Guide to the Papers of Kenneth Binns, 1909-1992

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Summary

Collection number:
MS 9822
Creator:
Binns, Kenneth, 1882-1969
Extent:
0.56 metres and (4 boxes)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should becited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Kenneth Binns, National Library of Australia, MS 9822, [box and/or file number]'.
Availability:
Available
Access conditions:
Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:
The collection consists of miscellaneous papers of Kenneth Binns, mostly written or acquired after he retired as the Commonwealth Parliamentary Librarian and National Librarian in 1947. They include letters, notes, official documents, newspaper cuttings, photographs and a few publications. In addition, there are papers of Joan Binns relating to the life of her father and the history of the National Library, in particular letters of Andrew Osborn and drafts of an unpublished biography of Kenneth Binns by Osborn.
Biographical Note:

Kenneth Binns was born on 28 November 1882 at Dunfermline, Scotland, the son of the Reverend Fred Binns, a Congregational minister. The family migrated to Australia in 1890 and Binns was educated at Cleveland Street Public School and Sydney Grammar School. In 1900 he joined the staff of the Fisher Library at the University of Sydney and attended classes as a non-matriculated student.

Binns did much to promote the cultural and educational life of Canberra. He was a member of the National Film Board (1945-48), the Commonwealth Literary Fund advisory committee (1939-53) and the Commonwealth Literature Censorship Board (1937-64). He was awarded the CBE in 1964.

Binns married Amy Higgins in 1909 and they had two daughters and a son. He died in Canberra on 27 July 1969.

Bibliographic Reference(s)

Provenance:

The papers (Boxes 1-3) were donated to the Library by Mrs Alison Sanchez, the daughter of Kenneth Binns, in 2004. Further material (Box 4) was added 2005.

Arrangement:

The papers had mostly been kept in folders by Joan Binns. Most of the files have been left intact and have been arranged in chronological order, with the papers of Joan Binns and the biography by Andrew Osborn at the end.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:
The collection is available for reference.
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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 becited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Kenneth Binns, National Library of Australia, MS 9822, [box and/or file number]'.
Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact:
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