News from the Hawke Library
Celebrating 80 Hawke Years
On 5 November 2009, a celebration was held to celebrate the 80th Birthday of The Hon Bob Hawke AC, launch The Hawke Legacy, as well as announce the new BHPML Archival Database. The event was hosted by The Hawke Centre, and attended by an array of former Hawke cabinet ministers and senators, as well as Premier Mike Rann and others.
University of South Australia VC Peter Hoj outlined the developments of the Archival Database (Audio file, opens in new window)
A recording of the event is now available (Audio file, opens in new window).
New display at the BHPML
To coincide with the launch of the new book, The Hawke Legacy: Towards a Sustainable Society, the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library has installed a new display in its cabinets. Using the theme, ‘Bob Hawke: The Great Australian Communicator and Mediator’, the BHPML has highlighted a number of speeches made by Hawke during his time as President of the ACTU, as well as his time as Prime Minister.
The display highlights the beginning of Hawke’s career as a Rhodes Scholar, his role in the fight against apartheid, the origins of ATSIC, the founding of APEC, as well as his close relationship with Papua New Guinea. From his maiden speech to the House of Representatives, to the Prices and Incomes Accord, the display focuses on not only his ability to address the masses from behind a microphone, but his strengths at the negotiating table, and as a mediator in difficult affairs.
Mr Hawke visits the BHPML
On 6th November Mr Hawke met with Library staff to discuss progress being made with revision of the BHPML web site and the new online archival repository. The web site now includes a wider range of his speeches made throughout his career, podcasts of interviews and talks and samples of the realia collection such as a model of the panther motorbike he once owned and campaign badges. Mr Hawke was given a demonstration of the new online archival repository, currently in prototype phase, which will allow for intuitive searching across the archival collections.
Staffing changes
Margaret Goedhart joined the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library (BHPML) in March 2008 as the Academic Librarian in charge of its day-to-day operations. Margaret has worked as an Academic Librarian for the University of South Australia Library for ten years, within various portfolios including the Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences and the Division of Health Sciences. Prior to that she was a Librarian at the University of Sydney, in the areas of education, health and mathematics, and was also in charge of a branch library. Her qualifications and background are in the humanities, with a major in Australian history.
The BHPML establishment phase, 1997-2007, was led by Jenni Jeremy. During that time Jenni developed a collection that reflects the social and political material from the Hawke era, forged relationships with key stakeholders and organised conferences, symposia and exhibitions that promoted the importance of archival records to scholarly pursuits. She also contributed to the planning and design of BHPML within the new Hawke Building. Jenni is now a member of the Academic Library Services team for the Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences.
The key goals for the BHPML in 2008 are:
- revising the BHPML website
- selective digitisation of key documents
- developing the framework for a digital archive of interactive searchable thematic guides, finding aids and indexes to support an enhanced range of information services, online exhibitions and educational resources to users and researchers.
Contact
Mrs Margaret Goedhart
Academic Librarian, The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library
University of South Australia, City West Campus
North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5000
Ph +61 8 8302 0318, Fax +61 8 8302 0420
Email: margaret.goedhart@unisa.edu.au