This paper discusses the impact of change on the State Library of New South Wales (Australia), a large public research library charged with the care and continuing use of a documentary heritage. The first section provides background on the State Library, including history, collection, mission, and use. The second section describes library clients,…

The National Library of Australia has a small but interesting collection of rare books and manuscripts. These collections are the legacy of a remarkable period of growth in the library's history. Strengths are greatest in British and European materials, particularly from the 18th century. The present collecting activities of the library are…

Several brief articles examine how library and information workers in Australia, along with community historians, are meeting the challenge of finding, cataloging, preserving, and communicating local history to their clients and the world beyond. Describes cooperative initiatives by state, local, and regional libraries; discusses how technology…

This study tested assumptions about self-sufficiency of academic library collections and the paradigm shift to providing access to information stored elsewhere. Inter-library borrowing statistics of Australian libraries were correlated with collection size. The study concluded that collection self-sufficiency is a fallacy and that the information…

This paper discusses access to Asian serials (i.e., Asian and Western language titles, including publications from Asia, as well as serials about Asia produced elsewhere) in Australian libraries. Background is provided on the development of Asian collections since the 1950s. Results of a 1994 national survey of Asian materials are summarized.…