Reflecting on the Place of Regional University Libraries and Archival Collections

Adele Wessell; Clare Thorpe; Monica  Casavieja Muniz

doi:10.37683/asa.v52.11047

Adele Wessell Faculty of Education, Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2386-0612
Clare Thorpe Director Library Services, Southern Cross University, Gold Coast, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0974-4087
Monica Casavieja Muniz University Archivist, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37683/asa.v52.11047

Keywords: University archives, Regional universities, Community

Abstract

University archives sit in a unique space within the Australian archives landscape, with many serving a dual purpose. Archives may be collected and maintained as the historical memory of an institution. Others also act as archives for their local community or the state. Most Australian universities have a dedicated archive, and the Australian Society of Archivists (2024) has a Special Interest Group devoted to the sector (see Appendix 1: Foundation Dates of Universities and their Archives). This paper reflects on some of the different models offered at regional universities. As members of the Regional Universities Network, they share a particular context; each institution is committed to the broader community and serves the research and teaching purposes required in their establishment. Echoing early research on Australian university archives, however, there are marked differences in their approaches to managing archives, different functions and strategic alignment and diverse organisational arrangements.[i] Prompted by the initiative to develop a university archive at SCU, we would like to reflect on the strengths and challenges, limitations and possibilities of different models, how each archive relates to the business of the university, and echoing Boadle, to ask whether they function as a community or university resource.[ii] Centring the place of regional universities, this paper also allowed us to collaborate and traverse the boundaries between our institutions and within them, as well as between the university and community.

[i] N. Allen, ‘University archives in Australia’, Australian Academic & Research Libraries, vol. 19, no. 3, 1988, pp. 173-179. http://doi.org/10.1080/00048623.1988.10754626; D. Boadle, ‘Australian university archives and their prospects’, Australian Academic & Research Libraries, vol. 30, no. 3, 1999, pp. 153-170. http://doi.org/10.1080/00048623.1999.10755090

[ii] D. Boadle, ‘Academic or community resource? Stakeholder interests and collection management at Charles Sturt University Regional Archives 1973-2003’, The Australian Library Journal, vol. 52, no. 3, 2003, pp. 273-286. http://doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2003.10721555

Author Biographies

Adele Wessell, Faculty of Education, Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia

Adele Wessell is an Associate Professor of History at Southern Cross University. She is State Library of NSW Merewether Fellow (2024), undertaking a history of the Richmond River in Northern New South Wales. Adele is doing a Graduate Certificate in Digital Archives at Charles Sturt University.

Clare Thorpe, Director Library Services, Southern Cross University, Gold Coast, Australia

Clare Thorpe is the Director, Library Services at Southern Cross University, a researcher-practitioner, and non-executive board director who has worked in academic and state libraries since 2001. Clare and Adele established the Richmond River Open Access Repository as a special collection within the university library, and both are working towards opening a university archive this year on the 30^th anniversary of the founding of Southern Cross University.

Monica Casavieja Muniz, University Archivist, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia

Monica Casavieja Muniz has been the University Archivist at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) since 2010. She has a degree in Archives Sciences from the University of the Republic (Uruguay, South America). After graduating, Monica worked as an Archivist for 10 years at the University Archives in the University of the Republic. She moved to Australia in 2006 and lived for 3 years in NSW. Monica is studying for a Master of Information Studies at Charles Sturt University.