Report For The Heleni Linton Bursary

Placement at Haymarket Library

1-12 July 2002

Haymarket Library,City of Sydney Library

By

Sin Fung Siu, Iris

A. Observation of the Library Operations in the Haymarket Library:

Overview of library settings and operations

/ My placement supervisor, Mr. David Shareman, introduced me to the roles, settings and operations of the Haymarket Library. I was very much impressed by its effective community services. It provides a rangeof services related to the community, such asimmigrationinformation
for native Chinesespeakers, cultural workshops and author talks.

The role of the Haymarket Library

The Haymarket Library is a branch of the City of Sydney Library. Its aim ismainly to serve workers, students, visitors and residents living in Sydney, especially multi-cultural groups living around China Town. About 80% of its patrons are ethnicChinese. It provides access to the largestChinese language collection in any public library in Australia, including fiction, non-fiction, periodicals, newspapers and magazines related to the Asian regions, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and MainlandChina.

I noticed that a group of community patronsvisited this library daily to read newspapers, magazines, books and periodicals. Popular fiction is displayed on two designated trolleys. It is one of the most effective and efficient ways of promoting circulation. Most patrons would like to look for their books from the trolleys directly rather than going to the bookshelves while they visited the Library. Patrons can easily locate theirdesired items without the need to spend lots of timesearching the online catalogue.Thisgreatly benefits those patrons who are not familiar with searching the online catalogue. Also, it can save manpowerinreshelving books.

User needs and services:

The Haymarket Branch Library holds both English and foreign language items. The library has the largest Chinese collection amongall Australian public libraries. The patrons are the Haymarket residents, workers, and students. Chinese speaking users come from all over the Sydney Metropolitan region. The services available in the Haymarket Library are:

User services:
computers and Internet access
public training and education seminars
inter-branchrequests and inter-library loans
reference services
other services include study/reading areas, exhibitionsanddisplays, friends of the Library /

The Haymarket Library has a general lending collection and referencematerials such as books, audio-visual materials, children's books, magazines, large print books, videos, language learning tapes and talking books.

The English collection is located on the ground level of the Library. The Library's special collection covers Asian history and culture and includes the Chinese (local and overseas) and Vietnamese (local) newspapers. There are close to 20,000 Chinese items catalogued and about 90% of this collection is located at the Haymarket Library.The Chinese collection ranges from books to magazines as well as Chinese CDs and videos. Asian language books are mainlyin Chinese, Indonesian, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese. Chinese items are also available at the Ultimo Branch Library. Japanese books are located at Town Hall Library. Other language books may be ordered fro the State Library of New South Wales on request through the inter-library loanservice.

Most Chinese books are collected and ordered from local bookshops. Some standard orders for certain authors are made in local bookshops. Items sourced from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are also available. New books and current Chinese music CDs are selected by the Library staff.

Evaluation of library services

The Haymarket Library is able to fulfill the information needs of its patrons. It can promote a good community life for the users living in the regions. It can be observed that Haymarket Library can also effectively serve the multi-language information needs of its patrons, especially in fulfilling their need for leisure reading. The circulation services impressed me the most while I was working at the counter. There is a 100% turnover of Chinese collections per month since 1998. There is active and close interaction between Library staff and patrons. It does not simply fulfill patron’s basic information needs, but also builds a good relation with its patrons.

B. Visit to the State Library of New South Wales

Overview of library services and operation

/ The State Library of New South Wales is housed in two buildings in Macquarie Street, Sydney, including the historic Mitchell Wing (1910) and the more recent Macquarie Street Wing (1988). The Library’s services are also available by telephone, mail, fax, email and through the library’s website at

The role of the State Library of New South Wales

With nearly five million items in its collections and instant access to electronic information services around the world, the State Library is the major public reference and information center for the people of New South Wales. The Library offers access to its collections through services in two reading rooms, regularly changing exhibitions, tours, education programs, public events, and special events for patrons.

The Mitchell Library and the Sir William Dixson Research Library make up the Australian Research Collections of the State Library of New South Wales. The collections contain published and unpublished materials in a variety of formats, including manuscripts. Patrons requesting materials from the Mitchell, Dixson and Special Collections are required to apply for a Reader’s card. The State Reference Library, which includes the Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC) and the Health Information Service (HIS), provides information on all subjects in a variety of print and electronic formats. It is not a lending library.

