Unpublished materials

Definition

Unpublished materials covered by this policy include:

• personal papers of individual men and women
• research materials collected by individuals which are largely unpublished
• records of private and public organisations, including government bodies
• pictorial materials
• objects and memorabilia
• non-commercial audio or video recordings

Unpublished documents may be handwritten, typescript, printed, recorded or electronic.  Pictorial works may be in any medium. 

Unpublished Monash University theses are dealt with in a separate policy.

Collaboration with other collecting institutions

The volume of unpublished material which might be collected is enormous.  Yet archival records provide much of the data with which research, particularly in the humanities but also in the social sciences, is carried out.  Researchers generally prefer that related material should if possible be held together.

Because archival material is usually unique it is not possible, even were it desirable, for collections to be duplicated.  In Australia there are a number of archival repositories which collect in specific areas and the existence of major collections is taken into account in all acquisition decisions.  The imperatives of a distributed national collection are stronger here than for printed materials.  When offered donations of archival material the library will consult with relevant collecting institutions, provided that they have suitable access arrangements for researchers.

Collecting intention

The library’s collecting to date has focused on

• Monash University past examination papers
• documents and pictorial works relating to Jonathan Swift and his circle, which complement the resources of the Rare Books Collection
• resources which are part of, or add to, a formed collection on a subject area in which Monash has strong research interests, such as materials held in the Norodom Sihanouk Archival Collection

All decisions concerning the acquisition of archival material are also informed by the scale of the collection and the library’s capacity to provide reasonable storage, cataloguing and access.

Published archival materials

Because of the value of unpublished records for research a number of major collecting organisations, particularly government public record offices, have reproduced records on microform or online.  The library has purchased many such resources, and will continue to do so where they are relevant to research and study being undertaken at Monash University.

Government and government-related documents  

Australian Archives and the various state equivalents such as the Public Record Office of Victoria collect government and government-related records under various statutory requirements. 

Monash University Library does not collect this material, and refers owners to the appropriate repository.

Records relating to Monash University

The University Archives houses records of permanent value, which are records kept for administrative, legal, historical or research purposes.  This includes the records of the university, its amalgamation partners and predecessor institutions; senior academics, associated student and service bodies.  The archives hold unpublished documents, images, architectural plans and university publications.

The Library will liaise with the University Archives to determine the most appropriate repository for Monash University unpublished materials.

Amendment history
First issued, July 2006

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