Programme of speakers for the seminar "Reference & Access in Digital Age" Wednesday 12 May 2010

1. Australian Society of Archivists NSW Branch
Information Awareness Month Seminar – MAY 2010
Reference & Access in the Digital Age ‘Access Across the Generations’
Wednesday 12th May 2010
State Records NSW Seminar Room, Globe Street, The Rocks, Sydney
PROGRAMME
9.00am: Registration (refreshments on arrival)
9.20am: Convenor NSW Branch Louise Trott: Welcome, Introduction, Notices
9.30am-10am: Christine Yeats, SRNSW & Convenor of RAPPSIG: Survey of
Reference & Access pre & post digital age.
10am-10.30am: Speaker Session 1: Land & Property Management Authority
 Nicola Forbes: Baseline: the Heritage Portal and Online Exhibition Space
 Susan Kennedy: Baseline: the Heritage Portal and Online Exhibition Space
10.30am-11am: Morning tea provided by ‘A Moveable Feast’.
(Chloe Brookes Kenworthy available to discuss her Survey)
11am-11.30am: Speaker Session 2: National Archives of Australia
 Brendan Somes: The Provenance of Digitisation
11.30am-12.30pm: Speaker Session 3: SRNSW
 Fiona Sullivan & Anthea Brown: ‘Archives Outside’ blog
 Warwick Hunter: Third party agreements for digitization
 Janette Pelosi: The impact of digitization on reading room usage
12.30pm-1.30pm: Lunch provided by ‘A Moveable Feast’
1.30pm-2pm: Speaker Session 4: Museums
 Vanessa Finney (Australian Museum): On-line access to the Australian Museum
collection
 Jan Brazier (Macleay Museum): The Macleay Museum photograph collection
2pm-2.30pm: Speaker Session 5: Schools
 Jenny Pearce (The King’s School): Archives, Digitisation & the Curriculum at TKS
 Jo Tait (Knox Grammar School): “On the Home Front”
2.30pm-2.25pm: Discussion chaired by Christine Yeats
3pm: Finish.
ASA NSW Branch Seminar: Reference & Access in the Digital Age: Weds 12th May 2010 page 1 of 4

2. Australian Society of Archivists NSW Branch
Information Awareness Month Seminar – MAY 2010
Reference & Access in the Digital Age ‘Access Across the Generations’
Wednesday 12th May 2010
State Records NSW Seminar Room, Globe Street, The Rocks, Sydney
About the speakers and presentations:
Introduction to Reference & Access: A Changing Landscape / Christine Yeats, SRNSW
Presentation: Christine will provide a survey of reference and access in the pre-digital era, and the current
changing landscape: what is changing, and what remains unchanged. Christine will look at digital users: who
they are, and what their expectations are, and will touch upon services and standards for those services.
Biography: Christine Yeats manages the Public Access program at State Records NSW, providing direction
for its principal streams of activity - the reading room services, research, outreach and other public activities
and initiatives. Christine is also Convenor of the ASA Reference, Access and Public Programs Special
Interest Group (RAPPSIG); Treasurer of the History Council NSW; NSW Liaison Officer of the UNESCO
Memory of the World Committee; Convenor of the Sydney Joint Committee of the Australia Women's
Archives Project; Treasurer of the Professional Historians Association (NSW); and President of the
Randwick & District Historical Society.
BASELINE / Nicola Forbes & Susan Kennedy – Land & Property Management Authority
NSW (LPMA)
Presentation: Baseline: the Heritage Portal and Online Exhibition Space of the Land and Property
Management Authority. The Land and Property Management Authority is the custodian of a large quantity
of records which document the surveying, exploration, and land administration history of the State of NSW.
We are also responsible for the management of heritage sites on Crown Land. Our vision is to find a way to
use technology to present heritage data, archives and artefacts in a way which stimulates the imagination and
provides access to our invaluable resources.
Biography: Nicola Forbes is the Manager of Corporate Records Information Services for Land and Property
Management Authority. She holds postgraduate qualifications in Archives & Museum Studies. Nicola has
worked at the Australian Maritime Museum, NSW Department of Environment Climate Change and Water,
and at Queensland State Archives.
