Special Collections transcript
By Pam Pryde
Special Collections houses some 200,000 items, and is located on the 3rd floor of the Baillieu Library. Access to the collection is available through the Cultural Collections Reading Room. The Reading Room is open from 9.30am to 5.30pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; from 9.30am to 7.30pm on Wednesdays, and from 11.00am to 5.00pm on those Saturdays the Baillieu Library is open.
In Special Collections you will find pre-1901 Australiana published works and pre-1881 European published works. As well, Special Collections houses a number of ‘named’ collections. These collections have been donated – or were purchased – from private collectors, and if the collection donated or purchased is a large one, the collection may be named after the collector, or in some cases, after the type of material found in the collection. For example, the McLaren Collection, donated by Victorian politician Ian McLaren, is a collection of around 50,000 works on Australia – or by Australians – while the Lonely Planet Collection was the personal collection of Lonely Planet guide bookss which belonged to the founder of the Lonely Planet, Tony Wheeler.
A list of our named collections is available through the Special Collections webpage, which can be accessed through the Library’s home page – click on ‘Special Collections’ under the drop-down menu titled ‘Branches and Collections’, or type in our URL address, www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/special.
Unfortunately not all the books in Special Collections are catalogued: some collections, such as the Taylor (Pulp Fiction) Collection and the Romance Collection have lists which are available through the particular collection’s webpage. For other items, in particular pre-1901 Australiana and pre-1881 European works, you may need to consult the card catalogue, which is located on the ground floor of the Baillieu Library. Other named collections can only be accessed through card catalogues held in Special Collections – each collection webpage will tell you whether or not the collection is catalogued online, and if the collection is not catalogued, the webpage will tell you how you can find out what titles are held in a particular collection.
Special Collections also looks after the University of Melbourne’s Thesis Collection. The last ten years of theses are located onsite – older theses are housed offsite in a library store, but are still ordered through Special Collections. It usually takes three-to-four days to retrieve a thesis from the offsite store.
Material housed in Special Collections may not be borrowed – it must be read in the Cultural Collections Reading Room. You can bring a laptop into the Reading Room to use to take notes – otherwise notes must be taken in pencil. Power points and wireless are available for laptop computers.
When you first enter the Reading Room, you will be asked for some identification – your staff or student card, or a driver’s licence will be accepted. Your identification will be returned to you when you return the material you requested to the service desk. All bags, briefcases, etc must be left in the lockers provided – and you may not bring books into the Reading Room, except with the permission of the staff member on the service desk.
Retrievals to the Reading Room happen four times a day – for 10.00am, 12.00noon, 2.00pm and 4.00pm – and on Wednesdays there is one extra retrieval at 6.00pm. Requests for material need to reach us no later than 30 minutes before the next retrieval time. You can make your request in person in the Reading Room, by phone on 8344 5380, or you can fill in the online order form – for this option, once you have located the item you want on the online catalogue, click on the Location Code and you will be linked to the Special Collections online order form.
Your may not photocopy Special Collections material, but in most cases photocopying is available on a deferred basis and is done by Special Collections staff. In some cases an item may be too fragile – or too tightly bound – to be able to copy without damaging the item, and in such cases, Special Collections reserves the right to say “no” to copying requests. Currently photocopying costs 50 cents a page, plus $1.00 handling fee, plus GST. To copy a whole thesis costs $80.00 a volume plus GST, regardless of size. Copies of whole theses can be delivered in hardcopy, or as a PDf on CD.
Reproduction-quality images can also be arranged through Special Collections – please ring Special Collections on 8344 5380, or speak to the staff member on the service desk for further information.
Digital photography is usually permitted on Special Collections items – though please check with the staff member on the service desk before using your digital camera on Special Collections material.
The staff in Special Collections are here to assist you – so please do not hesitate to ask if you need help. If we do not hold the item you require, we will be happy to try to locate the item at another library for you, or to help you find similar material which may meet your research needs – you only need to ask.