Manuscripts collection

Finding the Manuscript you want

The AIATSIS catalogue, Mura®, provides basic information about manuscript titles but no information on items within collections. The main entry point is usually the name of the creator or original owner of the collection such as a person, a family or an organisation.

As of August 2010 the Library's manuscript collection has over 10800 manuscript titles housed in secure, temperature-controlled storage facilities. The Collection contains unpublished material, such as letters, diaries, notebooks, speeches, field notes, transcripts of recordings, lectures, drafts of books and articles, research files and minute books.

The Collection includes the papers of individuals significant in Australian Indigenous affairs such as Joe McGinness and Aden Ridgeway, and of individuals prominent in Australian Indigenous studies such as W.E.H. Stanner, F.D. McCarthy and Father Kevin McKelson.

There are also records of Indigenous organisations such as the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI), single documents, such as diaries or archaeological site reports and small groups of documents, such as letters. The Collection also includes higher degree theses and the reports of recipients of AIATSIS research grants.

Manuscript finding aids

Manuscript finding aids are available for a number of the collections and provide more detailed information about collections. If you are unable to access them online they can be obtained by contacting the Reference Librarians. Hard copies of the finding aids are also held in the Reading Room.

Access, copying and quotation  

The Library's manuscript material is deposited with the Library both for the preservation of the work and the benefit of future researchers. On the whole, AIATSIS does not own this manuscript material and can not legally grant access or copying permission on behalf of the donor unless authorised to do so. Donors and depositors stipulate access conditions when material is deposited. Access conditions are indicated in the catalogue record and in the MS Finding Aid (if one exists for the manuscript).

Where permitted, copying may only be done for the purposes of private study or research and a Manuscript Copyright declaration must be signed.

Whether you intend to visit the Library in person, or request copying through our Document Supply service, contact the Reference Desk staff, preferably by email. Please provide the MS number and title and the date of your visit, along with any other questions yo have. You will be advised whom you need to contact to obtain any necessary permissions. This process can take several weeks, so please keep this in mind, especially if you are travelling from interstate.

Photocopying of Manuscripts for remote users

Remote users can obtain Manuscript photocopying quotes when emailing their enquiries to the Reference librarians.

Many MS items run to many hundreds of pages and we are not able to photocopy these on users' behalf. A limit of 100 pages per MS applies to our in-house copying service (50 cents per page). If more than 100 pages are required, users would normally need to make their own arrangements for copying. For more information about copying service and charges, please refer to the Reference desk.

Borrowing

Due to the unique nature of Manuscripts, they can only be used in the Library. They are not available via Inter-library loan.

Preferred citation

Items from the AIATSIS Manuscript collection should be cited this way: Title [or description of item], [MS title], Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, MS [nn], Series [nn], Folder or item [nn]

Example:

Diary, Papers of Ann Curthoys, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, MS 4186, Series 1, Item 1.