The Lu Rees Archives is a not-for-profit study and research centre, owned by The Children's Book Council of Australia ACT Branch, housed at the University of Canberra Library. The archives "strives to enhance the appreciation of Australian children's literature by collecting, preserving and making available wide-ranging resources", including "both the literature and the historical and cultural context in which it was created" The Lu Rees Archive was named after its principal founder, Lu Rees.
Contents
History
In 1974 Lu Rees, then President of the ACT Branch of The Children's Book Council of Australia, proposed to the other branches, that the ACT Branch would begin a collection of biographical files on Australian children's authors and illustrators and a collection of their works. Lu Rees offered her personal collection of several hundred works "as a first step." The collection was maintained in the home of a member of The Children's Book Council of Australia, and developed with donations mainly from Children's Book Council of Australia members. In 1979, in response to the International Year of the Child, Lu Rees initiated a plan to collect overseas translated editions of Australian authors.
In 1980, Belle Alderman first suggested that the collection, which had outgrown the home of Lu Rees, could be housed at the Canberra College of Advanced Education (now the University of Canberra), where it could be accessed by students and researchers. In the same year, the Library of the Canberra College of Advanced Education, under Chief Librarian the late Victor Crittenden O.A.M. (first Chair of the Lu Rees Archives Management Committee), agreed to house the collection, catalogue the resources and provide in kind support. At the time of handing over in July 1980, the collection became known as the Lu Rees Archives, after its founder. The collection then held around 1000 books and 50 research files on authors and illustrators. In 1981 Australian publishers agreed to donate their children's books, a practice which has continued.
Lu Rees, who received both an M.B.E. (in 1964) and was created a member of the Order of Australia (A.M.) (in 1983) for her services to children's literature, died on 23 January 1983. Posthumously, Mrs Rees was awarded the Dromkeen Medal for services to children's literature.
Management
Since 1983, the Archives has been managed by the Lu Rees Archives Management Committee, members of which include representatives of the local and national Children's Book Council of Australia, the University of Canberra Library, national and public libraries and tertiary institutions in Canberra, as well as those managing the Archives and its activities. The Children's Book Council of Australia ACT Branch took over management of the Archives in 1990. The following year, the University and The Children's Book Council of Australia ACT Branch signed a formal agreement outlining roles and responsibilities, and the agreement was renewed in 2003. Up until 1989, when the University of Canberra Library was restructured, part-time staffing was available from the Library, and until a part-time position funded by The Children's Book Council of Australia began in 1995, administration of the Archives was undertaken by volunteers. Management of the Archives is guided by the Lu Rees Archives Strategic Plan.
An honorary position of Collections Development Manager has existed since 1990 and Dr Belle Alderman, Emeritus Professor of Children's Literature, has occupied this position since its establishment.
Collections
An outline of the collection development objectives can be found in the current collection development policy, the Lu Rees Archives of Australian Children's Literature Strategic Plan and on the webpage ‘List of item types held at the archives.’ The Lu Rees Archives has collected material by and about Australian children's book authors and illustrators, including manuscripts, artworks, books (over 20,000 works, including over 2400 translations in more than 53 languages), artifacts, reference material, theses, rare books, periodicals, and over 390 research files featuring thirty different categories of materials. The Archives houses two publishers' archives, the Walter McVitty Books (donated in 2000) and Omnibus Books (donated in 2004), and has extensive photographic and audio material relating to Australian children's literature. An ongoing project to develop 'Artwork Frameworks' to record artwork held by the Archive to aid with cataloguing and research began in 2009. An aim of the Archives is to collect all the individual editions of published works.
Significance
Funding
To secure the future of The Lu Rees Archives, "the Archives aims to create an endowment fund of $1,000,000 by 2020".
Volunteers
The Archives has a strong volunteer body with various expertise who pursue specific projects (e.g. preservation of works) and progress the strategic plan. The volunteer program is permanent and essential to daily functioning of the Archive. Currently, the positions of Collections Development Manager, and Editor of the ‘Lu Rees Archives : Notes, Books and Authors’ Journal, are voluntary. In 2010, volunteers contributed over 2013 hours of unpaid work to the archives.
Publications
‘The Lu Rees Archives : Notes, Books and Authors’ (ISSN 0725-7015) journal, begun in 1981, is published once per year and contains articles by authors, illustrators and publishers on children's literature, as well as news from the Archive (an index of the journal is available online). The Archives annual reports and Strategic Plan are available online.
Access
The Archives has an extensive website http://www.canberra.edu.au/lu-rees, and information on how to access the catalogue and author/illustrator files online. The Archives is open two days per week, and allows access at other times by appointment.