Minutes for 27 October 2016
Minutes of the Local Studies Librarians meeting - you can see some photographs of the meeting here
Held at Grafton Library on 27 October 2016
Attendance: Denise Pittman (Richmond-Tweed); Leeanne Goodwin (Richmond-Tweed): Helen McDonald (Sutherland); Geoffrey Potter (Central Coast); Beverley Fenton (Big Sky Libraries Moree); Adelin Moir (Clarence – Dorrigo/Bellingen); Jeff Stonehouse (Port Macquarie); Surinder Kaur (Coffs Harbour); Debbie Campbell (Coffs Harbour); Ellen Forsyth (State Library of NSW); Danielle Gates (Clarence); Katrina Shillan (Grafton). Apologies: Shirley Ramrakha , Willoughby; Michelle Goldsmith, Wyong; Barbara Moss, Strathfield; Michael Adams, Ku-ring-gai; Kay Shirt, Lithgow; Amie Zar, Inner West; Kirsten Broderick, Bayside Council; Donna Braye, Mosman.
Minute taker: Geoffrey Potter, Central Coast Library Service
1. Welcome to Grafton Library and Library tour by Kathryn Breward, Clarence Regional Librarian
2. Outline of meeting by Ellen Forsyth, chairperson State Library of NSW
3. Revitalising a local festival – unearthing hidden history. Jeff Smith, Vice President Jacaranda Floral Festival Committee The Jacaranda Festival runs for 9 days each year. It is part of the DNA of Grafton. The Festival has an 82-year history. The Jacaranda itself is a South American tree https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacaranda The Jacaranda Festival is celebrated at all levels of Grafton community with business and social involvement. It is surprising how many ways there are to celebrate a tree. The early history of the Grafton festival was a mix of “pageantry and paganism”. From very small beginnings the Jacaranda Festival (hereafter referred to as JF) grew to a massive 16-day undertaking…it has now been reduced to 9 days. When seeking to sustain a Festival such as this it is important to look forward but to retain elements of tradition. “The past is different but not better”. Why are locals so passionate about the JF? For Grafton a lot of the big traditional industries have left. The JF can help to reinvent and reinvigorate the town. There are many long-term volunteers who may have “always done things a particular way”. It is important to modernise promotions, branding and group communications. Jeff was inspired to collect a photograph of every JF Queen since the festival’s inception. The outcome was to have a display of this iconic piece of JF history in his business, an ice-cream shop. During an 8-month search for memorabilia, Jeff found that there was no central repository for this history. Bringing JF memorabilia together was a challenge…the local historical society was a good source of early JF history, but little was found there beyond the 1980s. Facebook became a useful way to seek out contacts with photographs and other memorabilia, and also to share finds https://www.facebook.com/GraftonJacarandaFestival/ Many former residents have moved away from Grafton. When writing history, don’t take here-say as fact. Check facts thoroughly. Jeff was able to record an oral history interview with an early JF Queen. Old newspaper articles on Trove were great for detail. People often do not realize the historical value of what they hold. JF costumes, crowns etc. have not been easy to locate. Questions arose about what should be collected and how to display it. JF memorabilia has been made accessible through exhibitions, private business displays and digital displays. Valuable newsreel footage of a 1949 JF was located in the National Film and Sound Archive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXtMOVY3EEQ If Libraries want to become involved in festivals it can take time but it is worthwhile persisting. Continuity of care of memorabilia in local historical societies and community collections can be problematic, particularly in regional areas. Jeff was able to get publicity for his collecting of JF memorabilia in local newspapers see: http://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/news/a-room-fit-for-the-queens-all-71-of-them/2405849/ And: http://www.dailyexaminer.com.au/news/get-up-and-close-to-jacaranda-festival-history/3091149/
4. Katrina Shillam, Local Studies Strategy Clarence Valley Council. In August 2011 Clarence Valley Council received a commissioned Local Studies Review and Strategy from Roger Henshaw. This was paid for through grant funding. Historically, Local Studies collection in the Clarence Valley Council area had been small-scale, scattered and under-resourced. In the strategy Collections, physical housing and cataloguing were reviewed. Objectives Partnerships and collaboration: Creation of the Clarence Valley Local Studies Network. It was found that groups sometimes start with competing interests. Community collaborations included the NPWS Grafton heritage tree walks and Jacaranda Festival committee. Other Local Studies Network projects included the Anzac Centenary project and the Discover Clarence Valley history banner project. Collection management: More aggressively sourcing material; purchase of multiple copies; cataloguing