand, facilitated a four-day recordkeeping and archives workshop of 20 government officials in Funafuti. The workshops were funded by the International Council on Archives and hosted by the Tuvalu National Library and Archives. The workshops focused on building capacity and capability within the government sector to create and maintain good records, and develop good archival collections. Outside of the workshop, a new access policy and procedures manual were developed, and strong links were made with Tuvalu government library and archive leaders.

Memorandum of Understanding with Victoria University

In November 2013 a Memorandum of Understand (MoU) between the Department of Internal Affairs and Victoria University of Wellington was signed. The MoU formalised existing co-operative arrangements with the National Library and Archives New Zealand, and opened discussions for further areas of co-operation.

Since signing the MoU the Turnbull has hosted two BA interns (100 hours per student over a trimester). The BA internship is a new initiative for the university, and feedback from this has been positive from both the students and the Library. There was also a series of workshops with Library staff and university library staff to build understanding of roles and resources. The objective is to increase referrals to each other's relevant resources.

New Zealand Cartoon Archive

A number of activities took place which highlighted the New Zealand Cartoon Archive. In addition to the Next in Line exhibition and programmed events discussed elsewhere in this report, Turnbull staff and the Chair of the Guardians of the New Zealand Cartoon Archive gave presentations at an Australasian humour studies colloquium in Wellington and a cartoons and caricatures symposium in Auckland. Other cartoon-related events included a presentation from Australian cartoonist Alan Moir and a LAGANZ 5 talk by librarian Valerie Love. The Canon Media Awards ceremony took place in Auckland in May. Rod Emmerson, from the New Zealand Herald, was announced as Cartoonist of Year. Financial sponsorship of the cartoonist category is provided by the Guardians of the New Zealand Cartoon Archive. The Turnbull Library congratulates Mr Emmerson on his achievement.

Scholars programme The Turnbull was very pleased to host Dr Philip Norman as the inaugural Lilburn Fellow. The Lilburn Fellowship is a biennial award funded through the Lilburn Trust, which supports a scholar-in-residence at the Turnbull Library for one year. The award is to foster research in the New Zealand Music Archive established by Douglas Lilburn. Dr Norman continued his work researching the history of New Zealand composition, and delivered the inaugural Lilburn Lecture at Victoria University's Concert Chamber in November. Two other adjunct scholars have dedicated spaces at the Library. They are David Colquhoun, a former Turnbull manuscripts curator, and lan F. Grant, who is researching and writing a history of New Zealand newspapers. The Turnbull Library congratulates Dr Lucy Treep, who received the Friends of the Turnbull Library research grant to further her work on writer Maurice Shadbolt.

Charlotte Macdonald, professor of history at Victoria University of Wellington, presented the Friends of the Founder Lecture on 19 June. Her topic, 'Looking down the barrel of history: tragedy and heroism at Te Ranga', focused on one of the last major engagements of the New Zealand Wars. The lecture date coincided with the 150th anniversary of the Te Ranga battle.

Projects

A considerable amount of effort was expended on significant projects which are expected to be delivered in the coming year. These include the replacement of the Library's unpublished content management system software (TAPUHI); the installation of the Quadriga sound preservation system and studio fit-out; preparation for the online delivery of the oral history catalogue; collection preservation surveys; a collection storage review; a collection policy review; and an externally-assessed collection valuation.

Staffing matters Managing vacancies was a challenge for the Library during the year, with a number of secondments, resignations and retirements. Manuscript curator David Colquhoun resigned to pursue research and writing interests, and music curator Roger Flury retired. Other retirees included longstanding staff members Walter Cook, Jill Goodwin and Marian Townend. The Library acknowledges the significant contributions these staff members have made through many years of service.

Concluding comments The Turnbull Library continues to enjoy the support and patronage of researchers, donors and sector stakeholders. The past year presented a number of challenges, including earthquakes, complex projects and vacancies. The Library nevertheless met increased demand, and seized opportunities to promote services and collections, both onsite and at a distance, as well as online. As always, I am pleased to acknowledge the commitment and skill of dedicated staff, and offer thanks to the many colleagues within the National Library and Department of Internal Affairs who contribute to the Library's success.

CHRIS SZEKELY Chief Librarian Alexander Turnbull Library

Appendix

The Turnbull Gallery Exhibition Programme, July 2013 - June 2014

Logs to Blogs: Diaries from the Turnbull Library 29 July - 28 September 2013, Curator: David Colquhoun Logs to Blogs drew on the Library's extensive collection of diaries, from an 18th-century ship's log to contemporary online blogs. Highlights were the production of an ebook, Personal Perspectives: Diaries from the Turnbull Library, and a very well-attended public programme. Presenters included academics Kate Hunter and Professor Peter Holland, novelist Sarah Laing, and school advisers Linda Forbes, Dylan Owen and Katrina Young-Drew.

Next in Line: The Young Cartoonist Award 30 September - December 2013, Curator: Dr Melinda Johnston Next in Line showcased entries from the New Zealand Cartoon Archive and New Zealand Listener Young Cartoonist Award. The accompanying programme attracted some excellent publicity, and drew in a diverse range of audiences including school children, cartoonists, academics and the general public. Two stand-out events included a one-day colloquium which looked at women and cartoons, and a cartooning workshop for children conducted by Award winner Cory Ma this.

Special thanks are due to the Guardians of the New Zealand Cartoon Archive who provided sponsorship to support the Young Cartoonist Award and the exhibition programme.

Assemble: The Royal New Zealand Ballet at Sixty 9 December 2013-15 February 2014, Curator: Keith McEwing Assemble profiled four ballets frequently performed by the Royal New Zealand Ballet. The company's archive is held by the Turnbull, and the exhibition was timed to celebrate its 60th anniversary. The public programme comprised a number of events that brought together dancers, choreographers, designers and composers.

Borderland: the World of James Cowan 17 February 2014 - 26 April 2014, Curator: Ariana Tikao James Cowan was a widely read New Zealand author in the first 40 years of the 20th century, with a life-long interest in Maori and colonial history. The library has a significant collection of his papers. Borderland coincided with the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Orakau, an incident of particular personal interest to Cowan, and a significant feature of the exhibition. The exhibition was curated by Ariana Tikao, one of the library's specialists who worked on the Cowan collection, and whose ancestor was interviewed by Cowan.

The show was well-attended, and attracted excellent publicity with interviews broadcast on Te Karere, Radio NZ and Radio Waatea. The public programme was extensive with several well-regarded speakers presenting. A highlight was the James Cowan Symposium held in partnership with the University of Otago's Centre for Research on Colonial Culture. The symposium attracted over 60 participants from across the country and Australia.

The Limelight Moment: Rediscovering our World Screen Stars 28 April - 4 July 2014, Curator: Barbara Lyon The Limelight Moment told the story of several New Zealanders who were a part of the early film industry in Hollywood and Britain. The exhibition drew heavily on the library's ephemera and photographic archive collections. Curator Barbara Lyon worked closely with the New Zealand Film Archive who supported the exhibition with a mini film festival of early New Zealand films, and the loan of some collection items. The public programme for The Limelight Moment included a live performance from students at Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School.

ENDNOTES 1 LIANZA: Library and Information Association New Zealand Aotearoa. 2 NZCCM: New Zealand Conservators of Cultural Materials. 3 IFLA: International Federation of Library Associations. 4 World War I Oral History Archive, a collection of 84 interviews conducted in 1988-1989 by Jane Tolerton and Nicholas Boyack. 5 LAGANZ: Lesbian and Gay Archive New Zealand.