Archive for the 'Research enquiries' Category

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Connections and calibrations

Published on August 7, 2009 in Research enquiries. 0 Comments Tags: .

Recently I was asked to contribute a piece about the Powerhouse Museum’s Research Library to the Collections Australia Network.

CAN links collecting institutions across Australia and provides online services to professional and volunteer workers involved with public access collecting institutions. These services are particularly beneficial to small and medium-sized collecting institutions in regional Australia. For more information contact CAN manager Ingrid Mason or outreach officer Sarah Rhodes.

Here is the piece I wrote. Bear in mind that it’s written for an audience of librarians and has library-speak sprinkled throughout. In spite of that I think it gives an accurate picture of the Research Library. Besides, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to wax lyrical about its amazing collection:

“The Powerhouse Museum and its Research Library began at the same time, in 1880.

The Library collection has been developed in parallel with the Museum object collection, the purpose being to reflect what and how the Museum collects. With a content that underpins exhibitions and programmes, the Library principally supports curatorial research. It also supports the corporate objectives of Museum management.

Since 1986, the Research Library has contributed to Libraries Australia and its predecessors. In 2005 it commenced membership of the National Library’s LADD service, which has streamlined the Inter Library Loan process and markedly increased borrowing requests from other libraries.

Aeronautical history, design, antiques, ceramics/pottery, costume and costume history, technology and society, numismatics, philately, textile crafts, textile making, music, interior decoration, jewellery, photography, physics, glass, graphics, fashion design, furniture, museology…the diversity of subject areas makes it hard to describe the Library’s collection. Perhaps it’s best summed up as eclectic: technology and decorative arts intersecting within a social history context.

Over the last 129 years, it has been growing steadily through a combination of purchases and donations. There is virtually no weeding, as older publications are indispensible in providing a record (ie snapshot) of a particular era. Thus the Research Library’s collection presently consists of approximately 40,000 items that include books, serials, and audiovisual material. These are catalogued to the third (and highest) level of description within AACR2, using the Dewey and LCSH classification systems. The aim is for browsability, which suits our internal clients. Even when Dewey numbers have changed, we’ve retained the earlier sequence because it is easier for our users. Some numbers within the museology subject area have been re-located, but we retain the older classification as it enhances browsability of the museology collection. In common with many special library collections, idiosyncrasies and in-house conventions are maintained. For instance, following the request of curatorial staff many years ago, books on pottery and porcelain are arranged by country rather than by material or forms.
This style of cataloguing has resulted in a vibrant collection that is highly accessible. The detailed descriptions allow for intricate calibrations that result in rich returns when searching. As a reference librarian, I am constantly surprised and delighted by unexpected connections in subject areas. As for the Library staff, our years of experience as users and interpreters of the Research Library’s resources have provided us with an instinct for knowing what fits the collection and what does not. We are fortunate to be able to say that the Library collection is a joy to work with. “

Although this is a Research Library for Powerhouse Museum staff, members of the public may visit by appointment. Just email me or phone (02) 9217 0258 to set up a time.

Reggio Emilia et al

Published on July 17, 2009 in Research enquiries. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

It’s always exciting to receive new books in the library, especially in these times of tight budgets, and the latest clutch of acquisitions is no exception. Even better, we got to preview them before ordering instead of selecting from a catalogue, thanks to education officer, Kath Daniel, of Education & Program Development, who arranged a visit from Mary Fetterplace of The Book Garden

All the books are about the process of art and creative expression in early childhood, but the standouts are the ones from the Reggio Emilia in Italy. Even the titles are interesting: ‘Dialogues with places’; ‘Children, spaces, relations: metaproject for an environment for young children’; ‘Making learning visible: children as individual and group learners’ ; ‘The hundred languages of children’. Not only beautiful, the books are practical. I asked graphic designer, Kate Lamerton who is the online producer of the wonderful Powerhouse Museum children’s website what she thought.