backlog addressed and cataloguing quality improved; Develop Local Studies Collection Development Policy; Implementation of scanning and digitization projects. Learning: Clarence Regional Library sourced and offered training for staff/public/network members; SLNSW Oral history training run with good response; Preservation talks for staff and public. Service delivery and development: New equipment including fire-rated cabinet, freezer on site, new microfilm reader-printers, sound-dome providing a listening post for Oral history interviews, digital recording devices. Designated Local studies display spaces, display cabinets, meeting rooms and Local studies area in Central Library. Previously there had been territorial group “ownership” issues with regard to family history areas in the Library. New arrangements made these much less likely to occur. Marketing: Consistent branding of Local Studies Network projects is important. Danielle Gates, Clarence Valley Local Studies Network 1st aim was to create Network. The first meeting was held in November 2013. The first time together there was distrust, reluctance to share ideas. Museums saw other Museums as competitors. Not everyone came on-board with Network. There was a core group of 9 organisations across Clarence Valley area. Some groups could only attend some meetings. Library was responsible for providing the meeting room, catering, organizing invitations, chairing meeting, organizing meeting agenda. Some training offers were made but take up was not good. The Local Studies Network meets at Grafton Library twice yearly in June and November. Meetings can last between 2 ½ hours to a full day. Meetings comprise representatives from participating organizations. Ideas on funding, promotion and other matters are shared on social media. Collaborations arising from network include “Discover Clarence Valley history” pull-up banners for festivals, fetes, displays in local shopping centres. The Anzac Centenary project has been on tour for 18 months. This consists of banners describing stories around WW1 objects held in local museums. Grafton heritage tree walks have been very popular. Grafton – City of trees was a library initiative. It looks at the history of Grafton’s long relationship with trees of all species (not only Jacarandas), the history of civic plantings, significant and historic local trees. An App launch is planned for the Jacaranda Festival next year. This initiative helps to provide some measure of heritage protection and greater public recognition of the importance of historic trees, although inevitably perhaps some trees have been removed.
5. Roz Jones, Vice President, Lawrence Historical Society Museum Lawrence was the original port for the Grafton River. Grafton overtook Lawrence as better roads, wharves and infrastructure developed. Lawrence Historical Society Museum is located in a 1936-built former 2NR Radio Transmission complex. The site includes a spacious museum in the original transmission station and radio mast. There is room for expansion on site. The museum was formed after a hugely successful community display, which in turn led to the formation of the Historical Society. Displays at the museum include a hospital/medical room, parlour, laundry, kitchen, functioning blacksmith’s shop, etc. As the complex was originally a radio transmission station there is a strong emphasis on collecting Communications equipment including radios, telex machines and even early musical synthesizer equipment. Some buildings from other Clarence Valley sites have been transported to Lawrence, including Ram Chandra’s house. Ram Chandra was a famous snake-charmer from the district. Featured exhibits include a 100-year old flood boat which is on the Australian Historic Vessel Register of the Australian National Maritime Museum. The Lawrence Museum is entirely volunteer-run. It is self-funding, and much fundraising is needed to sustain operations. The Museum is proactive in its public relations and recognizes the importance of remaining in the eye of the media. Many external group events use the Museum as a venue, including Car Club rallies, markets, etc. A quilting exhibition was held with all proceeds going towards the Museum. A new shed project has begun to provide museum workspace and storage. Crowdfunding is being used by Lawrence Museum to raise funds for this project. A Facebook site also helps to provide followers and friends with project updates. Publicity on the Go Fund Me website has created interest and led to donations. Shed has been designed to blend with 1936 main building. Local businesses have been very supportive, donating timber and other resources. Many 2nd hand resources are used to keep costs down. Progress on building projects is governed by availability of volunteer labour, and volunteers can be challenging to manage. The aim is to have stage 1 of the shed completed in 6 months. The Lawrence Museum is a powerful connector of people and communities. On the back of increasing recognition of the museum, other local promotions and initiatives are beginning.
