Berwick Library president Joyce Hayes presents guest speaker Danny O’Neill, author of Ancestral Streams: Notes from the Murray Valley, with a little conviviality in appreciation of his talk to the annual meeting.By Jim Mynard
THE Berwick Mechanics Institute and Lending Library heritage sub committee, formed early last year, presented its first report to the library’s annual meeting on Wednesday, 15 March.
The committee is concerned with conservation of older books held by the library.
Library president Joyce Hayes said since 2001 library volunteer Judith Dwyer had worked on the demanding task of sorting and cataloguing the 2000 books and other items of the collection.
Mrs Hayes said the books came from the private libraries of Lord and Lady Casey, which were donated to the institute.
She said formation of the heritage committee meant the library had an official body focused on protection, conservation and preservation of old unusual and precious books, and items the library had the privilege to own.
“This continues the vision of the late Dr Noel Stephenson that ‘a sense of history and a consciousness of one’s heritage could be powerfully motivational’,” Mrs Hayes said.
She said several Casey families donated substantial funds to ensure the Casey collection was preserved.
“Heritage preservation is not normally a function of the library, but it should eventually broaden the means of presenting access by the community of all or some of the items in the collection,” Mrs Hayes said.
“The heritage collection policy sets rules and conditions for the treatment and operation of the collection and function of the heritage committee.
“We used the computer, scanner and printer bought with money provided by the families and a community services grant for image digitalisation.
“It is proposed to digitise most of the collection for access by the worldwide web as well as a form of record preservation.”
Mrs Hayes said the library received a $3000 Federal Government grant to pay for a preservation survey.
She said as part of this, heritage committee coordinator Graham Hughes attended a threeday seminar in Canberra to be better informed on conservation matters.
Mrs Hayes said a display of the Casey’s memorabilia and photographs was presented in Edrington Park mansion in November.
“Attention was made to the life and times of Lord and Lady Casey during their period of residence there and to celebrate the 100th year of the mansion,” she said.
“The display evoked considerable favourable comment and interest from people.
“This was good publicity for the library.”
