Online Visual Exhibition – Transcript:
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Libraries Tasmania Highlights 2023
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“I look forward to working with the Tasmanian Library Advisory Board (TLAB) to provide even stronger advocacy and support for Libraries Tasmania, helping to raise its profile as an essential Tasmanian cultural institution and a contemporary, vibrant, and highly regarded statewide library and archive service.”
Jan Richards
Chair, Tasmanian Library Advisory Board
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2023 Headlines
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2023 was a sucessful year for Libraries Tasmania:
- Our physical items were borrowed 2 248 191 times, and our eResources were borrowed 937 838 times.
- There were 2 329 460 in-person visits to libraries 87 449 people attended 4 978 library programs.
- 20 662 people became Libraries Tasmania members and gained access to our physical and online collections.
- 6 500 Tasmanians discovered and rediscovered the joy of reading during Tasmania Reads Week. The program included 80 events, ranging from author talks to special Storytimes and reading fairs, and was supported by over 140 community partners.
- Libraries Tasmania played a key role in Nipaluna/Hobart’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature. The designation energises the local literary sector, elevates Hobart as a cultural destination, and provides an opportunity to strengthen a culture of reading and combat low literacy.
- Tasmanian students have access to the Sora eBook library and homework help service Studiosity. Sora gives students in Tasmanian Government schools access age-appropriate eResources for information and entertainment. Studiosity provides users with free personalised one-to-one online homework and study help from qualified teachers and tutors in all core Australian Curriculum subjects.
- The State Library of Tasmania awarded two new fellowships – one Creative and one Research – each valued at $10 000. The Research Fellowship was awarded to Dr. Richard Tuffin, who is using the Tasmanian Archives to expand knowledge of Tasmanian convict sites. The Creative Fellowship was awarded to Dr. Margaret Woodward, who is creating a contemporary artistic response to an 1868 Semaphore Code Dictionary held in the Tasmanian Archives.
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Nipaluna/Hobart has a fantastic history of storytelling dating back thousands of years. It includes the publication of Australia’s first novel in 1818 and the success of contemporary award-winning writers. Hobart is clearly a literary city. However, Tasmania is also a place where low literacy is a challenge. We plan to take advantage of this designation at the State Library of Tasmania and through our statewide public library network to promote reading, writing and a love of books as something for everyone.
Sue McKerracher
Executive Director, Libraries Tasmania
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Public Libraries
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“I moved from the mainland last year. Libraries Tasmania helped me in my transition. I attended courses to improve my digital knowledge, I visit libraries to borrow, I found out about Be Connected, I met friends. On so many levels the library was the link in making me feel settled and happy. Thank you. Your staff are wonderful. The fact I can borrow and return at any branch is fabulous, plus the icing on the cake is the access I have online.”
Libraries Tasmania client
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In 2023 Libraries Tasmania invested in public lending collections with the purchase of more than 55 000 new physical books.
- 20 421 fiction and 7 655 non-fiction books for adult lending collections.
- 23 409 books for the children’s collections
- 4 756 books to expand our popular Large Print, Book Groups, and New Release Express Service collections.
- 786 Book Packs for young children, including Baby Book Packs and the new Little Explorers packs.
In addition, 20 273 eBooks (7 070 titles) were added to our collection, as well as 10 938 eAudiobooks (225 titles).
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In 2023 public libraries improved programs, services, and spaces to maximise accessibility, engagement, and inclusion.
- Introduced online-only membership so everyone can access library services, from wherever they are.
- Improved library shelving and spaces at a range of libraries to make them accessible for all Tasmanians, including those with mobility issues
- Extended opening hours to give students a place to study during exam periods, and to give people more opportunities to visit the library.
- Recognised and supported Tasmanian diversity with events, programs, and displays celebrating Harmony Week, TasPride, Reconciliation week and NAIDOC Week.
- Adopted a dual name at the Kinimathatakinta/George Town Library to celebrate and acknowledge First Nations history and culture.
- Improved Libraries Tasmania website by applying Inclusive Language Guidelines to content and adding translation functionality to the whole website.
- Reviewed data collection to remove the title field from member registration and other forms and to provide an ‘other’ gender option so clients have more choice in how they identify themselves.
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“Really appreciate the audio book selection. Listen extensively while working outdoors with a pair of noise cancelling earbuds.”
Libraries Tasmania client
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In 2023 public libraries engaged Tasmanians with reading.
- Delivered 593 Storytime sessions, and 982 Rock and Rhyme sessions for pre-schoolers and families, including multilingual Storytimes.
- Celebrated Tasmania Reads Week in libraries and communities in March
- Launched the Little Explorers grab-and-go book packs for children aged 4 to 8 years. Each pack includes five books on an early learning topic that children can read independently or with an adult, as well as fun thematic activities.
- Hosted book chats and author talks for adults, featuring award-winning and best-selling authors including Robbie Arnott and Hannah Moloney
- Delivered the Adult Literacy Service using trained volunteer tutors who supported 469 people to improve their literacy skills.
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“I find that the staff and volunteers are very helpful. As one gets older it is not easy to keep up with all the technology that is necessary to use nowadays – let alone learn to keep up-to-date with all the new things that are becoming available. So to have somewhere to go where we can get help is wonderful.”