6. Deborah Taylor. The Clarence Valley Photographs by John William Lindt John William Lindt lived in Grafton in the early 1900s. 32 of his photographic prints came up for auction at Sotheby’s. This collection was purchased for $150,000 and gifted to the Grafton Regional Gallery by Sam and Janet Cullen and Family, by the Friends of the Gallery and Ian and Florence Robinson and forms a group of historically important photographs of the Clarence Valley. Thirty seven of the photographs are studio based portraits with thirty three of them featuring Aboriginal people of the local area. Identification of indigenous subjects began in 2004. Gallery staff have been very supportive to project researchers and communities in making the items available when needed. Painstaking research using indigenous oral and anecdotal history and genealogy has been undertaken and will continue. Interestingly, there seems to be more information surrounding these photographs in UK libraries as much ethnographic material was sent there. Photos show indigenous people living in dramatically changed landscapes. The traditional lifestyles are glimpsed in photos but this lifestyle may have been lost before the photographs were actually taken. The Clarence Valley indigenous history is a story of the dispossessed. This is not good or bad, but how it was. Publicity and recognition of the story of the Lindt photographs has been gained through Light of day, an episode of Australian Story. A display tent with Lindt photographs was taken to the Sydney Indigenous football competition. Young men would come into the tent and deeply study male photographs in particular. It is not always possible to link family connections to specific photographs, but it is a very important story to tell. Recently there has been a resurgence in Aboriginal language teaching on the North Coast. All families are connected through language, stories and song-lines. The Lindt photographs are an important part of this connection.
7. Ellen Forsyth, State Library of NSW on collecting festivals (Blue Jeans seminar) Local festivals tell us about community values and identity Examples may include the Jacaranda Festival Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter sites. Content creation can be pursued by libraries. Oral histories, photography, street soundscapes are examples. Try to make collecting as inclusive as possible. Collect social media around events. Examples of festival and event collecting include the Deniute muster on Instagram, Crookwell potato festival, Granny Smith Festival (Eastwood, NSW), Parramasala, Parkes Elvis festival, Tamworth Country Music Festival, Tweed banana festival. Collecting events on Flickr provides access to images (preserve images elsewhere on stable computer or hardcopy media) Examples include: Bicentennial of Blue Mountains Crossing 2013 (Blue Mountains Library) Note, this mixes historical as well as modern photographs taken by Library staff, and shows a proactive approach to content creation. Christchurch NZ Library earthquake images and WW1 Commemorative poppy project images on Gostalgia (Central Coast Libraries) Music relating to festivals can be a source of interest An example is Edmonton Library Canada Capital City Music, a streaming service for local musicians. Collecting potential for a typical festival (using the Jacaranda Festival as an example) may include pamphlets, postcards, photographs, posters, banners, digital archives, select realia (badges, T-shirts etc.), video footage, oral histories etc. Space limits may dictate what you can collect. Possibly make arrangements to collect material from organising committees and participants. Community Services sections of Council are a good source of material on Festivals…reports, DVD’s, posters etc. They often record community events as part of their review and evaluation process. Pandora web archive (accessible through TROVE) does include past digital archives for at least some Festivals Soundscapes have great potential for festival collecting, for example recordings of buskers and crowds at the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Individual Libraries can determine whether they collect festival material comprehensively or selectively. Can your Library collect yearly, or once every 3 years? Perhaps collecting different aspects/media relating to a Festival each year is a possibility. With regard to cataloguing, try to make digital material available as soon as rights are sorted. A form on receipt approach, where a brief temporary record is created in a catalogue to show that the Library holds a resource may help to make festival material accessible sooner. Necessary details for this approach are “what it is” and “where it is located”. Develop digital preservation strategies to support the preservation of collected material. Be prepared for festivals…short time frames to collect material make planning essential. For example, if photographing parades, check out the best location to photograph from, and get there early, with camera gear fully charged (and possibly several cameras). Rights management documentation would be useful for libraries. Forms may be included with digital practice guidelines to be released shortly. Search out former festival committees. Look for diversity in collecting, not simply the obvious e.g. How do Islamic people support their team?
8. Ellen Forsyth SLNSW, Local Studies Audit Update Good progress is being made with this State-wide audit. Guidelines are being developed from a number of perspectives. This lengthy buy worthwhile process is coming to an end. Guidelines pages will include information on setting up Local Studies Collections; Physical storage; Policy setting. This project shares information to assist Local Studies practitioners.
9. Other business Concerns were expressed among those gathered regarding limitations and complexity of Library Management systems in connection with Local Studies material e.g. apparent stalling of development/non-appearance of some image applications promoted as part of upgrades to LMS by major suppliers The Chairperson asked the Meeting to express their thanks to staff of Grafton Library for their hospitality in hosting the meeting.
The meeting closed at 3.20pm. A venue, date and time for the next Local Studies Librarian’s meeting in early 2017 will be advised in due course.
Each year a Metropolitan meeting and a Regional meeting are usually held. If any Library in the Sydney Metropolitan area would like to host the next meeting, or if you have ideas for topics that you would like to see presented, then please email geoffrey.potter@centralcoast.nsw.gov.au
Next meeting and agenda local studies
Wider local studies This provides information about the national local studies network.