We collect ‘everything’: A case study of a local studies collection in an Australian public library

We collect ‘everything’: A case study of a local studies collection in an Australian public library about research which I undertook, was recently published in Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association

The abstract is here:

This paper describes research exploring a local studies collection in an Australian public library. It includes the current collecting practices and paradigms and their impact on what is added to this collection. This research was to discover how contemporary content, including items from rapid response collecting are incorporated in a local studies collection. It uses a social justice approach to investigate how current collecting practices represent the whole of the community in a public library local studies collection to provide multiple stories and perspectives. Ethnography was the research method used to enable in-depth understanding of the collecting practices of one public library. The results of the research show a tendency for library staff to rarely say no to unsolicited donations, as well as a focus on emotional and decision making based on relationships. This led to donations based on relationships and the risk of collecting from cliques and resulted in an increased cataloguing backlog for the local studies collection. The conclusion is that for more of the community to be represented in a public library local studies collection, changes in collecting practices need to be undertaken to include a social justice focus.

You should be able to access the paper to read it at this link https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2024.2386642

A few thoughts on the book The Australian history industry

 

The Australian History Industry by Paul Ashton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an amazing book which would be great to re-read (even though I have just finished reading it). It is a pacy and entertaining exploration of researching history in Australia. It is a remarkable contemporary book with issues of the pandemic and other recent events part of the discussion of the work of history. The varied perspectives help to describe the complexity of historical research. This would be a helpful book for local studies library staff to read.

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A few thoughts on the book A modest living: memoirs of a Cockney Sikh

A Modest Living: Memoirs of a Cockney Sikh by Suresh Singh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a really interesting local studies publication which I found out about from Spitalfields Life. It is written about growing up in London, and spending time in India with very specific locations being described. The author provides a very strong picture of his father. It is also a very interesting account of being punk, and being the first in the family to obtain a university degree. It shows the importance of having information about culturally and linguistically diverse people included in local studies collections. This really is a charming book, and includes some family recipes as well.

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A few thoughts on the book: The troubles and beyond: curating conflict

The troubles and beyond: curating conflict by Karen Logan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is about how the National Museums in Northern Ireland changed their approach to collecting information about The troubles, and also changed their approach to how exhibitions about this time are shown. They aim to present a 'view of broader social, cultural and economic history as well as exploring the impact of conflict on everyday life, people and communities' p 18. They are seeking a critical discussion with the community who are coming to exhibitions, especially of recent history. They are looking at recent history including for 'accuracy, inclusiveness and balance' p24, and are also seeking to build stronger community connections to advise the museum.

The book explores past approaches to describing The troubles, and the new approach of greater diversity and inclusion as well as community projects which are bringing together people who have similarly tough experiences. There are comments from people who provided personal testimony to the museum because they were shot, they had a family member killed, they were present at a bombing, or they were a nurse who treated people from all sides.

I was interested in this book because of local studies, and reading it highlights that difficult and divisive topics can be dealt with well by museums (and presumably libraries) and that it is important to not sidestep the tension.

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