User needs and services:

The State Library of New South Wales consists of ten levels. Only Level G (Mitchell Library Reading Room), Level 1 (The Exhibition Galleries), Level 7 (State Reference Library) and Level 8 (Street Entrance with information desk and library shop) are open to the public. Above are three levels of office and administration areas.

On Level 7, it provides a wide range of information services. It holds information in a variety of formats, including books, journals, newspapers, audio-visual materials, microfilm and CD-ROMs. On this level, patrons can find 1) a comprehensive reference collection of encyclopedias, directories, bibliographies, dictionaries, yearbooks and indexes; 2) the Legal Information Access Centre and the Health Information Service; 3) computers providing catalogue access to the Library’s resources. Only 1% of the Library’s resources are available on the shelves for browsing, while the remainder is kept in storage, or stack, as it is called. The catalogue is used to locate resources, which are then brought from the stack by staff.

Other services available include:

access to the Internet (no email)

special equipment to assist people with disabilities

photocopying and other research support services

the Family History Services

the Open Access browsing collection, with up-to-date and well-known books on many subjects

In the Mitchell Library, patrons can find the Australian Research Collections of the State Library offering a wealth of information about NSW, Australia and the Pacific in many formats, including books, maps, manuscripts, pictures, relics, ephemera, and CD-Rom. These collections, founded at the bequest of David Scott Mitchell and Sir William Dixson, continue to grow, documenting life in New South Wales. Patrons can enjoy these services including: 1) the library’s computer catalogue of pictures and manuscripts (PICMAN); 2) Sir William Dixson Research Library, access by appointment only; 3) resourcesand services for indigenous peoples; 4) the Image Library, offering customized photographic and picture research services; 5) Conservation Access, providing advice and treatments to conserve items made from paper, and training in preservation strategies.

/ The Mitchell and Dixson Galleries house changing exhibitions to inspire, educate, inform and entertain visitors. These exhibitions showcase the library’s treasures and provide access to collections that show the history of New South Wales and Australia. Volunteer exhibition hosts and printed guides provide additional insight.

The Picture Gallery is a changing display of paintings and drawings selected from more than 150,000 items in the Library’s Pictures Collection. A diverse range of talks, seminars and other public events complement these exhibitions, offering stimulating discussions, alternative viewpoints and inside stories.

Evaluation of library services

/ It serves a range of user working and visiting the city. Its information services are most effective. Although the State Library of New South Wales is not a lending library, it provides information on all subjects in a variety of print and electronic formats.

From my observation, different groups of patrons are visiting the library for their information needs, including workers, students, visitors and residents. The Information Desk is serviced by friendly and professional staff. Also, freeguided tours of the Library are held each Tuesday between 11am and noon, and on Thursdays from 2p.m. to 3p.m. In terms of electronic business sources, its full subscription to the Kompass International Database impressed me the most. It contains information on 1.6 million companies from over 70 countries. It has the ability to search worldwide, across specific regions or within a selected country and can be searched in 14 different languages. There are also options for conducting searches on a particular company name, or for a product or service.

D. Conclusion:

In my two-week placement working in the Haymarket Library, including visits tothe State Library of New South Wales , I have learnt that each library has its unique function to serve its targeted patrons. The close relationship between the patrons and librarian in the Haymarket Library impressed me the most. Also, I found that a very good team sprit has been established among staff working in the Haymarket Library.

The State Library of New South Wales plays an important role in providing reference information related to Australia and the Pacific Area. It provides good community services for its patrons. It was observed that patrons preferred good communication and relations with librarians so that they will revisit the library not only for their information needs, but also for building friendship there. I can comment that library literacy and education are still playing an important role in the trend of information technology development.

Ground Floor of The State Library of New South Wales

References:

  1. State Library of New South Wales: A Self Guided Tour Brochure.
  2. State Library of New South Wales website
  3. City of Sydney Library: Library Information Pamphlets.
  4. City of Sydney Library website:
End of Report