University of Western Australia Library
Encyclopedia
The University of Western Australia Library is the oldest and largest university library in Western Australia
, with a budget of more than A$16 million and a collection of about 1.5 million volumes and 55,000 current serial titles. Its public services include seven different subject libraries and the Scholars' Centre. It also provides an extensive range of digital services and electronic resources. The University Librarian (and Director, Information Management) is Dr Mary Davies.
was founded in 1913, the University Library was allocated £2000. A few hundred volumes were bought, but the Library was only nominally supervised and organised until the appointment of Malvina Evalyn Wood to the position of University Librarian in 1927. The next thirty years saw steady but unspectacular growth in the collections, but the Library's accommodation remained inadequate. It was not until Leonard Jolley became the University Librarian in 1959 that the Library began to expand its collections rapidly, to experiment with new forms of information technology, to erect major new library buildings, and to bring departmental libraries under central control. Technological improvements became even more significant in the 1980s as Arthur Ellis, Jolley's successor as University Librarian, worked to expand the collections of audio-visual and electronic materials and began the process of computerizing the Library's catalogues.
The Library's Special Collections are housed in the Scholars' Centre. They focus on Australian literature and the history of the Indian Ocean Region and include the following discrete collections:
The Manuscript Collection includes the archives of Australian writers like Robert Drewe
, Albert Facey
, John Kinsella, Tracy Ryan
and Peter Cowan
, as well as the archives of the literary magazine Westerly
and the Western Australian publisher Access Press, and manuscript material relating to the history of the University of Western Australia
.
The Library has developed or contributed to the following Australian digital services:
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, with a budget of more than A$16 million and a collection of about 1.5 million volumes and 55,000 current serial titles. Its public services include seven different subject libraries and the Scholars' Centre. It also provides an extensive range of digital services and electronic resources. The University Librarian (and Director, Information Management) is Dr Mary Davies.
History
When the University of Western AustraliaUniversity of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
was founded in 1913, the University Library was allocated £2000. A few hundred volumes were bought, but the Library was only nominally supervised and organised until the appointment of Malvina Evalyn Wood to the position of University Librarian in 1927. The next thirty years saw steady but unspectacular growth in the collections, but the Library's accommodation remained inadequate. It was not until Leonard Jolley became the University Librarian in 1959 that the Library began to expand its collections rapidly, to experiment with new forms of information technology, to erect major new library buildings, and to bring departmental libraries under central control. Technological improvements became even more significant in the 1980s as Arthur Ellis, Jolley's successor as University Librarian, worked to expand the collections of audio-visual and electronic materials and began the process of computerizing the Library's catalogues.
Buildings
The Reid Library is the main library building, opened in 1964 and named after Sir Alex Reid, former Chancellor of the University. It won an architectural award and was extended in 1973. Other significant buildings include the Beasley Law Library (1967), the Wigmore Music Library (1976), and the Medical and Dental Library (2001). The Science Library, opened in 2009, incorporated the previous Biological Sciences Library (1992) and absorbed several smaller branch libraries, including Geology and Mathematics and Physical Sciences.Collections
The Library has substantial print and electronic collections across the full range of disciplines supported by the University of Western Australia. The print collections are housed in the various subject libraries, while the electronic collections are available across the campus network and by remote access.The Library's Special Collections are housed in the Scholars' Centre. They focus on Australian literature and the history of the Indian Ocean Region and include the following discrete collections:
- Australian Literature Collection;
- Peter CowanPeter Cowan (writer)Peter Cowan was a Western Australian writer, noted especially for his short stories.- Biography :Born in 1914 in South Perth, Peter Walkinshaw Cowan was the son of Norman Walkinshaw Cowan and Marie Emily Johnston. His grandmother was Australia's first female parliamentarian, Edith Dircksey Cowan...
Collection of Australian Literature; - Frank Broeze Memorial Library (maritime history);
- Erulkar Collection (Indian Ocean shipping and trade).
The Manuscript Collection includes the archives of Australian writers like Robert Drewe
Robert Drewe
Robert Duncan Drewe is an Australian journalist, novelist and short story writer.-Biography:Drewe was born in Melbourne, but moved with his family to Perth, Western Australia at the age of six. He was educated at Hale School, and in his final year was appointed School Captain...
, Albert Facey
Albert Facey
Albert Barnett Facey was an Australian writer and World War I veteran, whose main work was his autobiography, A Fortunate Life, now considered a classic in Australian literature. :)-Early life:...
, John Kinsella, Tracy Ryan
Tracy Ryan
Tracy Ryan is an Australian poet and novelist. She has also worked as an editor, publisher, translator, and academic.-Life:Tracy Ryan was born in Western Australia, where she grew up as part of a large family...
and Peter Cowan
Peter Cowan (writer)
Peter Cowan was a Western Australian writer, noted especially for his short stories.- Biography :Born in 1914 in South Perth, Peter Walkinshaw Cowan was the son of Norman Walkinshaw Cowan and Marie Emily Johnston. His grandmother was Australia's first female parliamentarian, Edith Dircksey Cowan...
, as well as the archives of the literary magazine Westerly
Westerly (Australian literary magazine)
Westerly is a literary magazine that is produced at the University of Western Australia English Department since 1956. It is currently publishes two issues a year....
and the Western Australian publisher Access Press, and manuscript material relating to the history of the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
.
Services
The Library offers a range of services for students and staff, including loans, document delivery and interlibrary loans, and reference and information services. Its digital services include Course Materials Online and SuperSearch (a federated search of numerous databases). It also provides a programme of information skills training, including the IRIS (Introductory Research and Information Skills) online unit for undergraduates.The Library has developed or contributed to the following Australian digital services:
- AustLit: the resource for information about Australian literature, for which the UWA Library is the Western Australian node;
- Australian Social Science Data Archive
- Guide to Australian Literary Manuscripts: a collection of more than eighty finding aids for literary manuscript collections in major Australian research libraries (using Encoded Archival DescriptionEncoded Archival DescriptionEncoded Archival Description is an XML standard for encoding archival finding aids, maintained by the Library of Congress in partnership with the Society of American Archivists.-History:EAD originated in 1993, at the University of California, Berkeley...
).