Guide to the Papers of Pauline Fanning, 1839-2011
Collection context
Summary
- Collection number:
- MS 9864, MS Acc11.069 and MS Acc13.010
- Creator:
- Pauline Fanning
- Extent:
- 3.0 metres and (17 boxes + 1 folio box)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
- Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Pauline Fanning, National Library of Australia, [class number, box number and Series and/or file number]'.
- Availability:
- Available
- Access conditions:
- Part available for research; part requires permission for research. Not for loan.
Background
- Content Summary:
- The papers document some of Pauline Fanning's activities during her long career at the National Library of Australia and her association and friendship with a number of politicians, writers, collectors, librarians and academics. They include correspondence, diaries, notebooks, research notes, talks, book reviews, and newspaper cuttings. There are files on the Ferguson, Nan Kivell, Palmer and Petherick collections, exhibitions, publications and a few of her colleagues. The correspondents include Lord and Lady Casey, Russell Cope, Gerald Fischer, Adelaide Lubbock, Marcie Muir and Aileen Palmer.
- Biographical Note:
-
Pauline Dixon was born in Hobart on 18 January 1915. She was educated at the Collegiate School, Hobart, and the University of Tasmania, graduating as a Bachelor of Arts in 1937. On 8 May 1941 she married William Fanning, a legal officer in the Attorney-General's Department in Canberra. They had two daughters.
Pauline Fanning spent her entire career, from 1936 to 1980, on the staff of the National Library. She was a cataloguer (1936-41, 1943-47), reference librarian (1947-66), Chief Librarian, Australian Reference (1966-72), Principal Librarian, Australian Reference (1972-75), and Director, Australian National Humanities Library (1975-80). She was responsible not only for the Australian reference services but also the development of the Australian book, manuscript, pictorial and oral history collections. She worked closely with Sir John Ferguson on the Bibliography of Australia and on the acquisition of his collection and was also heavily involved in the acquisition of the Nan Kivell Collection. She curated several major exhibitions for the Library.
In her retirement Pauline Fanning worked for several years as a researcher for the Australian National Dictionary. She received the MBE in 1969 and the ISO in 1978. She was awarded an Honorary Master of Arts by the Australian National University in 1976.
- Collection Retrieval Advice:
-
Please note: each consignment in this collection has a separate box number sequence (i.e. there are multiple Box 1's). Please cite the relevant Class number as well as the Box number when requesting retrieval of material from the collection.
- Immediate Source of Acquisition:
-
The papers were donated to the Library by Pauline Fanning in October 2000. Further papers were added in February 2006. Consignments were also received in 2011 and 2013.
- Arrangement:
-
The correspondence and papers had been well organised by Pauline Fanning before she presented them to the Library and the files have all been kept intact. The arrangement into four Series has been made by the Library.
Indexed terms
- Names:
- Pauline Fanning
Access and use
- Conditions Governing Access:
-
MS 9864: Part available for research; part requires permission for research (Marcie Muir correspondence restricted until 2025; Russell Cope correspondence restricted during his lifetime).
MS Acc11.069: Permission required for research.
MS Acc13.010: Part available for research; part requires permission for research (Marcie Muir correspondence restricted until 2025; Russell Cope correspondence restricted for his lifetime; Janice Kenny file restricted until 2025).
- Conditions Governing Use:
- Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
- Preferred citation:
- Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Pauline Fanning, National Library of Australia, [class number, box number and Series and/or file number]'.
- Location of this collection:
-
Parkes PlaceCanberra ACT 2600, Australia
- Contact: