Friends of the Launceston Mechanics' Institute (FOLMI)

A very successful inaugural meeting was held on 18 October to establish FOLMI. At the meeting we adopted a Constitution, elected office-bearers, established a committee, and endorsed an application to seek incorporation under the Associations Incorporation Act 1964.

The organisation currently has 34 members and we would welcome any interested people who would like to contribute to this exciting project.

Our Aims

The aim of the Friends of the Launceston Mechanics’ Institute, as set out in its Constitution, is to establish and maintain a working research Launceston Mechanics’ Institute Collection by;

i) locating, selecting, organising, cataloguing and preserving existing materials once the property of the Launceston Mechanics’ Institute between 1842 and 1929;

ii) liaising with local, state and national government agencies and with relevant interest groups to promote the significance of the LMI Collection;

iii) establishing a permanent home for the LMI Collection, in particular those parts not integrated with local and state government agencies;

iv) providing broad public access to the catalogue of the LMI Collection and enabling direct access to researchers needing to use the Collection;

Office-bearers

President: Peter Richardson

Vice-President Sue McClarron

Secretary: Mike McCausland

Treasurer: Richard Pickup

Public Officer: Prue McCausland

Committee:Peter Richardson, Mike McCausland, Richard Pickup, Prue McCausland, Sue McClarron, John Dent.

Priorities

The immediate priorities for the organisation are;

•To seek Launceston City Council endorsement for the transfer of the LMI collection to FOLMI and formalise an agreement.

•To participate in a steering committee with LINC Tasmania and QVMAG to plan future management of collection.

•To establish agreement with LINC Tasmania and QVMAG on what is to be transferred.

•To establish an agreement with the University of Tasmania regarding occupancy of an interim home for the collection (Room 007 on the University's Newnham Campus).

FOLMI's inaugural meeting

Don't forget our inaugural meeting is on Friday 18 October 2013 at 5.00pm in the Phil Leonard Room, Launceston LINC.

We’re excited about the possibilities FOLMI may bring about. The LMI collection is a most remarkable survival – more substantial than any comparable collection in Australia – and an important testament to the character and foresight of the City and its community.

Our aims are to ensure the LMI continues to be acknowledged as an important cultural institution in the history of Launceston; to preserve what remains of its holdings for their local and national significance; and to facilitate research into the collection in all its aspects. 

At this inaugural meeting we will need to adopt a constitution suitable for an incorporated body. It has to be based on the 'Rules for Associations in Tasmania'.   We have inserted phrases into the original form to apply it to FOLMI: the association’s name and purpose, the number of committee members, how many are needed for a quorum, and a few other procedural matters.  The question of a membership fee has been left open, but on the basis that communicating within the group will be by email, we see no reason to have a yearly subscription.

Those who have expressed support but are not able to attend will be noted as an apology for the meeting. We expect there will be some members whose interest in FOLMI is primarily to show support for the preservation of the LMI Collection, and others who want to take an active role in sorting and cataloguing etc. After the meeting everyone expressing support will be emailed the minutes and the constitution as adopted at the meeting.  Under Tasmania’s ‘Rules for Associations’, members can join or resign at any time.

We already have people willing to take on the roles of president, secretary, treasurer and public officer, so there is no pressure on others to be coerced into those responsibilities. However all positions are of course open. Note that the Rules for Associations allow for one or more general committee members as well as office-bearers. Please email us if you would like to be sent a nomination form.

The agenda for the meeting is envisaged to be:

1. Peter Richardson & Mike McCausland will briefly report on progress with regards to preserving the LMI Collection & explain the purpose of the meeting;

2. John Dent takes the chair for election of officers;

3. Newly elected president leads discussion culminating in the adoption of a constitution;

4. Discussion of draft submission to Launceston City Council on the handover of parts of the LMI Collection to FOLMI Inc;

5. Timeline for initiating the project;

6. Open floor discussion of any further issues and setting a date for the next meeting.

Friends of the Launceston Mechanics' Institute

 We invite you to a meeting to form FOLMI

You are cordially invited to a meeting to inaugurate an incorporated volunteer community group, Friends of the Launceston Mechanics’ Institute Inc. The meeting will be held on 18 October 2013 at 5pm in the Phil Leonard Room of Launceston LINC.

The goal of the new incorporated association is to establish and maintain a working research Launceston Mechanics’ Institute Collection.  More specifically this will entail: 

i) locating, selecting, organising, cataloguing and preserving existing materials once the property of the Launceston Mechanics’ Institute between 1842 and 1929; 

ii) liaising with local, state and national government and professional agencies and with relevant interest groups to promote the significance of the LMI Collection; 

iii) establishing a permanent home for the LMI Collection, in particular those parts not integrated with local and state government collections;
iv) providing broad public access to the catalogue of the LMI Collection and enabling direct access to researchers needing to use the Collection.

