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Native Title Collections Access

The Native Title Research and Access Officer (NTRAO) is your first contact for information about the native title resources held in the Library and the Audiovisual Archives.

 Services include

All information provided to you will be treated as confidential.

The AIATSIS on-line catalogue, Mura®, can be searched from any computer with internet access.
You may do this yourself or you may request a search to be done for you by the NTRAO, who can send the listings relevant to your research to you by email or in hard copy. You can provide search terms by contacting the NTRAO directly by phone (02 6246 1103) or by email (ntss@aiatsis.gov.au). Please provide the following information to ensure that the search done will be useful to you:

Individual Visits

You are welcome to visit the Library and the Audiovisual Archives from 9-5 on Monday to Friday to do your own searches. A number of computer terminals are set up for your use both in the Library and in the Audiovisual Archives.

If you are planning to visit AIATSIS, it is best that you book an appointment with the NTRAO as far ahead as possible so that we can provide the best service for you. If you want to listen to tapes or view photographs or videos, an appointment needs to be booked two weeks in advance.

When you are making your appointment, please ensure that the NTRAO knows any names, geographical areas, or language groups that you are interested in so that material can be ready for you when you arrive:

Some information in the collections is held on restricted access. This is shown clearly on the catalogue record. If you want to view a document that you know is restricted, please let the NTRAO know well ahead of your visit. The NTRAO can assist you to arrange clearances, but please remember that this process can take some time.

Group visits

The NTRAO can organize group visits if an appointment is made at least four weeks in advance. Please state the number of people in the group and search terms so that listings can be ready for you when you arrive.

Tours of the Library and the Audiovisual Archives may be set up for you if you require, but please let us know of your interest in advance.

Copying relevant material

If you are doing research at AIATSIS, you may make photocopies of material held in the Library, except where restrictions apply. All copying, however, must be done in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. The NTRAO can help answer any questions you may have about what may be copied. Copying of rare and fragile items needs to be arranged with the Collection Managers and there may be some charge for these. Please note that the Library has provided many links on its MURA catalogue to documents that have been digitised.

If you want copies of audio tapes, photographs or slides, films or videos, the NTRAO will work with you to arrange copies with the Audiovisual Archives. If the items you require have been digitised, copies may be made available quickly; otherwise there will possibly be a lengthy waiting period. The Audiovisual Archives require prepayment before making any copies.

If you want copies of audio tapes, photographs or slides, films or videos, the NTRAO will work with you to arrange copies with the Audiovisual Archives, who will make the duplicates on-site. The Audiovisual Archives require prepayment before making any copies.

The NTRAO can provide you with a list of organisations that can be helpful in preparing your claim/research, such as Native Title Representative Bodies and Service Providers.

Staff members at AIATSIS have expertise in many areas, such as law and anthropology and although we cannot provide advice on specific claims, you may wish to speak to someone about an area of interest. The NTRAO will be happy to help you establish contact with a relevant staff member.

Other services

The NTRAO compiles a bibliography of recently catalogued items held by the Library and Audiovisual Archives that are of interest to native title researchers. These items are updated in each issue of the Native Title Newsletter.

Contact Information

To contact the Native Title Research and Access Officer:
Email: Grace.Koch@aiatsis.gov.au or ntss@aiatsis.gov.au
Phone: 02 6246 1103
Fax: 02 6249 7714