What We Collect

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Manuscripts

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The Manuscript Collection encompasses three categories of historical records:

• Single documents, or small groups of documents, that have definite research or exhibition value. Examples are the Endeavour journal of Captain Cook, the notebook kept by William Bligh after the mutiny of the Bounty, the manuscript of the convict novel Ralph Rashleigh and the drafts of Patrick White’s novel Memoirs of many in one.
• The archives of individuals or families who have achieved a degree of national standing and influence. They have assembled the collections, often over long periods, in the course of their day-to-day activities. Examples are the papers of the politician Alfred Deakin, the soldier Sir John Monash, the artist Sir Hans Heysen and the writer Henry Handel Richardson.
• The archives of a range of national non-governmental organisations, particularly those with broad functions, activities and influence. Examples are the records of the Federal Secretariat of the Australian Labor Party, the Returned Services League, the Australian Council of Churches and the Australian Institute of International Affairs.

Although the literal meaning of manuscript is ‘handwritten’, the Library’s manuscript collections cover all kinds of unpublished written records and many contain published and pictorial records as well. The kinds of records are extremely diverse: letters, diaries, notebooks, speeches, lectures, drafts of books and articles, research or reference files, cutting books, photographs, drawings, minute books, agenda papers, logbooks, financial records, maps and plans.

The Library has been collecting manuscripts since about 1910 and it has one of the two largest collections in Australia. It currently occupies over 12.5 kilometres of shelving. There are about 1700 major collections and the total number of individual items is about 1.8 million.

Scope of the Collection

In general, we have only sought records that relate to the history of Australia and its territories. However, a number of formed book collections acquired overseas by the Library have included manuscripts. Consequently, the collection includes a small number of European medieval manuscripts, some British papers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and a number of important collections relating to New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia.

There are several manuscripts relating to the European discovery and settlement of Australia, which are among the Library’s greatest treasures. It has some important nineteenth century collections, but in general sources on this period have been left to the State libraries. The great strength of the collection begins with the Federation movement at the end of the nineteenth century and continues up to the present.

The Manuscript Collection is not focussed on any particular subject and it supports advanced research in many different areas. The greatest strengths have been in maritime exploration, immigration, Federal politics and government, international relations, journalism, historical research, literature, music and the performing arts. In recent times an effort has been made to build up strength in other areas, including science, the environmental movement, the women’s movement, law, multiculturalism and the indigenous peoples. There are also some good sources on military history, the Christian churches and missions, and the pastoral industry (mainly in southern New South Wales).

Research & Access

It is not the role of the Library simply to provide the owners of archives with storage facilities. Instead, manuscripts are assessed on account of their long-term research value and they are only acquired if it seems likely that they will attract many researchers. They will not necessarily be available for immediate use. Modern collections, which often contain highly personal or confidential material, may be closed or restricted for a period of years.

Consultation & Cooperation

Wherever possible, manuscript collections are not split, but rather are kept together within one institution. The Library therefore consults regularly with other libraries and archives to ensure there is agreement on the most appropriate repository for a particular collection. It takes into account the collecting interests of the State and Territory libraries and national institutions such as the Australian War Memorial, ScreenSound Australia, the National Film and Sound Archive, the National Museum of Australia, and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. In addition, there are certain categories of records that it is unable to accept. Government records, whether Commonwealth, State or local, are the responsibility of the National Archives of Australia and the State archives. The Library does not acquire the records of businesses, trade unions, employer organisations and similar bodies. The Noel Butlin Archives Centre at the Australian National University has always collected records of this kind.