Poster Session
Poster Session:
Collecting history at the PMI Victorian History Library
Presenter:
Ellen Coates
Date:
Tuesday 12 May | 12:30pm – 1:00pm
Presentation Description:
How do you shape a collection, so it tells a multifaceted story of a state’s history? This poster will explore the evolution of the PMI Victorian History Library’s collection. The PMI Library is the second oldest public library in Victoria, founded in 1854.
This poster will chart:
• The beginnings of the collection, when the decision was made to specialise in the 1980s
Writing a thematic collection policy.
• The importance of collecting different formats (including videos and ephemera).
• How to work actively to collect minority voices.
• Acquisitions and sourcing material for the collection.
• Working with the PMI Library’s community of Volunteers in collection management.
• Reparative description in cataloguing. It is not enough to have the material, it also must be discoverable.
Ultimately this poster is about the past and the future of the PMI Victorian History Library’s collection, and what happens behind the scenes to ensure that it represents all aspects of the history of Victoria.
Ellen Coates
Collections Librarian and Volunteer Coordinator, PMI Victorian History Library Inc.
Presenter Bio
Ellen Coates is the Collections Librarian and Volunteer Coordinator at the PMI Victorian History Library Inc. She is also the convener of ALIAVic, an historian and writer (medieval history nerd), runs the blog Historical Ragbag and can be found on most socials as @BiblioEll