Visiting the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature

My connection to the Centre

I have been working as a remote volunteer with the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature for about six months. First, creating profiles on my blog for their various online databases, and after I finished that, as the Clipper for New South Wales, sending whatever ephemera about Australian Children’s Literature – reviews, press releases, bookmarks, teacher’s notes – that I can find online and physically. I aim to send things as often as I can.

One of the challenges of this is finding news and media coverage. Finding teacher’s notes online is easy, as is being able to send all my review press releases. I try to set aside time every week or so to have a look online as well.

Reason for the visit

Back in September 2023, I received two boxes of papers from Allen and Unwin – and they luckily came just before I headed to Canberra for a family trip. As a result, I was able – with my family’s help – to take these boxes to Pat, my contact for clipping. And because we were headed down, she offered to show me around the centre – and was very happy for my family to join us. She met us at the University of Canberra, where the NCACL is situated. We gave her the boxes, which my dad and uncle transferred from our boot to her car. Then the tour began.

The tour

 Pat took us to the main centre, where the action of sorting, recording, and keeping track of items that come in happens, as well as holding a beautiful collection of reference books about Australian Children’s Literature that I would love to read and explore. We met two other volunteers, Belinda, and Rose – everyone who works there is a volunteer, including the head of Australian Children’s Literature at the University of Canberra, Belle Alderman. The main office has an intricate shelving system for new books, books in English, and books that have been translated – they have a section or marker for every language including ones that people would not expect Australian children’s books might be translated to like Afrikaans!

One of the most fascinating things was the files in the filing cabinets of original art at each stage – from concept and drafts to the finished product. Just about every author you could name is there and we were all very interested in seeing what they had for May Gibbs – a file that was yet to be sorted with original comic strips of Bib and Bub! The walls are lined with original artworks that have been donated, and some that are unpublished from Alison Lester and others – so many!

Below the Library

Now, this is the cool bit. Below the library, in the basement, the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature they have an archive in boxes, shelves and storage facilities across several rooms – they have over 42,000 books across the entire collection, and lots of papers and a cabinet filled with toys and other related ephemera – like maracas for Alpacas with Maracas, easter eggs and lots of May Gibbs stuff. Their file boxes are also in this area and some authors have small boxes or files in a filing cabinet – ones that they’ve just started or don’t have a lot for. Two of the authors that had the biggest sections were Kate Forsyth and Jackie French.

I got lost in one room examining the Emily Rodda books, keen to spot my favourite series by her, Raven Hill Mysteries. And then we also got to see the rare books – first editions, books that might not be as popular or sought after, like Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers. And many more – too many to list, but all of it useful, because everyone will be interested in a differenc facet of Australian children’s literature. But it is all there, and organised so if anyone needs or wants to see something, it can be found. It was cool going below the library and seeing everything that they kept down there. It was a world that I could understand and where I felt at ease. It made me want to study Australian Children’s Literature and explore it more than I do on my blog.

Back in the office

Back in the office, we signed the visitor’s book and bought books off there $2 stand outside – I found two Emily Rodda Raven Hill Mysteries books – now I need to see if I can find the rest! They’re very elusive! Pat also told us about the various processes they use to preserve what they collect – so many interesting ways that we never thought would have worked, but they do. What stood out to me here was that this centre is an important part of advocacy, research, and preservation of Australian children’s literature throughout the years. The records show the journey of children’s literature in Australia, and the many books that have been created. It is a treasure trove for book lovers and students alike – a resource that had I studied children’s literature in Canberra, or had something like it where I studied, would have been there all the time. It was a very enriching visit, and I did love sharing it with my family and we learnt so much during our time there. I hope to go back one day and will continue sending everything I can find to them.