Libraries Tasmania client
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“Thank you for providing so many wonderful kids programs and activities, we have a two-year-old bookworm in part because she loves to visit the library so much!”
Libraries Tasmania client
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State Library of Tasmania
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In 2023 added the following significant items to the State Library of Tasmania collections:
- A ship carpenter’s copy of detailed blueprint plans of the Terra Nova, from Robert Falcon Scott’s Antarctic expedition of 1910–13.
- Glass plates and lantern slides collected by Maria and John Grist depicting Mount Wellington scenery, infrastructure, and visitors.
- A collection of over 300 posters from the late twentieth century, donated by the Socialist Alliance.
- The feminin’ monarchi, or, The histori of bee’s by Charles Butler. This 1634 volume is the third edition of the first substantial work on the science of beekeeping and includes four pages of music script imitating the piping sounds of bees. The book was treasured and used for generations, and includes extensive handwritten notes on other aspects of beekeeping, seasonal notes, and details of swarm collection.
- Sketches in Van Diemen’s Land taken from the authorities of that place by John Callagan, kindly donated by the family of Clare Christopher Cormac Lowther. This miniature book, published in 1834, measures 52 mm x 54 mm and includes 233 pages which have been handwritten in a very neat hand. There are also two ink drawings of Tasmanian Aboriginal people.
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The State Library of Tasmania and Tasmanian Archives Treasures Gallery hosted two exhibitions in 2023.
- Duck Trousers, Straw Bonnets, and Bluey: Stories of fabrics and clothing in Tasmania uncovered the threads of Tasmania’s clothing history, filled with colourful and unique garments, characters, and stories
- Treasures of the State Library tells the story of a major cultural institution from establishment by Act of Parliament in 1943 to the present day, and brings elements of our unique collection from behind-the-scenes into the public view
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Stories After Dark
Over 3 000 people visited the State Library for Stories After Dark to experience our stories and collections in new ways. Young Tasmanians delivered with creative responses to the State Library collection, and Tasmanians of all ages explored the building and stepped into Tasmania’s past. Visitors relived Hobart’s 70s and 80s music scene in the State Library of Tasmania and Tasmanian Archives Reading Room. The Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts hosted cosplayers and the Tasmanian Time Travellers. Campfire stories told in poetry, letters, puppetry, and the spoken word.
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Tasmanian Archives
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“I really appreciated being able to visit the History Room in Hobart and the archives to view my grandfather’s photographs and lantern slides taken over 100 years ago.”
Libraries Tasmania client
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In 2023 Libraries Tasmania invested in preserving Tasmanian records now and for future generations.
- Conserved and rehoused approximately 893 items/series including objects from the Miss Tasmania Quest, cased photographs of the Lord family from the 1850s and the Cherry Dress and Frog Costume donated after the Fancy dress: From tutus to cosplay exhibition.
- Completed the Preservation and Digitisation Project, funded by the State Government. We successfully digitised and preserved 2 885 items and improved access to our audiovisual collection.
- Digitised 15 663 items, including selected hand coloured photographs in locket of W and L Arnold.
- Transferred 17 700 physical and digital items into Government and Community Archives. These included the Glover Albums – two albums of mid-nineteenth-century photographs collated by the Glover family. The albums include two studio portraits of Tasmanian ex-convicts John Dell and James Cooper
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“You provide a fabulous service we would be lost without. The people in Archives couldn’t be more helpful … Thanks for all you do”
Libraries Tasmania client
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Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts
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In 2023 the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts collaborated with contemporary Tasmanian artists for three exhibitions.
- Skying: Cloudscapes in Tasmanian Art was an evocative exhibition by Tracey Cockburn that drew inspiration from early Tasmanian and English Romantic artists and their obsession with capturing unique atmospheres and light.
- Fancy Dress: From tutus to cosplay spotlighted our enduring passion for costume culture from the 1890s to today and featured rarely seen historic images and film from the Tasmanian Archives.
- Dear Kate: the vision of the Mitchell women featured original lithographs and watercolours by artist Jane Giblin (a descendant of the extended Mitchell family) alongside diaries and sketches by the Mitchell family who lived on Tasmania’s east coast during the nineteenth century.
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Youth Speak Out
The inaugural Youth Speak Out exhibition opened at the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts in November. The exhibition showcases artwork created through Reconciliation Tasmania’s Youth Speak Out educational initiative, which asked school students to create artwork that shares their opinions and responses on Aboriginal affairs and reconciliation.
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Libraries Tasmania is committed to providing Tasmanians with education, entertainment, and support. From birth onwards, all Tasmanians can find what they need at their local library, whether that be a new release bestseller, a historical record, help with their phone or computer, or reading and writing support. In 2023, we celebrated reading during Tasmania Reads Week, explored Tasmania’s creative past and present for Stories After Dark and supported Hobart’s application to become a UNESCO City of Literature. Both in-person and online, Libraries Tasmania provides high-quality library and archives services to Tasmanians, visitors and people across the world.
Sue McKerracher
Executive Director, Libraries Tasmania