Taonga (treasures) at the Alexander Turnbull Library: documentary heritage in Polynesia

ESSON, Rachel (2013) Taonga (treasures) at the Alexander Turnbull Library: documentary heritage in Polynesia. Paper presented at: IFLA WLIC 2013 - Singapore - Future Libraries: Infinite Possibilities in Session 95 - Rare Books and Manuscripts with Asia and Oceania.

Bookmark or cite this item: https://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/236
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Language: English (Original)
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Language: Chinese (Translation)
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Abstract

Taonga (treasures) at the Alexander Turnbull Library: documentary heritage in Polynesia

The Alexander Turnbull Library (ATL)is New Zealand's premier research library in the field of documentary heritage. Its statutory purpose is to preserve, protect, develop, and make accessible its collections for all the people of New Zealand in perpetuity and in a manner consistent with their status as documentary heritage and taonga [treasures]. The Turnbull recently underwent one of the most significant restructures in its 90-year history, in response to the changing environment for research collections. The restructure sought to realign resources with the increase in born digital material and to broaden its reach to new and diverse audiences. The conversations about taonga [treasures] and how we define what is rare and unique in the ATL setting were a vital part of the restructure process. This paper will focus on two particular areas. The first is Māori language material and Māori related material e.g. whakapapa [family history], oral histories, paintings, photographs as well as manuscript material. One of the most important collections in the Turnbull Library is the Donald McLean Papers in Māori. This series comprises almost 3,000 letters written to McLean by Māori from throughout New Zealand. It is the largest surviving group of 19th-century letters in Māori. Donald McLean (1820-1877) was arguably the most influential figure in mid-19th century New Zealand history. He was a dominant figure in relations between Māori and the Government during this tumultuous period. Being able to preserve and make accessible collections such as this requires a special understanding and relationship with Māori donors and researchers. Letters of understanding are being developed with iwi [tribes] to ensure that we are able to continue to develop and honour the nature of these truly special collections. The second area of focus is our digital collection strategy and the growing understanding of the importance of collecting resources such as websites where the rarity is often defined by the impermanence of these sources rather than the number of copies available.

亚历山大•特恩布尔图书馆的珍藏:波利尼西亚的文献遗产

亚历山大•特恩布尔图书馆(ALT)是新西兰文献遗产领域研究的开创者,它的目标是向全体新西兰人民提供经其保存、保护 、开发并可长久、妥善地被检索、使用的文献遗产、珍品。 目前,特恩布尔图书馆正在经历建馆90年来最重要的一次调整项目。应对外界环境变化对其馆藏文献的影响,该项目旨在整合日益增加的数字资源以吸引新读者,拓宽读者面。项目的一个重要组成部分是如何定义与鉴别ATL馆藏中的珍本、孤本。 本文主要研究两个领域的问题,一是关于毛利人的语言文献及相关材料,例如whakapapa(家族史)、口述史,绘画,照片及手稿资料。其中有特恩布尔图书馆最重要文献之一的“唐纳德•麦克莱恩毛利文研究资料”,它包含了新西兰全国各地近3000名毛利人写给麦克莱恩的书信,它是现存最具规模的19世纪毛利文书信集,而唐纳德•麦克莱恩(1820-1877)则是19世纪新西兰历史上最具影响力的人物,他是那个动荡的时期中斡旋于毛利人与政府间的一位举足轻重的人物。只有对毛利文文献捐献者与研究者具备非比寻常的理解力与建立良好的关系才能使这些文献被妥善保存与检索使用,对信件的理解有助于我们继续开发和尊重这些真正的特藏。 第二个关注的问题是数字搜集策略和增加对网络资源搜集重要性的认识,有些网站的资源因为其保留时间的短暂性而比那些可备份的资源更珍贵。

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