Northern library collections agreement reached

Media Release from Launceston City Council. 
Monday 25 November 2013

Launceston Alderman have today voted to enter into an agreement with LINC Tasmania on the future of two collections currently held at the Launceston LINC.

The Launceston Mechanics' Institute (est. 1842) and the Meston collections are owned by the Launceston City Council and, by an agreement signed in March 1971, have since been managed by the State Library (now part of LINC Tasmania).

The collections, particularly the Meston Collection, hold many valuable 19th century Australian and Tasmanian publications. The Mechanics' Institute Collection is a window into the reading tastes of Launcestonians of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is one of the few such Australian collections relatively intact and still in existence today.

In 2014, the Launceston LINC building on Civic Square will undergo greatly anticipated renovations, as announced by the Minister for Education and Skills in February 2013.

Preparation for this project has prompted a need to resolve some long outstanding issues of collection ownership, and develop long-term plans for items held in storage for many years.

The Council and LINC Tasmania engaged with a newly formed community group, the Friends of the Launceston Mechanics' Institute (FOLMI), to find a suitable arrangement for the large number of items that do not fit the collecting priorities of either QVMAG or LINC Tasmania

Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said all three parties had been aware of a need to do their utmost to care for the heritage of Launceston, while at the same time balancing issues of responsible stewardship with progress and development.

Aldermen today approved a recommendation that LINC Tasmania be granted ownership of the Meston Collection as well as items from the Mechanics' Institute Collection which has already been included in the Launceston Local Studies and Reference collections.

Jenny Rayner, Director of LINC Tasmania, said: “These items form the basis of our local heritage collections and we are delighted to formally accept responsibility for their ongoing care and management. They will be securely held in Launceston for consultation by Tasmanians and visitors from all over the world, and for the benefit of future generations.”

It is also recommended that the remaining volumes in storage be transferred to the newly incorporated Friends of the Launceston Mechanics' Institute. FOLMI will be responsible for the large general non-fiction and fiction collections and periodicals. They plan to make these items available to researchers and the general public once they have completed the necessary sorting and organising of the materials.

LINC Tasmania will grant custody of the official records of the Mechanics' Institute to the Council's QVMAG. The Museum will also be given an assortment of the Institute's objects. Books presently held by LINC Tasmania which were originally part of the Evandale Subscription Library (est. 1847) will also be transferred to the QVMAG Museum where they will complement an existing collection.

Speaking for their respective organisations, the Directors of LINC Tasmania and QVMAG expressed their satisfaction at the outcome of six months of negotiations.

QVMAG Director Richard Mulvaney said: "This is a sustainable outcome that will preserve Launceston's heritage well into the future. On behalf of all parties involved I wish to thank everyone for their input and advice, and for the amicable spirit in which the negotiations were conducted."

It is expected that items will be transferred to their new locations early in 2014.