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This paper highlights key principles that the eScholarship Research Centre (ESRC) shares with the Linked Open Data (LOD) community, primarily relationship-centric contextualisation of information resources, and a commitment to producing and publishing sustainable, standards-based data outputs suitable for machine-based interchange. This paper illustrates how these principles have enabled the ESRC, without pursuing LOD as a specific end, to hold a path close to the Linked Data road. We also note that, by extension, this has positioned the ESRC ready to translate many of its resources into LOD formats in exchanges where complementary technologies and ontology mappings are available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike many archival organisations, the University of Melbourne's eScholarship Research Centre (ESRC) is not a custodial repository or a teaching facility. This allows the centre to collaborate with a wide range of organisations and individuals, bringing archival thinking and practice to a variety of sectors, many of which are not traditionally associated with information professionals. Central to all the ESRC's work is the importance of effectively documenting things and their context. This paper draws on project examples, the author's PhD research and key concepts from archival and knowledge management theory to explore the idea that effective documentation requires more than a focus on items and collections. Instead, it requires working with individuals, organisations and documentary resources (published and unpublished) to reveal explicit connections and capture implicit knowledge in ways which more accurately reflect the complexity of collections and the entities needed to understand them. These ideas are introduced using two examples: a series of projects carried out over many years with the Victorian Government's Department of Primary Industries and its successors and The Australian Ballet. The paper then uses key concepts from this work to explore the nature of museum documentation and some of the limitations of current practice in museums, including the specific example of the Nordström mining models held by Museum Victoria. Thinking about these issues in the digital world, and applying archival thinking, the author argues for better connections between collection materials, not through convergence but by expanding our concept of collection documentation to include the relationships between things as things in their own right. Arguing for the practical benefits of such a change, the paper concludes by suggesting that testing these ideas in a museum context has the potential to further develop the ideas of the ESRC in ways which will benefit society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The story of the Encyclopedia of Australian Science is fundamental to the story of the eScholarship Research Centre (ESRC) and its predecessors. Published online in 2010, there are data in this public knowledge web resource that can be traced back to the early days of the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s, and earlier to the beginnings of the Australian Science Archives Project (ASAP) in March 1985. ASAP was created to help meet the needs of the history of Australian science research community by locating, documenting and finding an archival home for collections of records and creating a register of where collections relating to the history of science were held in Australia. This paper provides a perspective on the events that led to the web publication of the Encyclopedia of Australian Science in 2010 and its continuing role as a key activity of the ESRC. There is a focus on the reasons why this work was required in the first instance and the lessons learned along the way. The paper reflects on the initial drivers that continue to challenge, indeed frustrate, the development of cohesive national information infrastructure to support research and societal self-awareness, despite the developments in digital and communications technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preserving and providing access to local archives is one of the roles performed by public libraries in New South Wales. This role is not mandated, nor is it a stated priority for public libraries. Local government records are regulated by legislation, but what of the other records documenting the lives of rural and city communities? In many cases the library’s local studies collection becomes the default home of the archives of local community organisations and of individuals whose personal papers are acquired by libraries. In some cases, the library shares the role of maintaining local archives with historical societies, museums and universities. The result is a functioning example of distributed custody, where public libraries and other local institutions take responsibility for local archives. This paper is a case study that draws on two major surveys of local studies collections undertaken by the State Library of NSW, the first in 1984 and the second in 2013–2014. It concludes that public libraries have been critical for over 50 years in ensuring that local archives have been acquired and managed, despite there being no explicit regulatory or policy frameworks for doing so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing a school library is a complex, costly and demanding process with important educational and social implications for the whole school community. Drawing upon recent research, this paper presents contrasting snapshots of two school libraries to demonstrate the impacts of greater and lesser collaboration in the designing process. Following a brief literature review, the paper outlines the research design, a qualitative case study involving collection and inductive thematic analysis of interview data and student drawings. Selected findings highlight the varying experiences of each school's teacher-librarian through the four designing phases of imagining, transitioning, experiencing and reimagining. Based on the study's findings, the paper concludes that design outcomes are enhanced through collaboration between professional designers and key school stakeholders including teacher-librarians, teachers, principals and students. The findings and recommendations are of potential interest to teacher-librarians, school principals, education authorities, information professionals and library managers, to guide user-centred library planning and resourcing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Memory institutions, including libraries, transmit experience and creativity across the borders of time and space, language and custom, tribe and individuality. As institutions, they have their own memories, enshrined in their collections and buildings and as mutable as human memory. Those memories echo through the institutions, shaping expectations and possibilities. Tracing its history back nearly two centuries, the State Library of New South Wales has its own deep memories that condition its present and contribute to its future. This paper offers a case study of that Library to explore the nature and consequences of institutional memory in memory institutions. The address on which this paper is based opened the 11th Library History Forum held at the State Library of New South Wales on the 18th and 19th November, 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is being increasingly implemented in academic libraries due to a promise of increased