Welcome to the Library of the National Museum of Australia

Library guide

This guide aims to help you to use the Library effectively by outlining the wide range of services available to the visiting public and to National Museum of Australia staff members.

• The Library was established in 1984 and has grown into a collection of more than 45,000 books, serials and audiovisual items
• It also acquires and manages some of the electronic resources which are available to all Museum staff on their desktops
• The main purpose of the Library is to assist Museum staff in their work and research. Library staff are available to assist with:
  • sourcing and obtaining materials including loans and inter-library loans
  • suggestions for acquisitions
  • training in using the databases or the library catalogue
• The library is open to the public. However, some services are only for Museum staff. These are clearly indicated in the text of this guide

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Contents

	Library facilities	Information services	Borrowing (Museum staff only)
	The collections	Electronic resources	Inter-library loans (Museum staff only)
	The library catalogue	Finding materials on the shelves	Building the library's collections

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Contacting the Library

Location: The Library is located in the far wing of the Administrative Annexe, which is near the main Museum building on Acton Peninsula. You will find the entrance to the Library up the ramp on the left-hand side of the Annexe. View the Library map.

Opening hours: Monday Tuesday Thursday and Friday - 9.30am to 4.30pm CLOSED WEDNESDAY

Postal address: GPO Box 1901 Canberra ACT 2601

Telephone: (02) 6208 5112
Facsimile: (02) 6208 5149

Email refquery@nma.gov.au (to ask a question) and loans@nma.gov.au (to borrow materials - Museum staff only)

Library facilities

• The main library area has three computers (called OPACs - Online Public Access Catalogue) to allow readers to consult either the Library catalogue or internet based resources. Library staff are happy to help you in your searches and are more than willing to provide advice and/or training sessions
• Current journal issues are displayed in alphabetical order for two weeks prior to being available for general loan.
• The reference and general book collections are located on the open access shelves, and the serials collection is in the compactus. All collections have been classified according to Dewey Decimal Classification and each separate collection can be identified by a prefix. More information on the call number is available in the Finding materials on the shelves section
• The rare books collection is kept in a special climate-controlled room (the old hospice morgue) and may only be read in the Library. It is best to request an appointment (phone 6208 5361) as special arrangements may need to be made. These books can only be photocopied by Library staff due to their fragile condition
• The special collections: the Library has several fine special collections acquired by purchase or donation. Space constraints mean that several of the collections are currently held offsite. Items can be identified from the catalogue and requested. However, they are not for loan and must be read in the Reading Room at the Library
• Acquisitions: Suggestions are welcome if they are relevant to the work of the Museum.
• Reading Room: maps, atlases and vertical hanging files are all kept in the semi-circular Reading Room

Information services

Whatever your information needs, please ask. We will be happy to try and help you.

Orientation

Museum staff members are strongly urged to request a personal orientation tour of the Library to familiarise themselves with its services and facilities. At this time they may also be registered as a borrower.

All inquiries may made in person, by phone, fax, email or in writing.

Quick inquiries

Library reference staff can help you with questions that can be answered from readily available reference sources. They can also guide you in using library resources in the most effective way.

Complex or extended inquiries

Library staff can show you how to use resources (print or electronic) so that you can work independently on the query. Museum staff may request extended assistance or online literature searches. We will need to take down as many details as you can provide. Every effort is made to respond to inquiries within the time requested.

Gateway service (Museum staff only)

We can help you obtain information from many external sources through the inter-library loan network. This network allows the Library to borrow materials from other libraries on your behalf.

Books available within the ACT are not obtained by inter-library loan. We can assist by locating material and arranging entry to other libraries in Canberra. However, unless you have personal membership of the library concerned, it is important that you do not approach other libraries directly without consulting us first.

Electronic resources

Catalogue, E Journals and conferences

The Library Online Catalogue on Museum Central is the gateway to a myriad of information sources.
The catalogue is also available in the Library on the OPACs (online public access computers). A few specialised services require assistance from the Library staff who can search a large range of Australian and overseas online database services such as Dialog or Inside British Library on behalf of Museum staff members.

There are several current awareness services designed to alert you to new resources available through the Library website. These include:

• New items list
• E Journal services including:
  • an A to Z list of all journal titles to which the Museum has a subscription - available either as the table of contents or as full text
  • links to electronic journals available in full text (some free and some by subscription)
  • Swetswise, which provides access to the tables of contents or full text of those journals to which the library subscribes
• a list of upcoming conferences of possible interest

Research resources

• The Museum Library subscribes to a wide range of useful research online databases. Many of the subscription databases include the full text of valuable reference materials, such as journal articles, company data, biographies or statistics. Each service has a page of instructions on how to use them. The Library staff are always willing to assist with more specific guidance
• The free web databases are mainly searchable bibliographical material, with their subject emphasis briefly noted next to their titles

Bibliographies

• A range of Bibliographies relating to museology and Australian history is available from the Bibliographies page
• The National Library has a search facility called Libraries Australia that allows you to search across the national bibliographic database and identify where material is available within Australia. See the Inter-library loans section. Museum staff only

Links

The Web links page contains subject collections of useful links selected and maintained by Library staff.

In addition this page contains links to the following sites:

• Internet tutorials from UC Berkeley - how to find information on the internet
• Ready reference sites - including dictionaries, directories and maps
• Other libraries - find materials online in other libraries in Australia
• Calendars - lists of special days and events

You are welcome to suggest additions to any of these links.

The physical collections

The Museum Library collects material in the areas of museum studies, conservation, Australian Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders, Australian history and the Australian environment. These are grouped into the reference, general and serial collections. See the Library facilities section for more information on those collections.

Special collections: The Museum Library has acquired several fine special collections by purchase or donation. These special collections provide a depth of material in particular subject areas. The special collections include:

• Baldwin Collection: Covers the development of steam engineering and is of particular interest to steam buffs. It provides a comprehensive interpretation of steam engineering. Many of the books date from the nineteenth century and are not available elsewhere in Australia. (Held onsite) Search within Baldwin collection

• Cummins Collection: An extensive collection of old trade catalogues and advertising ephemera, made over 20 years by Colin Cummins. (Held onsite) Search within Cummins collection

• Edwards Collection:Contains the personal library of Dr Robert Edwards covering art, ethnography, anthropology, language, culture, politics and general primitive cultures. (Held offsite) Search within Edwards collection

• Fitzhardinge Collection: from the Library of Laurence Frederic Fitzhardinge. (Held offsite) Search within Fitzhardinge Collection

• French Collection: Donation by Rex French. Contains various automotive manuals. (Held offsite) Search within French Collection

• Gammage Collection: Books and journals of Professor Bill Gammage. Mostly Australian and military history(Held offsite) Search within Gammage Collection

• Hindwood Collection:The working library of Keith Hindwood, a world respected ornithologist, is of particular interest as it includes many of his personal papers. (Held offsite) Search within Hindwood Collection

• Illich Collection: Valuable and unusual collection of workshop manuals. (Held offsite) Search within Illich collection

• Inglis Collection:Donation by Professor Ken Inglis of books on military history especially those used when writing "Sacred Places". (Held offsite) Search within Inglis collection

• McCarthy Collection:This donation by Dr Fred McCarthy further enhanced the extensive anthropology collection inherited from the Institute of Anatomy. (Held offsite) Search within McCarthy collection

• Mackenzie Collection: Originally donated by Sir Colin Mackenzie to the Institute of Anatomy, this collection contains works on anthropology, phrenology and works from the Institute. (Held onsite) Search within Mackenzie collection

• Mackaness Collection: Contains the personal library of James Bellamy Mackaness covering aspects of engineering reflecting his long association with Commeng. (Held offsite) Search within Mackaness collection

• Pope Collection:Consists of works from the professional library of Elizabeth Pope, a former curator of the Australian Museum, who specialised in the seashore. (Held offsite) Search within Pope collection

• Price Collection: Material on immigration donated by Charles Price. (Held offsite) Search within Price collection

• Ride Collection: This is the personal library of Dr David Ride and covers aspects of Australian history, heritage and museums, and religion. (Held offsite) Search within Ride collection

Rare book collection: Rare books are located in a special climate-controlled room (old Hospice morgue) and may only be read in the Library. It is best to request an appointment (or phone x 5361) as special arrangements may need to be made. These books can only be photocopied by library staff due to their fragile condition. Some may not be able to be scanned or photocopied due to their fragility. This will be determined by the Library staff.

Maps/Atlases: Maps and atlases are found on the atlas stand in the semi-circular Reading Room.

Pamphlets: (works of less than 50 pages) are shelved separately in boxes at the end of the general collection.

Folios: (books that are too tall for the shelves in the main collection) are shelved separately at the end of the general collection at the rear of the Library.

CDs of digitised Australian archival and historical material: These CDs include directories, biographical dictionaries and government gazettes and can be consulted on the OPAC computers located in the Library.

Microform: A number of catalogues and directories are available on microform including the following:

• Aboriginal artefacts in the Donald Thomson Collection
• Journal of RAHS Consolidated Index
• Mountford Sheard Collection
• New South Wales Land Information Directory
• Who's Who in Australia (1906-1988)

These catalogues and directories can be read on the microfiche reader located in the Library.

Oral history collection: This collection consists of a number of audio cassettes of interviews concerning the history and use of artefacts held by the Museum. They are indexed in a special register kept next to where they are shelved on the rear wall of the Library.

Video collection: This collection consists of a number of videos relating to the history and use of Museum artefacts as well as master copies of videos made of many Museum events. They are shelved near the TV and video equipment available for viewing.

Vertical files: The vertical files contain newspaper clippings, exhibition catalogues and other ephemera that are of interest to the Museum. The materials are filed under subject and held in a filing cabinet in the Reading Room.

Building the Library's collections

The Library's collections are built around the work of Museum staff. We welcome suggestions at any time from Museum staff. To make a request fill in a Book purchase request or a Serial purchase request. Both forms are available from the Library and need to be countersigned by the project leader.

Library staff also scan many journals, publishers' lists, bibliographies and other libraries' collections for items that fit the selection criteria for adding materials to the collection.

The Library is fortunate to have received a number of donations that have helped to build its collections. We are also able to accept donations under the Cultural Gifts Program part of Taxation Incentive for the Arts.

The Library catalogue

The Library catalogue can be searched via the Museum's website, the Online Public Access Catalogues located in the Library and, for Museum staff, via Museum Central (under 'Business Systems and Software').

The catalogue lists books, serials, conference papers and atlases.
The catalogue does not include journal articles, video and audio tapes, chapters in books or vertical file material.

Each book, journal title etc. is represented by a catalogue entry. This entry consists of a number of separate entry fields including:

• Author/s or Editor/s - you may need to look under the name of a company or conference
• Title
• Imprint - place of publication, publisher, year
• Notes - if any
• Series - any publishers' series that the item belongs to
• Subject - all the subjects the Library has assigned to the item which help you to ascertain what topics the item covers
• Shelf location - indicated by a call number made up of a location symbol and Dewey classification number

Searching the Library catalogue (Libero)

There are five different specific search types besides the main Anyword or Keyword search. Select one of the following search types via the drop down menus on the main search screen:

• Title search - searching for titles including series title by a number of methods
• Author search - searching for either personal or corporate author or both
• Subject search - searching for library resources by subject
• Audio search - searching for audiovisual resources including CDs, videos and DVDs
• Advanced search - specifying information from different individual fields that can be combined into complex search statements using Boolean operators and, or and and not. You can narrow or filter your search by date, collection and material type

To start a search: enter a search term/s, select a search method, then click OK (or hit the Enter key). This will retrieve items containing those search terms.

Search tips

When searching for an item for which you know the author and title, enter the author's surname first and then a few unique words from the title. This will result in the most accurate item being placed at the top of the list of results.

Notes of caution:

• Titles are notoriously easy to misremember
• "Museum" and "Australia" are not unique terms in this environment, so are best avoided
• Libraries use a list of terms (authorities) to ensure the same term is used consistently to describe each subject. When searching for a particular subject use the Authority Expert Search to find which term has been used for that subject. Searching using the correct term will ensure complete retrieval of the libraries' holdings
• Use * to truncate a word and broaden your search; for example, Muse* will get museum, museums and museology
• Use ? to substitute for letters within a word whose spelling you are unsure of
• There is no need to use small common words such as of, the and a in your search

Finding materials on the shelves

Dewey decimal classification numbers

All books have a Dewey decimal classification number, and several books may have the same number. This number determines the item's location on the Library's shelves. The system is based on decimal numeration; that is, the longer the number after the decimal point, the more specifc the subject.

• 000-Generalities, including museology 069
• 100-Philosophy, parapsychology and occultism, psychology
• 200-Religion
• 300-Social Sciences
• 400-Language
• 500-Natural sciences and mathematics
• 600-Technology (Applied sciences)
• 700-The Arts. Fine and decorative arts
• 800-Literature (Belle-lettres) and rhetoric
• 900- Geography, history and auxiliary disciplines

Specific collections are identified with a unique prefix to the Dewey decimal classification number.

• REF = Reference Collection
• S = Serial Collection
• PAM = Pamphlet (less than 50 pages)
• F = Folio (large book)
• CON = Conservation
• BALD = Baldwin Collection
• CUMMINS = Cummins Collection
• EDWARDS = Edwards Collection
• FITZ = Fitzhardinge Collection
• FRENCH = French Collection
• GAMMAGE = Gammage Collection
• GINMAN = Ginman Collection
• HIND = Hindwood Collection
• ILLICH = Illich Collection
• INGLIS = Inglis Collection
• MACK = Mackenzie Collection
• McCARTHY = McCarthy Collection
• MACKANESS = Mackaness Collection
• POPE = Pope Collection
• PRICE = Price Collection
• PRITCHARD = Pritchard Collection
• RIDE = Ride Collection

Please do not return items to the shelves. Place items on the reshelving trolleys for the library staff.

Borrowing ( Museum staff only)

Museum staff may borrow from the Library. After your orientation tour and on completion of a registration form, the Library staff will issue a bar-coded borrower's card that remains in the Library. You will be given details of loan periods and member number (barcode no.). This will enable you to access the Member Services area of the Catalogue web page. To borrow, simply take the items you wish to borrow to the loans desk, and the Library staff will record the loan for you on the computer.

All loans must be recorded. It takes only a few moments. Items removed from the Library without a loan record can cause inconvenience and frustration to your colleagues, and much time lost in searching for it by Library staff.

Please return loans to the returns chute inside the entrance to the Library.

Loan periods

• General collection - 4 weeks
  Up to 20 items may be borrowed by each person at the one time. Loans may be renewed if no one else is waiting for the item. Renewals may be done by phone in the first instance, but after that Library staff must sight the item
• Serial collection - 1 week
  Serials are displayed for two weeks after arrival.
• Reference collection - not available for loan
• Rare collection - not available for loan
• Special collections - not available for loan

In special circumstances exceptions to the above loan conditions may be negotiated with the Chief Librarian.

Departing employees - clearance of all Library loans is an essential part of the Museum's exit form procedures.

Reserves ( Museum staff only)

From the Member Services page under the Catalogue on OPAC, Museum staff are able to place items on reserve using their borrower number and a password.

Other member services ( Museum staff only)

In addition to placing items on reserve, the Member services login area allows Museum staff to:

• view their own loan records to check their status
• register changes of contact details (for example, when on long-term leave);
• identify subjects of particular interest and receive email notification of new materials in that field

Inter-library loans ( Museum staff only )

If the Library does not have an item you require, it may be possible to obtain the item from another library by inter-library loan. Museum staff may request an inter-library loan by sending a request to loans@nma.gov.au. Library staff will identify which library holds the item you need and request the item on your behalf.

Please note: requests must be endorsed by your project leader. Inter Library Loans can only be done for work related purposes as the library has never been resourced to provide ILL for private study.

More unusual items may take a significant time to obtain. Occasionally, no Australian library is listed as holding a required item and it may be necessary to try and obtain it from an overseas source.

It is important that you take care of items from another library and return them to us on time; otherwise it may be difficult to secure a similar privilege for you in the future.

Some rules to remember

• Inter-library loan requests must be related to work or research at the Museum
• Borrowing conditions of the lending library have to be observed
• Do not mark books in any way
• Items must be returned by the due date
• If an extension is required and allowed by the lending library, it must be requested by the due date. Only one extension is granted on any item. Not all libraries grant extensions

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