5 Collection Development and Management

• 5.1 Exhibitions

As shown in Table 4, the Library's collections grew to 2,364,919, a small increase of 2% over 1995.

These figures do not include electronic media purchased, for which there has been significant growth including access to full text material in various forms, particularly electronic journals. In some cases electronic access is now available at no extra charge with existing print journal subscriptions. Some of these electronic publications make extensive use of hypertext and other forms of interactivity and are indisputably better than their print equivalents. Many new free journals have also been listed and catalogued. Increasing numbers of electronic monographs are also becoming available, particularly government and other not-for-profit publications. Generally electronic versions of government publications are free, although the Library buys paper copies as well. These are catalogued with Internet links so that clients can directly access the full text via the catalogue.

The Library now subscribes to an ever-increasing number of electronic databases including CD-ROMs. There is considerable overlap in the content of what the Library acquires electronically and as a result it must constantly choose between a range of different electronic formats as well as print. Furthermore, there are few standard practices on the frontier of electronic publishing and there is a tendency for publishers to devise their own unique set of access conditions and charging policies, often changing with great frequency.

The number of current serials titles in 1996 totalled 17,831, about the same number as in 1995 (see Table 5).

The Library acquired a number of rare items and collections, including:

• a collection of 314 eighteenth-century English plays
• a large collection of Australian comics. This will support the growing interest in popular culture in the History and English Departments and is a flow-on from the successful exhibition organised by the National Centre for Australian Studies at Monash
• almost a complete set of the Melbourne periodical Table Talk (1885-1939), and a collection of press-cutting books from the Herald Library, on Communism in Australia in the 1950s
• Lindsay Shaw has continued to add material to our collection of Australian children's literature
• Clay and porcelain: a drama of the present day in three acts, by Francis R.C. Hopkins. Rev. acting ed. (Melbourne, 1875.) This is significant as it has been heavily annotated, presumably by the author, for a performance
• Images secretes de Paris, by Pierre MacOrlan (Paris, 1928). This is a limited edition book which describes the popular night spots in Paris at the time; each description being accompanied by an engraving in the style of George Grosz, and Otto Dix
• a large collection of medical books from Dr Richard Travers, which includes material on the history of the neurosciences and the papers of the late Dr Michael Kelly, a prominent Melbourne rheumatologist
• a collection on railways put together by Brian Southwell, the former University Librarian
• the Ian Gollar Collection of AIDS material from Fairfield Hospital.

5.1 Exhibitions

The new exhibition area was well-used throughout 1996, especially for the display of the Library's Rare Book collection. The area was also used for the official opening of the Information Services Building with a special exhibit to coincide with Performing Arts Week. Other exhibitions held throughout the year were:

• French Fiction
• Music to Delight the Eye (curator Georgina Binns). This exhibition highlighted the Library's collection of music material and was mounted to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Music Library and coincided with the Information Services Building's opening. In conjunction with the opening a comprehensive description of the Rare Book Collection, featuring text and illustrations was mounted on the Monash web-site
• Translations of the Greek and Latin Classics. Professor Gavin Betts of the Classics Department performed the opening. Philip Ayres and Harold Love, both of the English Department, also spoke
• Censorship in France in the Age of Enlightenment. Ian Willison, the former Curator of Rare Books at the British Library, opened this exhibition. Mr Willison is now in charge of the History of the Book in Britain Project. Assistance for this Exhibition came from Professor Wallace Kirsop
• Elton Fox, School of Art and Design, Melbourne 1935-1940. Professor Jenny Zimmer of the School of Art and Design at Monash, Caulfield organised the exhibition.

Each exhibition was accompanied by a detailed catalogue available at no cost. These were advertised on Ex-Libris, an email group for Rare Books Librarians and all who have an interest in rare books. This led to a very positive response and a much wider dissemination of our catalogues.