NSW public library wiki

(based on signed attendance sheet): J. Madden, Canterbury-Bankstown; K. Shaw, City of Newcastle;Helen McDonald, Sutherland; Carmel Andrew, Aaron Fox, Aamie Zar, Inner West; Elizabeth Grace, Camden; Jane Britten, Woollahra; Anna Maybury, Randwick; Angela Phippen, Ryde; Simone Newman, Coffs Harbour; Simone Taylor, Macquarie Regional; Kay Shirt, Lithgow; Michelle Nichols, Hawkesbury; Georgina Keep, Randwick; Gialy Ly, Fairfield; Marylou Byrne, Donna Braye, Mosman; Jessica Graham, Ku-ring-gai; Jan Herivel, Blacktown; Jane Elias, Cumberland; Michelle Richmond, Michael Houstone, Northern Beaches; Jeanette Komli, Sydney Water; Ellen Forsyth, David Berg, SL of NSW; John Johnston, Canada Bay; Ingrid Grace, Waverley; An Maree Bonner, Penrith; —- Gill, Blacktown; Lynda Muggridge, City of Sydney; Kimberley O’Sullivan, Cessnock; Jenny McConchie, Wollongong; Ann Crump, Lake Macquarie; Samantha Sinnayah, Bayside; Karen Richardson, Sue Miller, Hornsby; Shirley Ramrakha, Willoughby; Geoff Potter, Central Coast; John —-, Georges River.

Stephen Coppins, Cumberland; Christianne Birkett, Gunnedah.

Welcome to Country: Jayde Kelli, ATSI Community Development Officer, Parramatta Council

Places and items that are important to the local Aboriginal community or Aboriginal people of NSW. Jayde Kelly, ATSI Community Development Officer, Parramatta Council

You can see the videos from the Warami Mittigar presentation at this link.

presentation here

Warami Mittigar: Jayde Kelli, ATSI Community Development Officer, Parramatta Council Jayde described a project designed to tell Indigenous stories about Parramatta. Parramatta was and always will be a meeting place, and home to the Darug people. The project aimed to develop indigenous history walks in significant precincts in Parramatta. It is a cultural partnership between Council and the Darug people based on consultation, trust, and respect. The process to bring about the final outcomes took time. Time was needed to build networks, build trust, develop content, and deliver outcomes. Development took from 2015-2018 and required many different approaches. Many factors may affect indigenous elders’ ability to respond to request. Patience and understanding of factors and demands on time within and without communities are required. If you do not get a response there may be a good reason…ask elders for guidance as to how you can engage successfully. Council learnt to modify approaches and ask questions. An initial EOI was sent out but a poor response was received. “Why the poor response?” was a question asked of community experts. Wrong language was used; there was a request overload from the community; individual voices are not seen as representative in aboriginal culture. With projects such as this you cannot please everyone. Seek a range of voices. Managing community participation is difficult. Rewarding aspects of the project included the ability to share Darug- and Parramatta-specific information with locals, migrants etc. Patience, humility, graciousness, respect needed with projects like this. It is important to acknowledge that indigenous people do have knowledge. Listening is critical. Warami Mittigar now delivers authentic, inclusive indigenous heritage walks and experiences in Parramatta.

1. Empowering our Local History Community: programs, digitisation, and changes to Local History since relocating to the new library at Double Bay. Barbara Swebeck, Woollahra Libraries

presentation here

Local Studies in a flash: Empowering our Local History Community. Barbara Swebeck, Woollahra Library. Sherbrooke Hall was the Woollahra area Local History Centre 1996-2016. Sherbrooke Hall closed. The move to the new Double Bay Library saw a real reduction in storage space for Local History materials. In recognition of User expectation to information anytime, large amounts of local history material were digitised. Original materials have been placed in permanent storage in Government Records Repository at Kingswood. Originals can be accessed if required. First point of reference in the Library is an Online guide, followed by trained reference staff if required and then specialist Local Studies staff by appointment only. Local History outreach workshops and presentations are given regularly. Self-navigation can work. Digitisation needs careful planning. Front-of-house needs behind the scenes team to work effectively.

2. Highlighting the gems: stretching the potential of your digital collection through social media. Karen Richardson, Hornsby Shire Council

presentation here

Local Studies in a flash: Highlighting the gems, stretching the potential of your digital collection through social media: Karen Richardson. Hornsby Library has been running its Recollect database for 18 months. Throwback Thursday posts are created by the Library. One post featuring Bobbin Head received 168 likes, 58 comments and 56 shares. With this one item 761 recations were received, 22,889 people reached. On an average day Hornsby Recollects receives 2000 page views. On Thursdays this grows. Social Media is useful in extending the reach of HS Recollects. Tips: select resources that resonate with people, experiment with resources other than photos e.g. maps, oral histories, etc.

3. Preserving Precious Memories: Wollongong City Libraries help customers to get skilled. Jenny Mcconchie, Wollongong Libraries

presentation here

Local Studies in a flash: Preserving precious memories: Wollongong City Libraries help customers to get skilled. Jenny McConchie, Wollongong Libraries. Wollongong Libraries now offer outreach programmes to help customers gain digitising skills. A digitise your own photos/slides/negatives course has been popular. Another course offered has been Caring for paper documents and photos (2018). The object is to set up repeatable programs that require minimal preparation. Powerpoint presentations are used. Customers can use library scanning equipment. Issues include: a variation in customer skill levels; the variety of sizes and types of negatives encountered; Scanpro microfilm software only is available; tiny 110 negatives are difficult to scan; Was 1 hour long enough to cover topic to sufficient depth?; Should the Library charge for the sessions? Benefits include: Increase in staff knowledge; repeatable sessions with minimal effort; 2019 sessions will have a new model scanner to work with. Scanning courses may be offered at branches.

4. Homes for the living and memorials to the dead: Ryde’s First World War houses. Angela Phippen, Ryde Library

presentation here

Research commenced on WW1-connected house names in Ryde/Eastwood area. Initially battlefield names, but later other names remembering hospitals, hospital ships etc. were researched. The house names served as memorials to soldiers who were connected to houses. Centenary of Armistice funding led to a publishing project which identified 52 houses. Satisfying that research has been used to create a publication. More houses have since come to light. An in-house designer was used to create a clean, modern look. On reflection perhaps the 30 best/most representative stories could have been chosen.

6. Local Studies in a flash: Research and Collection Services, Parramatta Heritage Centre. Anna Namuren. Heritage Centre aims to provide access to Parramatta Heritage, tell stories of Parramatta’s diverse culture. The Centre has a large and diverse collection. Archives, collections database, items from local archaeological digs feature. The Centre has a strong outreach and public engagement program. Volunteer projects have included research into Parramatta’s WW1 involvement. Parradigivol is a crowdsourced project. Zooniverse, NYPL Labs, Australian Museum Digivol platforms used. A pilot project is underway to engage volunteers online, and help transcribe early Council records 1862-1945, including 83 years of Council meetings. 12,848 digitised files have been stitched together as pdfs. Digivol is a free platform that can be used for such projects. Transcribe and tag the collections of Council meeting minutes and correspondence. Anna Namuren, Parramatta Heritage and Visitor Information Centre

presentation here

The basis of the Sydney Water / WaterNSW Historical Research Archive collection is the photographs taken by the Water Board’s Photography Section from 1893 until 1991. These photographs document the construction of the many Sydney Water and Waters assets from the Upper Nepean Scheme to Warragamba Dam. These also capture much of the social history, the evolution of health and safety management, emergence of new technologies and the constant water saving messaging. Against most modern trends, the archive collection has survived intact and it is now one of the last remaining that is still held and managed by a large utility in NSW. Jeanette Komli, Archivist, Sydney Water / WaterNSW Historical Research Archive Phil Bennett, Lead Heritage Advisor, Sydney Water

presentation here

Photographing Sydney’s Water History. Jeanette Komli, Archivist, Sydney Water. Sydney Water Board once had a very large and productive photographic section from 1893 to 1991. Sydney area dam and water infrastructure projects were recorded in great detail. The surviving archive contains many photographic formats, including glass-plate negatives, acetate and cine film. Despite having been housed in unsatisfactory buildings for much of its recent life, the archive has survived to find new and permanent housing in the former Water Board pumping station at West Ryde. The buildings are being gradually restored, and the archive has been established there. The Water Board Collection is an amazing resource. Jeanette Komli is happy to respond to requests at archiverequests@sydneywater.com.au, or leave a message at (02)8849 6263.

Online Multistate Local Studies Meeting 2nd May 2019. Ellen Forsyth, State Library of NSW On 2 May you are invited to join in through Blue Jeans to participate in the inaugural Online Multistate Local Studies Meeting. Speakers from every State and Territory will present exciting projects and initiatives from around Australia. Speakers can put themselves forward to present in EOIs. Presentations are strictly limited to 5 minutes each.

presentation here

Touch table and series of publications. Neera Sahni , Parramatta Heritage and Visitor Information Centre

Project update WWI Parramatta soldiers. Neera Sahni, Parramatta Heritage and Visitor Information Centre WWI research projects started in 2013. 50 soldiers’ histories were recorded. A touch-table provided the platform to get the project out to the community. The table has visited many local RSL Clubs and libraries. From research done the stories of Parramatta Anzacs were extracted for 2015 Gallipoli commemorations. The process involved researching the soldiers’ experiences, writing a story and then uploading information and documents. This was a major research project. Volunteer contributions greatly reduced costs involved. 7 softcover titles have been published about Parramatta’s WWI experience, with more to come. Publications are available from Public Libraries and Epub site.

1. Geoff Potter, Gosford and Samantha Sinnayah, Bayside will discuss the walking apps they have used to promote local heritage.

presentation here

Geoff and Samantha talked about their different experiences in producing apps. There were suggestions of connecting to local photographic groups. Apps need to be promoted and updated. It is no good doing them once, and then forgetting about them. Ryde saw the potential to use an app as a mapping tool, for example of former market gardens. Canada Bay mentioned the use of fusion tables, but they are being removed later this year. Newcastle is planning an app with AR for earthquake anniversary, as part of a wider app for the city. Willoughby combines with bushwalks and heritage walks, sharing the cost of the app. Printed copies of walks are still picked up. Suggestions to work with GIS team.

10. Social Media Apps and Local Studies: starting a conversation. Samantha Sinnayah, Bayside and Geoffrey Potter, Central Coast. Samantha described the development of a Walking Tour App called Botany’s foreshores – then and now . Samantha felt that while the research required and content development resulted in a good end-product, she was unsure whether the effort to create the App was justified in light of a poor response. Geoffrey Potter talked about the practicalities he encountered in putting together two heritage walking Apps for Central Coast libraries using the MyTours platform. Presently one of the walks is available for a walk along the Terrigal foreshore. Geoffrey’s observations are appended to the end of these minutes.

2. Followed by a look at how we are using social media such as Throwback Thursday, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. How are public libraries working with history Facebook group and the question of libraries recognised as ‘indirect’ contributors.

presentation here

Samantha discussed the recent survey of local studies and social media. Discussion about sharing library information on other facebook accounts. Some libraries routinely repost local studies material from official library/council sites to community sites so that the library/council gets credit for the images etc. Very mixed options for local studies staff in terms of their access to post directly on social media, some can, others can't. Importance of working with local facebook paces to show value which the library can contribute, as well as getting people thinking about the library as containing local studies material. Thee was a suggestion for a position paper on social media for local studies.

1. Seminar; Digital collecting, digitisation and digital preservation for public libraries 27 May 2019

People are encouraged to book to watch it on line or at the State Library of NSW.

2. The Portable Oral History project

Ellen mentioned that the expressions of interest were currently out for this project.

Background Local studies is a key service for NSW public libraries. As a way of assisting public libraries with their local studies collecting in NSW public libraries and to build on recent oral history training and the NSW Public libraries local studies audit , it is requested that funding is provided for two sets of kits for oral history and digitisation.

This idea is inspired by the Archivist in a backpack program from Southern Historical Collection (SHC) at the Wilson Special Collections Library at the University of North Carolina . These kits in backpacks (oral history) or wheeled suitcase (scanning) contain items to assist public library staff conduct and record oral history interviews and begin assembling photographs, letters, documents and meaningful artefacts. In NSW our target would be public libraries to enable them to more effectively collect material for local studies collections.

These are starter tools for oral history or digitisation. The kits to be accompanied by training and evaluation. They are portable kits so that the collecting can go out of the library. Objectives There kits will be used to target under collected areas across NSW. Preference will be given to proposals which include collecting material with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including collecting material in a language other than English and/or collecting material with culturally and linguistically diverse communities including in languages other than English. The aim will be to have 20 libraries across NSW using these kits to collect new material in their communities.

3. Local Studies survey November 2019

There will be a call for expressions of interest to be part of the working group for the local studies audit. This will go out on 6 May.

Both the State Library of NSW and the NSW public library network play a key role in developing, maintaining and providing access to collections that relate to the history and development of local communities across NSW. In 2004 the State Library of NSW commissioned an audit of local studies collections across the NSW public library network which led to the publication of the Digital Practice Guidelines for NSW public libraries (guidelines updated in 2011). While the Digital Practice Guidelines provide guidelines for public libraries that are involved in digitisation projects, there are currently no broad guidelines or standards for developing and managing local studies collections and services. This was attempted after the 2013 local studies audit, but it was only partly successful.

Collection of data on local studies collections and services via an audit and sampling of other data would provide information that will inform the planning and provision of local studies collections and services. The development of guidelines or a framework would provide information across the state to develop high quality local studies collections and services as well as highlighting areas which need a greater collecting focus.

We will be using a survey to obtain responses from all councils, and a sample of catalogue information to explore areas which can’t be properly investigated by a survey.

4. Ref-ex wiki –a new look

There is a new public library wiki at http://wiki.libraries.nsw.gov.au

This wiki includes all the working groups. There is still content which needs to be migrated from the previous wiki see http://referenceandinformationservices.wikifoundry.com/page/Local+Studies

We have had to change wikis because of problems in 2018 which included not being able to log into the wiki for several weeks. While most of the minutes have been migrated, we need a small group of people to meet and go through the rest of the wiki content, deciding what comes over, and what does not.

5. GLAMSLAM feedback

Participants had mixed views of the day. The Greenpeace CEO was well received as was the discussion about are we evaluting the right things.

6. What’s happening in the Australian Heritage Festival and History Week

7. Future topics. Question about what to do with microfilm which has now been digitised. Don't throw it out was the answer.

8. Next meeting 8 November 2019 Albury

Useful tips when preparing heritage walking tour apps Compiled by Geoffrey Potter, Local History Librarian, Central Coast Library Service March 2019

Here are some general tips that I find useful when preparing such heritage walking tour Apps. Central Coast Library Service uses MyTours https://www.mytoursapp.com/ which is now run by OnCell in the US, another Tour App company. Information on costings etc. can be found on the website. Currently Central Coast Library Service has a Terrigal Walking Tour App available. The app currently contains a self-guided historic walking tour of Terrigal, with more tours to come. The tour includes a route map, explanatory text, an audio track and historic photographs of the area. The walk takes approximately two hours. A feature of the walk is Terrigal’s beautiful scenery. The free app is available for download on Android and iPhones. Just search for "Gosford City Walking Tours" on the Google Play Store or on iTunes. We have found the MyTours interface easy to use from both a library and user perspective.

Safety and amenities

• Be conscious of your own and walker safety at every stage of planning.
• Be sure to include safety information such as what to take (hat, water, sunscreen etc.)
• Start the walk with statements highlighting personal safety and walker responsibilities etc. Council liability waiver statements should also be included.
• Include references to public toilet locations etc.
• Can people with disabilities undertake the walk easily?
• Where possible try to keep walk on one side of the street. Minimising street crossings.
• Avoid setting walkers up for trips and falls. Choose good, clear, level paths wherever possible.