According to Kate, these publications articulate exactly the philosophy that is being worked towards on the PHM children’s website – to inspire and suggest without being prescriptive; to encourage both creative expression and an awareness of the aesthetic of art.

The books are currently being catalogued and will soon be available for loan to staff and to other libraries on Inter Library Loan through the Libraries Australia Document Delivery Service, For further details contact the Research Library’s Inter Library Loans expert Dimity Holt dimityh@phm.gov.au

For more about the Reggio Emilia foundation/philosophy of early childhood education read on

Museums as soup kitchens for the soul

Published on July 1, 2009 in Research enquiries. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

If you think museums as soup kitchens sounds weird, try thinking of them as community hubs. Museums consultant, Elaine Heumann Gurian, has no trouble with visualising either, in fact it was she who developed these concepts. Elaine visited the Powerhouse Museum last week to discuss the changing face of museums with staff.
Elaine challenges the idea of Museums being institutions of passive education and exhibitions. She urges museums to interact with their audiences, by inviting community participation and collaboration in what is displayed. This is already happening online through social media such as Flickr, Twitter and Facebook, but Elaine suggests that participation go a step further – a face to face engagement with visitors while they are in the museum.
Here, Elaine writes about her ideal, an imaginary place of the near future, the Blue Ocean Museum.

It never rains…

Published on June 17, 2009 in Research enquiries. 0 Comments

Yesterday afternoon, during a particularly heavy fall of rain, it was all hands to the pump in the library, when one of our users rushed from the shelves to say there was water streaming down a wall and on to our folio collection.

While one of us phoned for plastic sheeting, I raced with bucket and cloths down to the area where two people were grabbing books from the affected shelves and stacking them on the floor out of harm’s way. By the time the plastic sheeting arrived, the shelves affected by the leaks were cleared and we draped plastic sheeting over the surrounding shelves to cover the contents from splashes. I was then able to turn my attention to the books on the floor, mopping them and standing them to air.

While all this was going on a Museum staff member on a ladder, investigated the leak from outside the building, and the cause of the problem was revealed. A plastic DVD case, hurled from the next door appartment building, had landed in the gutter and blocked the downpipe. While many objects thrown from the appartments are found on the roof (why??), this was the first time that one had lodged in such an awkward place. Anyway, as soon as it was removed, the leaking stopped.

Well, the books are now dry and safe, Today’s job is to put them back in order and on the shelves!

Australian farming in the 1930s

Published on June 17, 2009 in Research enquiries. 0 Comments

Today’s library visitor came to research the heritage farming machinery and techniques of Savernake Station, a sheep farm near Corowa in New South Wales. We set her up with the 1992 video about Savernake Station, Heritage farming in Australia.

The use of original 16mm footage, shot in the 1930s, accompanied by a short selection of still photographs, show the activities of the farming year, from ploughing and sowing to harvesting. What’s interesting, is that they feature both modern and traditional methods: horses and tractor are side by side. These images capture the transition of framing methods from horse-powered farming and early mechanical inventions to the forerunners of today’s modern equipment and largescale farming practices.

Our researcher was delighted to find out that 1935 was a vintage year for farming in NSW. The sun shone at the right time, just enough rain fell when it was needed. The resulting harvest at Savernake Station that year was a record – the film shows the construction of a 180 ton thatched haystack.

You can visit Savernake today, check out their eco tours and farmstays.

Whisper who dares

Published on May 19, 2009 in Research enquiries. 1 Comment

I’ve heard of horse whisperers, dog and cat whisperers, but until last week I’d never heard of a Muse Whisperer. Enlightenment came in the form of an email query from Felicia Rose Adler, Muse Whisperer . Felicia has a kalaga which she believes belongs to a special person, and is on a mission to find this person. As Felicia says, life is a tango – let’s dance! By the way, if you’re interested in rugs, have a look at the tea and carpets blogspot.

