Directions 2009-2011

Replaces: Directions 2006-2008
See also: PDF Version

Our Objective

Our objective is to ensure Australians have access to a national collection of library material to enhance learning, knowledge creation, enjoyment and understanding of Australian life and society.

The National Library of Australia:

  • collects documentary resources of all kinds, including digital material
  • puts accessibility at the forefront of all of its services
  • works in partnership with Australian libraries
  • supports the creative work of the nation’s writers and researchers
  • plays an active role in the community of world libraries.

The National Library of Australia’s collections take many forms. These include books and serials, manuscripts, pictures, music, oral histories and digital items, and reflect the nation’s diversity. Our first priority is to ensure that a representative record of Australian life is collected and preserved for the future.

The Library supports creative and intellectual endeavour and the wide dissemination of ideas and information. We have a national focus and are committed to taking a leadership role in the Australian cultural community.

We are also committed to collaboration in achieving our objectives, and to developing partnerships to achieve particular goals. However, the resources to meet these challenges and to exploit these opportunities in economically uncertain times are necessarily constrained.

Technological innovations enable easier access to increasing amounts of information. Such developments present opportunities for the sophisticated delivery and management of collection materials—opportunities that the Library embraces.

We will continue to develop new ways to build and manage collections, and to provide access to information for all Australians. We will use innovative technologies, digitisation and the Internet to streamline our services, providing users with simple and easy access to our collections and to the world’s knowledge.

We will engage with users in more varied ways to improve our services and enrich our collections. We will monitor emerging global trends in the provision of information and will develop services that encourage the innovative use of our resources.

We will maintain our prominence in Australia’s cultural, intellectual and social life. We will invite individuals and organisations to support us through philanthropy, sponsorship, volunteering and our Friends organisation.

While providing national and international services, we will continue to promote the importance of the Library building as an inviting place in which to work and visit. To achieve our objectives we will strive to provide our staff with the skills, tools and environment needed to operate at the highest levels.

Strategic Objective 1:

Collecting

We will collect and make accessible the record of Australian life.

In particular, we will collect:

  • Australian publications comprehensively
  • selected digital materials, including websites
  • other documentary resources, such as archives, manuscripts, pictures, maps, music and oral history recordings.

We will explore new models for creating and sharing information and for collecting materials, including supporting the creation of knowledge by our users.

We will acquire selected overseas materials, in electronic form where available, to provide an international context for research based on our Australian collections.

We will undertake the following major activities:

  • increase the scale of digitisation of published Australian materials by continuing to digitise newspapers and commencing the digitisation of selected Australian journals and magazines
  • implement Resource Description and Access—the international standard for the bibliographic description of library materials
  • strengthen our technical infrastructure so that we can significantly expand the collection and preservation of born-digital content
  • improve the processes associated with selecting and acquiring original materials through better workflows and automation.

Strategic Objective 2:

Delivering

We will meet our users’ needs for rapid and easy access to our collections and other information resources.

We will underpin this access through:

  • ongoing activities such as cataloguing, collection digitisation and development of collection guides
  • improvements in our online catalogues and databases. We will support the research needs of Australians wherever they are, and those people seeking information about Australia, through our reference-enquiry and document-delivery services. We will selectively interpret and highlight the Library’s collections through publications, exhibitions and events.

We will undertake the following major activities:

  • build a Treasures Gallery—a permanent space in which to display iconic, rare and interesting items from our collections
  • introduce a new online service incorporating all the information available through our existing discovery services (this will include access to greater full-text content along with facilities for users to comment on and add to our data)
  • develop a comprehensive plan for our reading room facilities to ensure that they provide integrated access to our various collections and 21st-century information services.

Strategic Objective 3:

Collaboration

We will collaborate with a variety of other institutions to improve the delivery of information resources to the Australian public.

We will continue to play an active role in the community of international libraries and the rapidly evolving developments in international library practices.

We will continue to maintain and develop the Libraries Australia service to ensure that it meets the needs of its member libraries and their users.

We will continue to advocate for the importance of library services to everyone, whether specialist researchers or members of the broader community.

We will undertake the following major activities:

  • advance the National and State Libraries Australasia initiative—Re-imagining Library Services—to transform services offered by the national and state libraries to meet the needs of the digital age
  • develop Electronic Resources Australia in order to deliver a core set of information resources to the Australian public
  • create partnerships with libraries, cultural institutions, universities and government agencies to improve the data available through our new online discovery service
  • join with other Australian and international parties (including the International Internet Preservation Consortium) to develop software supporting the management and delivery of library collections.

Back to the top