Biography: Susan Kennedy is the Heritage Officer for Land and Property Management Authority. She is a
lawyer, and has postgraduate qualifications in Archaeology. She has worked at museums in Western
Australian and Queensland, and also in private legal practice and as a consultant in the mining industry.
‘The Provenance of Digitisation’ / Brendan Somes, National Archives of Australia, Sydney
Summary: ‘The Provenance of Digitisation’. Brendan will look at digitisation at the National Archives in the
context of the Archives last 25 years of describing and making accessible archival records. He will conclude
with some thoughts on what’s next.
Biography: Brendan Somes is presently acting Director of the National Archives, Sydney Office. He has
been with the NAA in Canberra since 1999. He has worked in a range of areas addressing the transfer,
description, and preservation of the archives. His last role prior to Sydney was working on new policy
proposals for a new archives facility and digital records. He has degrees in Electrical Engineering and Arts
and a graduate diploma in Museums and Collections from the ANU.
‘Archives Outside: A case study in blogging’ / Anthea Brown & Fiona Sullivan, SRNSW
Presentation: State Records NSW launched the blog ‘Archives Outside’ in May 2009. This presentation
looks at the practical aspects of developing the blog, policy implications, promotion, developing online
content, and the lessons learnt during our first year.
ASA NSW Branch Seminar: Reference & Access in the Digital Age: Weds 12th May 2010 page 2 of 4

3. Biography: As Senior Project Officer Distributed Management at State Records NSW, Fiona Sullivan is
responsible for liaising with State Records Regional Repository Network, and overseeing the management of
State archives outside the custody of State Records. She is co-administrator of the ‘Archives Outside’ blog,
and as part of this role oversees and sources much of its content. Fiona has been employed at State Records
NSW for over 10 years. During this time she has worked in the areas of Disposal Regulation, Public Access
and now Archives Control and Management.
Biography: Anthea Brown is Project Archivist, Online Services at State Records NSW and as part of this job
she manages the State Records NSW website and online services including Twitter, Flickr, Youtube, and the
‘Archives Outside’ blog. She is co-administrator of the blog, with a particular interest in online services and
participation in social media/Web 2.0. Anthea has been at State Records NSW for over 10 years. She has
experience in the area of Public Access and has also worked in Archives Control and Management.
‘Dancing with digital partners’: beginner steps for outsourcing digitisation and access to third
parties - A State Records NSW experience / Warwick Hunter, SRNSW
Presentation: In the past few years there has been an increase in the number of third parties providing access
to digital copies of records on the internet. The copies are sourced from a wide variety of collections,
including public record agencies. These third party organisations are primarily commercially driven with a
focus on providing services to genealogical researchers. Warwick will discuss the issues State Records
NSW has addressed in reaching agreements with third parties, including the advantages, disadvantages,
potential concerns, and long term consequences.
Biography: Warwick Hunter manages the policy unit within the Public Access program at State Records
NSW. In the past 10 years Warwick has participated in the implementation of the public access provisions of
the State Records Act 1998, including the amendment to the Act to allow third parties to provide access to
copies of State archives. Prior to working at State Records NSW, Warwick enjoyed time at the National
Archives of Australia in the areas of Information Services, and Records Evaluation & Disposal.
‘Photographs, Digital Galleries and Access’ / Janette Pelosi, SRNSW
Presentation: The presentation includes a brief overview of digitisation at State Records, including issues in
scanning images for access in Photo Investigator. It discusses digital galleries such as Lachlan Macquarie:
visionary and builder and the Matron’s Diary from the immigrant ship Fitzjames. It also touches on the
‘online’ microfilm of assisted shipping lists, and current projects such as the First Fleet indent and
documents relating to Thunderbolt.
Biography: Janette Pelosi is both an archivist and an historian. She is a Professional Member of the
Australian Society of Archivists Inc and has served as Convenor and Acting Secretary of the NSW Branch.
She has been employed as an archivist at State Records NSW since 1990. She is currently Acting Senior
Archivist, Context & Documentation at State Records where she has oversight of its catalogue, Archives
Investigator. She has written and spoken on diverse topics such as microfilming, digitisation, local and
family history, ephemera, and Governor Macquarie, as well as on the colonial theatre and popular
entertainment. She is also a Professional Member of the Professional Historians Association. She was the
winner of Rockdale City Council’s 2008 Ron Rathbone Local History Prize for her history of the Rockdale
Volunteer Fire Brigade.