Metalsmiths and architecture

Published on April 29, 2009 in Research enquiries. 0 Comments

This week has been busy – and it’s only Wednesday. Tuesday saw a visit from two Enmore Design School jewellery students, Kate Davey and Minh Tran. Both are in their last year and are researching a major topic for final assessment. Kate’s is openwork jewellery with an emphasis on the Byzantine-Etruscan era; Minh is researching two contemporary Australian metalsmiths, Joung-Mee Do and Helen Aitken-Kuhnen.
Kate and Minh intend working with precious metals in their chosen careers.

And on Tuesday afternoon, Carole Gilchrist from Adelaide University came in to research the architectural history of the present Powerhouse Museum. Carole is completing her Masters degree in Curatorial and Museum Studies at Adelaide University and for this final research project is focusing on museum architecture and its influence on the way objects are displayed. Her two case study museums are the Powerhouse Museum and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

Astrotagging and citizen scientists

Published on April 16, 2009 in Research enquiries. 0 Comments

Astrotagging and citizen scientists

Recently I attended a session delivered by Fiona Romeo who talked about astrotagging.

The online robot is able to locate and identify heavenly bodies but it can’t cover the whole sky. Cue: casual astronomers aka the general public. Some of the astronomy photos presented are yet to be identified so viewer comments and suggestions are useful. Viewers also contribute their own photos to the online astro-community for comment and identification. Thanks to the input of these ‘citizen scientists’, hitherto unknown cosmic objects have been discovered and verified.

For more information about Fiona’s activities, you can follow her blog http://foe.typepad.com/about.html

When is a tile an Iznik tile?

Published on April 3, 2009 in Research enquiries. 0 Comments

Curator Dr Paul Donnelly is writing an article for The Asian Arts Society of Australia (TAASA) about Iznik tiles, using one (A9636-6) from the Museum’s collection as a focus. This tile dates from about 1560 AD, the time of Suleman the Magnificent, and Paul has been consulting a range of publications about Ottoman architecture and artefacts in order to narrow down a range of buildings from which this tile may have come.

Iznik earthenware tiles, produced in 16th and 17th century Turkey were painted with stylized and symmetrical designs of flowers, leaves and fruits. Colours were blue, white, turquoise, shades of green and purple. But their most distinctive feature was the use of a deep orange-red colour (sometimes know as ‘sealing wax’ red). These beautiful tiles tiles adorned walls of public buildings including mausoleums and mosques.

During his research Paul has identified a pattern that matches the Museum’s tile. He has also made a discovery – in comparing the patterns, it’s clear that the Museum’s tile has been cut on two sides of one corner, which suggests that either it was cut to fit an architectural scheme, or was damaged on removal and the broken edges tidied up. Thanks to an interlibrary loan, we know for the first time that the tile was cut, and can see from the illustration how the original tile would have appeared when complete.

Knockers and things

Published on April 3, 2009 in Research enquiries. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Emily Schultz, who is the costume designer for Primal Films came to research rural costume worn in Victoria in the 1880s, as well as traditional attire worn by indigenous people of the area. The company is producing Primal, a film written and directed by Josh Reed. The film crew has worked on many films including Moulin Rouge, Narnia, Australia, Black Water and Gettin’ Square. Emily describes Primal as an ‘uncompromising indie thriller’.

A recent visitor was Regional Services intern Michelle Maddison, who is costume curator at the Museum of the Riverina. Michelle was researching Australian rural costume from 1900 to 1930. She was thrilled to see the Library’s store catalogues of the period, Australian Woman’s Mirror (1924-1957), and The Draper of Australasia (1912 -1963)

Penelope Lau, Research and Project Officer at the State Library of Queensland (SLQ), visited to examine the Research Library’s holdings of design books and journals, the depth of which impressed Penelope greatly. The State Library of Queensland is undertaking planning to strengthen its design collection, and Penelope’s survey of the Research Library, and similar design libraries, forms part of the SLQ’s strategy to acquire design resources which complement those already held in the Distributed National Collection.