The Indigenous collections audit project aimed to address a lack of data about the nature, description and discoverability of contemporary Indigenous collections in NSLA libraries. The project was split into two parts, each with its own report:
- Stage 1: quantitative data analysis of twenty years of published collections, web collections and ephemera (2000-2020)
- Stage 2: qualitative analysis of a sample of original collections from the last ten years.
Four libraries participated in the project: National Library of Australia, State Library of Queensland, State Library of Western Australia, and State Library of New South Wales.
The Stage 1 report was completed by the NSLA project team with professional data analyst François Petitjean. The Stage 2 report was researched and written by Butchulla researcher Rose Barrowcliffe, with the cooperation of the four participating libraries.
Next steps
Recommendations from both reports are being considered to establish where NSLA libraries can take collaborative action, including with other sector peak bodies, and which recommendations are best addressed by individual libraries. Any collaborative work emerging will be reflected in NSLA’s 2022-25 strategic plan, due for release in August 2022.
