Canberra, 22 December: It was reported yesterday that federal funding for the National Library of Australia’s digital resource, Trove, runs out in six months and without additional government support the popular archive could cease operations from next July.
ALIA’s Director of Policy & Education Trish Hepworth spoke with Ali Moore on ABC Mornings today on the value of Trove as a national resource and the importance of keeping it not just alive but thriving.
“Nothing is ever set and forget – there’s always ongoing maintenance, particularly with critical infrastructure” she said. “For Australia’s education, academic and cultural sectors, Trove really is that critical infrastructure.”
Trish went on to describe Trove’s essential role in providing equity of access to information and its status as a world-leading resource, free and available for anyone anywhere to use.
“The uses of Trove are just so vast from high level academic research, through to people who want to have a look at news articles that were written about their great-grandfather, for example.”
Trove is an online, open-access gateway to over six billion digitised items from the recent and distant past, held by museums, libraries, galleries and archives around Australia. It now receives over 20 million visits per year from researchers and public users alike.
Trove’s impact on research at all levels is immeasurable and its value to all Australians cannot be underestimated.
ALIA eagerly awaits the release of the National Cultural Policy which will give detail and guidance on the skills and resources required to safeguard a diverse, vibrant and sustainable arts, entertainment and cultural sector. You can read ALIA’s submission to the National Cultural Policy here.