FOLMI Newsletter 2

Friends of the Launceston Mechanics' Institute Inc.

Newsletter 2

March 2014

Transfer of Launceston Mechanics' Institute Stock

The transfer of stock to FOLMI from the Launceston LINC building is well under way. As agreed with LINC management the first part of the collection to be transferred was the Adult Non-Fiction. This has now all been unpacked and shelved in our temporary location at the UTAS Newnham campus.

In all there were 620 boxes moved over two days. Most of these books had not been looked at since 1990 and were entirely unsorted. Now that they are on shelves the work can begin to sort them into order and arrange the collection for assessment and evaluation. Volunteers to assist with this work would be most welcome, particularly those who remember their Dewey Decimal System.

An interesting sidelight in this process has been the discovery of several books from other smaller Institutes such as Longford, Evandale, George Town, Carrick, Deloraine and Lefroy.

Open Day

Anyone who would like to visit the University (Room D007) to look at the collection is invited to do so on Saturday April 5.  Peter Richardson will be there from 10.00 -4.00 to show you around.

Thank you to Marion Sargent for this picture of the collection taken on our Open Day

FOLMI Annual General Meeting

Although we have only been an incorporated body since late in 2013, we are required to hold our AGM in the next two months. It is expected that this will take place in early May, and we will advise the date, time and place of meeting soon.

Community Heritage Grants Scheme

As previously advised, a submission is being prepared seeking funding from this Australian Government scheme to commission a Significance Assessment Report on the collection. The closing date for the current round is May 3.

Going to the Mechanics

We still have a couple of copies of Stefan Petrow's history of the Institute available for sale. These were kindly donated by the publisher Professor Campbell Macknight. If any FOLMI member would like a copy please let Mike McCausland know.

Visit to Ballaarat Mechanics' Institute

Mike and Prue McCausland recently spent a day visiting the BMI where they were given a very informative tour and outline of the history of the collection by a member of the BMI Library Committee. Ballarat's is the only other surviving Institute collection in a regional Australian city that is comparable with Launceston's.