A New Reading Public: The Mechanics’ Institute in the Colony of Victoria

April 19, 2017 Southhem Comments 1 comment

Discussing the merits and importance of establishing a Mechanics’ Institute in Melbourne in 1839, an article in the Port Phillip Gazette argued for the “great practical benefit” of the mechanics’ institutes, in particular for “the working classes of these colonies, and especially the youth of every class” (6). Urging the public for support in this endeavour, the writer pleaded that they who are possessed of talent let them cultivate these for the rational and useful field of display which now…

The Singapore Library, 1845-1873

April 19, 2017 Southhem Comments 0 Comment

The Singapore Library forms just one small part of our larger, cross-regional study of how the holdings of libraries in the colonial southern hemisphere and Straits Settlements changed over space and time, but this case study is especially important for the history of books and reading in colonial Singapore because the library eventually evolved into the state’s national public library: first, as the Raffles Library and Museum (1874-1960) and then as the National Library of Singapore (1960-). The Singapore Library…

SouthHem Library Catalogue Database

April 12, 2017 Southhem Comments 4 comments

In order to examine how the nature of book holdings changed over space and time in the colonial Southern Hemisphere and Straits Settlements in the nineteenth century, we are creating a database of Book Catalogues in the Southern Hemisphere (BCSH). The catalogues that form our database include: library catalogues (for institutions like subscription libraries, mechanics’ institutes, public libraries, institutional libraries, private collections etc.); auction catalogues (which were by far the most prevalent before 1840); and bookseller catalogues. The aims of…