On-line access to the Australian Museum collection / Vanessa Finney, Australian Museum
Presentation: At the Australian Museum Archives we have very limited access to our own project funding
for digital initiatives. But we are lucky to work in an institution that is very web-focused and has recently
trained most staff as potential web content creators. In her presentation Vanessa will share some of the no-
budget strategies used to provide on-line access to the Australian Museum's wonderful archival collections.
Biography: Vanessa Finney is the Manager of Archives and Records at the Australian Museum. She has
degrees in English Literature and Archives and Records Administration.
ASA NSW Branch Seminar: Reference & Access in the Digital Age: Weds 12th May 2010 page 3 of 4

4. The Macleay Museum’s historic photograph collection / Jan Brazier, Macleay Museum,
University of Sydney
Presentation: Museums provide digital access to their collections through their websites and exhibitions, and
in the case of the Macleay Museum’s historic photograph collection, via requests for copies of images. In
working on the development of a forthcoming exhibition of historic photographs, Jan has had to grapple with
practical issues involved with scanning images from glass plate negatives. In a small museum where you
have to do the image capture yourself, Jan explored capture standards, looking at best practice in other
institutions, and how to provide an image at exhibition standard. From another stance, Jan is a keen desktop
researcher, relishing online access, particularly in doing research for this exhibition. The research synergies
now happening with online access indicate opportunities for archives and museums in digital access.
Biography: Jan Brazier is Curator of the History collections at the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney.
The History collections comprise a history of science collection (predominantly scientific instruments), and a
historic photographs collection. Previously, Jan was the foundation Archivist at the Australian Museum.
Jan’s early career was as a research assistant for Australian historian Ken Inglis, working on his seminal
publications, This is the ABC and Sacred Places War Memorials in the Australian Landscape. Jan holds a
graduate diploma in Archives Administration from the UNSW, and a Masters degree in Public History from
UTS.
‘Archives, Digitisation & the Curriculum at The King’s School’ / Jenny Pearce, The King’s
School
Presentation: There has been no overt plan to the digitisation program at The King’s School. Expediency
and necessity have been the keywords governing the material that has been digitised. Initially undertaken to
improve access to the records for the Archivist, the wider community has slowly made use of the material.
Both in-house and outside providers have been utilized in the program, and slowly more resources are being
made available. But there are issues of cost, the current policy regarding the marketing of the School, and the
perceived benefits; all of which impact upon the ongoing program. This short session will look at what has
been achieved, the processes that took place, and hopes for the future.
Biography: Jenny Pearce is the Archivist at The King's School, Parramatta (since 2000), and the Honorary
Archivist of St John's Anglican Cathedral Parramatta (since 1990). Jenny holds undergraduate and
postgraduate qualifications in Arts, Education, Theology, and Information Studies. She was formerly a
History teacher and occasionally fills in for staff on Long Service Leave in both the State and Independent
sectors.
“On the Home Front” / Jo Tait, Knox Grammar School
Presentation: Technology became an important feature of the educational experience at Knox Grammar
School from 2000. As part of the school, the Archive and Museum needed to reflect and be a part of this
development. Digitisation became a manageable means of providing access to the collection for a wide
variety of stakeholders, from Old Boys to current students, in a variety of forms. “On the Home Front” was
created initially to provide two-dimensional displays for important functions lasting less than three hours.
Slides were printed and laminated for quick easy display, and reused in classrooms or other displays. This
project has since evolved into a topic area of study for the Years 9 and 10 History Syllabus, using aspects of
school history from 1939-1945 to examine life on the Home Front. The presentation has been made available
via a range of delivery systems, and is now available to students at their convenience in the “my classroom”
section of the School’s web-based portal.
Biography: Josephine Tait (BA, Dip Inf. Man. Archives Administration, Dip. Ed.) has been the Archivist at
Knox Grammar School since 1989. She has a background in teaching & regional gallery management.
Before Jo gained qualifications in Archives Administration, she was the Bicentennial Local History Co-
ordinator for Warringah Shire Library. Jo was initially appointed at Knox Grammar School in 1989 on a
part-time basis to establish the school Archive & Museum, and she was also employed as a member of the
School’s Visual Arts Department. In 2004, the position of School Archivist position was made full time.
End of document
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