General tips

• Where possible start and end your walk at an easily found, central and preferably attractive location.
• Try to factor in availability of public transport, car parking etc. when planning a walking App.
• Less is more when working out stops for a walk. A shorter really interesting walk is better than a long boring one.
• You will do tons of research even before you start to compile your walk. Be prepared to jettison a good deal of it in the interests of clarity and simplicity.
• Be very selective in the stories you present. Just because a building is old does not necessarily mean it is interesting.
• It is quite feasible to do a heritage walk App for areas where no heritage buildings or archaeology survive.
• Two hours is the maximum length of the Terrigal walk. I do not recommend that walks be any longer than this.

Planning

• Planning for an App is a mixture of real-world investigation, old-school and new-school research, writing segments for the App and image selection. I start with real-world investigation, but there is no right-or-wrong way to start.
• Once I have identified a general route suitable for a walk, I go out with a clipboard, pad, copies of street maps etc. to begin walking the route and trying to match potential stories to what you see.
• If you hit a period of bad weather, be it too hot or wet, Google Earth can be used to at least get a general idea of what you might see on a walk.
• There is no substitute for getting out in the real world and walking the route, testing ideas and tailoring content accordingly.

Use of photographs and maps

• Include little rest stops where walkers can sit and scroll through general galleries of area historic photographs and maps. These need not be specifically related to the walk route, but may serve to broaden the walker’s appreciation of the general history of an area.
• Include lots of photos in galleries attached to stops along the way.
• Mix photographs from different eras, B&W and colour.
• Consider taking new custom photographs to highlight particular aspects of history for walkers. For example a building may have a great architectural feature out of sight of the walk route. The addition of photographs of those “out of sight” places provides walkers with additional information while keeping them on the main walk route.

Add interest/broaden scope of content

• When planning the walk, think about stories that the natural landscape can help tell. The presence of mangroves in a particular bay at Gosford is a relatively recent phenomenon. Siltation caused by 1880s railway construction has allowed mangroves to proliferate in an area where there were once very few. Landscape can be tied to themes in local history such as railway construction, maritime history, an early private township scheme, etc.
• Look into the distance… are there stories relating to places that you can see from a walk but are not close-by that you can tell?
• Consider including some brief natural environment information (commonly found fish, birds etc.)
• TROVE is a great source of lesser-known and quirky stories about particular places. Short newspaper articles can be included in picture galleries attached to stops.
• Apps allow for recorded voice commentary. Excerpts of oral history recordings may be suitable for use on soundtrack.
• Plunder all of the bits of research you have compiled over the years for web resources. Cut down work by recycling what you can.

Avoiding boring bits

• Sections of walk where there is little to be seen in the real world can be used to convey information on placename origins/meanings, quirky stories about a locality etc.
• If doing a walk in an area where all the original buildings have been demolished or an area is under continual redevelopment, street scene images can be used in galleries to allow the walker to imagine what that area was once like.
• Be very selective in the stories you present. Just because a building is old does not necessarily mean it is interesting.
• Start a walk at a nice looking spot if you can. For our Terrigal walk a central, easily found and attractive start point for the walk was chosen over an area that was boring-looking, had poor footpaths etc. A good starting point might help set a better mood for a walker starting off.

App testing

• Test repeatedly before going public, and test again. Ask library volunteers/staff not connected with the project to walk through the App to check content, number of stops, walk length etc.
• You can never do enough testing.
• The more real world testing you do, the better your end product will be.
• Be prepared to act on user feedback/modify content once App goes live.

Photograph of some of the people at the meeting.

City of Parramatta's Heritage Centre

For planning public trainsport

Parking in Parramatta including fees

8 November 2019 the local studies meeting will be in Albury.

Next meeting and agenda local studies

Minutes local studies

Wider local studies This provides information about the national local studies network.