collections management efficiency. This paper reports on the recent implementation of RFID technology in the library at the University of Technology Sydney, providing insights into the change management process of RFID implementation. The paper focuses on the implications of the implementation and indigenisation of RFID technology for three specific and symbiotic areas of the library: people, processes and technology. Data from interviews with eight participants involved at various levels of the academic library were collected. This paper develops a best practice model through the insights gained by the people involved in the RFID implementation. The case study posits the dynamic relationships between people, processes and technology as greatly impacted by the implementation process, and analyses the divergence between projected and actual outcomes in the implementation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the pop-up concept, a world-wide trend which has been employed in various commercial and community settings, with a particular interest in how it has been applied to literary environments, using both physical and digital resources. The report examines six Australian public libraries, investigating why and how they established a pop-up library, and reflecting on their successes, challenges and what they have learnt from the process. The paper provides a definition of pop-up libraries and outlines how to create a pop-up library for a public library service, exploring the risks, benefits and issues to consider when planning for a successful pop-up library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kay Poustie OAM Travel Scholarship is an initiative of the State Library of Western Australia Foundation. It provides Western Australian librarians with the opportunity to travel, visiting international library services and learning from their experiences. In 2012, the author was the inaugural winner of the scholarship, travelling to Europe to visit 10 renowned and innovative library services: Amsterdam Public Library, the DOK Library Concept Centre in Delft, Copenhagen Main Library, Copenhagen University and Royal Library, Malmö Library, The London Borough of Tower Hamlets' Idea Stores, The British Library, Cardiff Central Library, Manchester Central Library and Liverpool Central Library. The activities, buildings and programmes of these libraries were examined and several common features were identified as contributing to the success of these libraries. This paper discusses the features which these libraries thought were important to the success of their library services, and describes programmes, events and services which these libraries have implemented. This paper identifies goals for public libraries wishing to emulate the success of these international libraries in the areas of the library building, opening hours, events programmes and customer engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an experimental project working with the Robert Menzies Collection at the University of Melbourne Library. This heritage collection comprises the books previously owned by Menzies, the former Prime Minister of Australia. Our paper describes the process of recording the contents of the collection and assessing the collection for significant signs of provenance. The article highlights a novel approach to making the contents of a personal library accessible to researchers by using non-traditional library technology. Instead of a straightforward catalogue or index, this project uses a relational database to map and connect the books in Menzies's personal library to his life and times. We consider the implications of this approach from library and archival perspectives and consider the challenges and opportunities presented by personal libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the challenging formative years of a new librarian’s career and presents some typical career trajectories, particularly in Australian libraries. Its focus primarily relates to common misconceptions and struggles that new librarians might encounter, as they may not realise that these experiences are commonplace. Key topics include library qualifications, entering the workforce, job application processes and common work experience pitfalls. This paper suggests that challenging experiences are better shared, considered and expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This opinion piece reflects on some critical questions being asked today about Australian library and information science (LIS). It explores some of the foundations of such questions to provide an historical perspective on contemporary Australian LIS practice. This paper contends that lack of historical perspectives amongst recent graduates contributes to a sense of professional isolation, and there is a need to place contemporary concerns within a broader and deeper professional landscape if the profession is to successfully address contemporary concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using primary source material, contemporary accounts and personal recollection the author traces the emergence of the National Library of Australia’s confident view of itself as a library for all other Australian libraries, with a special responsibility for computer-based bibliographic control systems at the centre of national library cooperation. The paper focuses on the period 1968–1979, a time of unprecedented growth in library and information services – a time when the computers came. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Three men were the driving force behind the passing of the New South Wales Library Act by the New South Wales Parliament in the early hours of 3 November 1939: John Metcalfe, Geoffrey Cochrane Remington and William Herbert Ifould. This paper explores the ways in which their differences and their similarities melded to make this happen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the publication of Australia’s first crime novel in 1830, Australians have read crime fiction for entertainment, for the reassurance that wrongdoers will be punished, and to test their deductive skills against those of their favourite sleuth. The novels, short stories and plays within the crime fiction genre that have been produced in Australia between colonial times and the present day also offer opportunities to investigate a particular place or a particular time. Indeed, many crime fiction writers have mastered the art of recreating settings in both rural and metropolitan landscapes. The details provided within these works ultimately reveal a culprit (usually a murderer), yet they also outline the availability of certain products, bus and train timetables, the floor plans of local hotels or world-famous buildings and numerous other particulars, thus providing a rich, if surprising, source of material for the merely curious and the professional researcher. Crime fiction stories set within libraries present a history of the information services profession. This paper demonstrates how crime fiction can provide an important supplement to more traditional historical sources, with a focus on how the genre has documented some of the major changes within libraries over the last 75 years, since 1939. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a story that can at last be told – a local issue that became a national one. It is a story of a principle that became a civic right, one man's relentless opposition to the North Sydney library service (known as Stanton Library), political manoeuvres, a local government election and referendum and the efforts, sometimes open, sometimes covert, of a group of committed citizens and librarians to ensure that public libraries remained free. The committee formed to achieve this was set up in 1983, but the story begins long before that in 1935 with the Munn-Pitt report. This paper is based on a presentation given at the 11th Library History Forum held at the State Library of New South Wales on 18 and 19 November, 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology, new demands from consumers and changing social needs – all the uncontrollable, incredibly fast forces of modern Australia – mean that public libraries need to keep up to avoid going the way of the movie rental store, travel agents, catalogues or even the computer. Can ‘The Library’ be saved or do we need a reinvention that truly reflects their full value in 2015? This paper discusses how Australia's public libraries can continue their tradition of education and community development, retaining their relevance by embracing change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores the changing relationship between family historians and libraries. Written from a sociological perspective, it tracks changing trends in the kinds of family and social histories that libraries make accessible and family historians pursue. Looking back at library services in past decades, it can be seen that libraries, as well as genealogical societies, once qualified access to information according to social conventions of propriety. However, in recent times, libraries have increasingly democratised their services and accommodated family historians, just as family historians have begun to unearth more diverse, ‘common,’ and concealed histories. Drawing together a range of sources – including memoir, library user survey results, and contemporary sociological studies – the paper examines how cultural institutions have affected and responded to changing preferences in family history research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The semantic web and linked data technologies show great promise for organising and integrating information on the Web. As custodians of bibliographic information, libraries are ideally placed to play a leading role by providing authoritative information in this domain. The semantic web and linked data have been hyped as the solution for everything from integrating legacy data-sets and improving search through to working with big data problems. However, the vision of the semantic web is a long way from being realised. This paper explores how linked data is being used in libraries and related institutions in Australia and globally. Examples are given of linked data in practice and what makes some projects more successful than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been considerable discussion of the challenges facing the future of information education in Australia. This paper reports a study that explored the characteristics and experiences of Australia's information educators. The study was undertaken as part of a larger project, which was designed to establish a consolidated and holistic picture of the Australian information profession and identify how its future education could be mediated in a cohesive and sustainable manner. Sixty-nine of Australia's information educators completed an online questionnaire that gathered data on aspects such as age, gender, rank, qualifications, work activities and job satisfaction. The key findings from this study confirm that a number of pressing issues are confronting information educators in Australia. For example, Australia's information educators are considerably older than that of the total Australian academic workforce; over half the information educators who participated in the study are looking to retire in the next 10 years; and Australia's information educators spend more time on service activities than members of other disciplines within Australia's education system and place a stronger importance on teaching over research. Left unaddressed, these issues will have significant implications for the future of information education as well as the broader information profession. Many of the key observations drawn from this study may also have relevance to other disciplines in the Australian educational context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public libraries do not fit Peter Senge's model of a learning organisation. They are not stand-alone organisations, but operate within the much larger local government system which can constrain their development as learning organisations. On a day-to-day basis, public libraries engage with their customers and respond to their needs by providing access to resources, programmes and services. But they do this within the bounds of local government systems and processes which set corporate goals, determine policies and procedures and provide budget allocations to support operations, and they are guided by public library standards which set out strategic directions and operational requirements for public libraries throughout the state. However, public libraries can be learning organisations if there is strategic alignment between library and local and state governments in a shared vision. CityLibraries Townsville has been fortunate, as Townsville City fosters learning and recognises and values creativity, innovation and collaboration as essential qualities of a successful organisation. Within CityLibraries Townsville, a learning organisation has developed that perceives change as an opportunity to learn and grow the library. This paper examines the extent to which Townsville City Council and CityLibraries Townsville have utilised the learning organisation framework as outlined by Peter Senge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2012, Harvard University said it could no longer afford the high cost of academic journal subscriptions. The aim of this paper is to discuss the pressures, opportunities and costs facing research library acquisitions budgets in Australia. It seeks to understand how libraries are coping with resource issues and what strategies they are deploying to overcome their fiscal challenges. The findings are presented of a study into the pressures, opportunities, and costs facing research library budgets in Australia. A qualitative research methodology was used to undertake the study. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with representatives involved at the highest level of library resource allocation from their respective universities. The study provides discussion on how libraries are coping with resource issues and what strategies they are deploying to overcome their fiscal challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the events that led to the discussion paper "50:50 by 2020?" issued by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) to promote discussion about e-book penetration into book borrowing and book sales and provide a device for public library managers. It reports ALIA's advocacy program for libraries in the move to e-books. The need for investments in shelf space, collection budgets and skills for purchasing and contract management of e-book licenses is suggested.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue including papers on the trends and aspects of e-books in libraries and library service in Australia, an obituary for library automation pioneer Dorothy Peake, and book reviews.