Dennis
Wolanski Library research files, programs and indexes
The
University of NSW Library became the caretaker of the collection in November
2016.
The collection had been transferred from the Sydney Opera House to the
library in 1997 before being passed on to the Seaborn Broughton and Walford
(SBW) Foundation in 2005. At the time, the SBW Foundation had formed a
partnership with the National Institute of Dramatic Art to develop a
performance arts archive, based on collections at NIDA and the SBW
Foundation, and with financial support from the Wolanski Foundation. After a
change of management at NIDA and the death of Dr Rodney Seaborn, these plans
fell apart.
In 2016, after the SBW Foundation decided to scale back its collection and
move its offices from Rosebery to Neutral Bay, the UNSW Library came to the
rescue when it offered to store the Dennis Wolanski Library research files,
programs, card indexes and related material while plans for its future were
worked out.
In the role of an incubator, it has formed a partnership with UNSW Theatre
and Performance Studies, the Wolanski Foundation and AusStage to develop the
Performance Memories Project, involving management of the Dennis Wolanski
Library collection.
The SBW Foundation continues to hold some material previously held by the
Dennis Wolanski Library, including a proportion of the books and serials and
a small collection of archival material. The Wolanski Foundation will be
assisting the SBW Foundation to process the archival material in 2018.
The Dennis Wolanski Library research files,
programs and press clippings form a collection of national significance. For
those undertaking performing arts research, they can be an important first
port of call in combination with other complementary sources such as
AusStage, Trove, and AustLit.
Professor Julian Meyrick, Strategic Professor of Creative Arts, School of
Humanities, Flinders University, and Chief Instigator of AusStage, has
stressed the importance of the collection as a comprehensive, ordered and
accessible body of information, with material not readily available
elsewhere. Without the collection, the costs for discovering individual
items would be prohibitive.
“For a theatre culture like Australia, with little secondary literature
on its activities, newspaper clippings are overwhelmingly where its
story is to be found. The Wolanski collection covers the so-called
'digital black hole', the time just before theatre journalism went
on-line. It was an unusually productive period for Australian theatre,
and the collection contains the narratives of many companies and artists
which could disappear forever if the information its lost.”
The
collection at the University of New South Wales Library consists of the
following parts:
Research files
An estimated 3 million items, including
extensive material on performers and performances at the Sydney Opera House
1972-1997, as well as on the performing arts in Australia and overseas in
the 20th century. The collection includes a considerable quantity of
newspaper clippings, original manuscript material such as correspondence,
discographies, CVs, invitations, funeral service programs, program notes,
publisher blurbs, press releases, material from the Publicity Department and
other business units of the Sydney Opera House and clippings from newspapers
and magazines such as ABC’s 24 Hours, ABC Weekly, The
Theatre, The Bulletin and News Limited newspapers.
Press clippings 1843-1973
A chronological run from 1843 to approximately
1973 in 135 boxes, with clippings from The Daily Telegraph, Sydney
Morning Herald and other sources. This collection is organised in two
sub-groups – [a] 45,000 ‘editorial clippings’ in 85 boxes and [b] 22,500
‘advertisements’ in 49 boxes. Although there are gaps in the run,
researchers have commented on its value in providing convenient browsing and
leads to information elsewhere. The collection is also being considered as a
potential source for creating AusStage data.
Programs
A collection of 80,000 items, including
duplicate Sydney Opera House programs (arranged under company and performer
names (complementing the official chronological file at the Sydney Opera
House and State Archives and Records NSW), as well as holdings on the
performing arts in Australia, mainly in the 20th century, including theatre,
dance, opera, music, popular entertainment, film, radio, and television.
Indexes
A performing arts card index of 80,000 entries
including cross-references to all plays, operas and dance productions
performed at the Sydney Opera House and other venues in Australia 1973-1996,
select entries for productions from previous eras and overseas productions,
and comprehensive entries for the British theatre review periodical Play
Bulletin, the Australian periodical Theatre Australia, the JC
Williamson Magazine Programme series and articles published in
Australian sources during the 1950s to the mid-1970s and acquired by the
library as part of its Australian Theatre and Drama Project. .
An Australian drama index of 5400 cards, with information on Australian
plays, including performances, published editions, and the location of
manuscript playscripts.
Related information
Allowing for
Depreciation: GLAM Sector Convergence and Collaboration (2016)
The Theatre and Concert Program:
Documenting Australia's Performing Arts Heritage (2013)
Catching Lightning in a Bucket: Archiving
the Performing Arts in the Digital Age (2013)
Being There Without Being There: the Arts in the
Age of YouTube (2012)
Evolving Stages: Australian Performing Arts Online
(2005)
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