Six months ago it appeared that over half of the once-LMI Collection, about 12,000 nonfiction books, might be disposed of, so Friends of the Launceston Mechanics’ Institute (FOLMI) was formed to muster support for retaining all extant LMI materials.  Recently the Launceston City Council and LINC Tasmania have been in discussion about ways of retaining the whole collection, but it is dependent on there being an incorporated body to take responsibility for the parts of the collection not lodged in the working collections of QVMAG or Launceston LINC.

At the 18 October meeting FOLMI will adopt its constitution in a form allowing for incorporation.  This means appointing a public officer and office bearers (there are volunteers already prepared to take on these roles) and accepting the standard Rules for Associations governing meeting procedure, financial probity etc. required by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading.

The founders of FOLMI wish to welcome new members into this foundation group and to invite interest groups such as historical societies and other ‘Friends of’ groups to indicate their support for retaining the LMI Collection. Most welcome of all, of course, are those who may be able to participate in the archival work to be undertaken from January next year in unpacking boxes of LMI books, sorting, and later cataloguing them.

If you are interested in being involved in FOLMI, please contact either of us, and come along to the meeting on 18 October at 5pm in the Phil Leonard Room.

If you are unable to attend but would like be involved in FOLMI please let us know prior to the meeting.

If you know of others who might be interested in this project we would be most grateful if you would pass on this invitation.

Peter Richardson

Mike McCausland

launcestonmechanicsinstitute@gmail.com

Events at the Institute

The Mechanics' Institute was of course much more than a Library. It was a social and educational hub for the community hosting a busy programme of lectures, concerts, entertainments and exhibitions.
Here is a selection of entry tickets to events held at the Launceston Mechanics' Institute.

The first is of particular historical significance as it marks the initial public appearance in Tasmania of Frederick Matthias Alexander (born at Wynyard, Tas in 1869) following his move to Melbourne in 1889. The subsequent career of F M as the originator and teacher of the Alexander Technique in England and the United States was followed with great interest by Tasmanians.

 Alexander's recital was previewed by the Launceston Examiner as follows;

ELOCUTIONARY ENTERTAINMENT. - Mr F. M. Alexander, an elocutionist who comes to us with good testimonials from Melbourne, will make his initial bow to a Launceston audience at the Mechanics' Institute on Thursday evening. The entertainment will be given under the auspices of the Mechanics' Institute committee, and as an interest in the very necessary but lamentably neglected art of voice culture has been aroused in our midst of late, there should be a satisfactory attendance. Mr Alexander was a pupil of Mr Hill, and carried off first prize in a recent elocutionary competition in Melbourne. His tutor is a son of the late Mr T. H. Hill, author of that well-known work "Hill's Oratorical Trainer," and probably the best teacher of elocution we have had in Australia. On Thursday evening Mr Alexander will present to his audience the choicest selections from his extensive repertoire, the majority of the items being new to Launcestonians. He will be assisted by several of our best known musicians, and altogether an enjoyable programme may be looked forward to. The press notices Mr Alexander has received from the Melbourne papers are most favourable. Should sufficient inducement offer the probabilities are that he will make a sojourn in this city. (Launceston Examiner, 7 May 1894, p5)

A SELECTION OF OTHER EVENTS HELD AT THE INSTITUTE

MIV Newsletter No.32 - Winter-Spring 2013

The latest issue of Useful Knowledge, the newsletter of the Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria Inc., is now available. The newsletter features a two-page article headed "Launceston Mechanics' Institute's nationally significant remnant book collection".

The illustrated article charts the development and survival of this remarkable collection, and highlights the opportunities for serious research afforded by its preservation.

MIV Inc. was formed in 1998. It aims to foster the preservation and restoration of the social, cultural and physical heritage of Mechanics' Institutes through the development of information exchanges and systems of mutual support.

Membership is open to groups and individuals with an interest in the MI movement, particularly in Victoria.

Since its formation MIV has:

• Staged the first National Mechanics' Institutes Conference in Melbourne in 2000 and published its proceedings.

•  Facilitated the publishing of the 350 page book If the Walls Could Speak: A Social History of the Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria.

•  Assisted the publication of The Libraries of the Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria.

•   Secured a round of Government grants for some of Victoria's MIs.

•   Produced two Travelling Exhibitions Remember the Mechanics? and Mechanics'... And Proud of it!

•  Staged Regional Meetings in country Victoria.

• Established a Mechanics' Institutes Resources Centre (MIRC) and database at Prahran MI.

•  Staged the First International Conference Mechanics' Worldwide in September 2004.

•  Launched MIV's Historical Plaques Program in 2003 have to date issued over 30 plaques statewide.

To discover more about Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria Inc. and to obtain a copy of the newsletter visit their website at; http://home.vicnet.net.au/~mivic/index.htm