Phyllis Mander-Jones
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
(2 January 1896 – 19 February 1984) was an Australian born
librarian
A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.
The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...
and
archivist
An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can consis ...
who helped establish the archival profession in
Australia.
Early life
Phyllis Mander-Jones was born in
Homebush
Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield.
The name of ...
, Sydney, Australia, the eldest child of physician George Mander Jones and his wife Margaret Fleming (née Arnott).
Both parents had commercial connections: George was the grandson of retailer
David Jones, whilst Margaret was the daughter of Australia's leading biscuit manufacturer,
William Arnott.
The young Mander-Jones family had two stints in England between 1899-1906, before settling in the Sydney suburb of
Wahroonga
Wahroonga is a suburb in the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Ku-ring-gai Council and Hornsby Shire. ...
. She and her sister Mildred were educated at nearby
Abbotsleigh
, motto_translation = Time Flies Faster than a Weaver's Shuttle
, established =
, type = Independent early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school
, denomination = Anglic ...
an Independent Girls’ School, while her three brothers: Evan, Burnett and Geoffrey went to
Shore School
, motto_translation =
, established =
, type = Independent single-sex and co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school
, grades = Early learning; ...
.
On matriculation Phyllis entered the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...
. Residing at
Women's College
Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male stud ...
she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in languages in 1917, awarded honours in German and French.
After graduating she was offered a teaching position at Abbotsleigh but chose instead private tutoring after many years of study.
Career
Librarian
Mander-Jones was appointed to the staff of the Public Library of NSW (
State Library of NSW
The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establis ...
) in 1925.
She began as a library assistant and worked her way through the ranks of the organisation becoming a qualified librarian in 1933 and appointed to the position of Bibliographer in 1941.
Her bibliographical work included lecturing on historical bibliography in the library schools of the early 1940s.
1942 saw her appointment to the Mitchell Library. Coinciding with war service her energies were redirected, being employed by the Department of the Army in censorship. Her proficiency in languages was an asset and utilised between 1942-1945.
Her bibliographic skills were also called upon under the direction of Mitchell Librarian,
Ida Leeson
Ida Emily Leeson (11 February 1885 – 22 January 1964) was the Mitchell Librarian at the State Library of New South Wales from December 1932 – April 1946. She was the first woman to achieve a senior management position in an Australian ...
, for the Allied Geographic Section.
Mitchell Librarian 1946–1957
Mander-Jones was appointed Mitchell Librarian in November 1946 and began the work of modernising the library in the wake of the difficult war years.
Drawing on her experience in bibliography she established standards in recording collections, created finding aids to assist researchers, and giving due care to the processing of original materials: manuscripts, pictures and maps.
She was aware of the need to continue building the Library's collections as well as promoting its valuable resources. To this end she acquired significant original materials such as records of the
Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court ...
and the second collection of Macarthur papers. She publicised the library's significant holdings via print publications as well as addressing conferences, public forums and community groups.
Perhaps her greatest challenge was managing a library that also functioned as the State Archive. From its inception, the Mitchell Library acted as the government record repository (documents no longer required in the administration of government departments being transferred to it). The Library no longer had the resources required to process or store the material and in November 1953 the State Archives became a separate department of the Library. She was to play a key role in what was to become the
Archives Office of NSW.
Mander-Jones' final project as Mitchell Librarian was based in London, working with the records of the
London Missionary Society
The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational m ...
and other papers. Based there from 6 November 1956 to 18 March 1958, she resigned her position as Mitchell Librarian and was then appointed the State Library's Liaison Officer in London.
Archivist
Mander-Jones helped lay the foundations of the archival profession in Australia establishing the archives section of the
Library Association of Australia
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), formerly the Australian Institute of Librarians and Library Association of Australia, is the peak professional organisation for the Australian library and information services sector. F ...
which in 1975 became the
Australian Society of Archivists.
She co-edited the inaugural issue of the society's journal ''Archives and Manuscripts'' in 1955, which continues to this day. She attended the first congress of the
International Council on Archives
The International Council on Archives (ICA; French: ''Conseil international des archives'') is an international non-governmental organization which exists to promote international cooperation for archives and archivists. It was set up in 1948, wi ...
in 1948 and the following year reported on the state of NSW archives to a conference of Commonwealth and State authorities.
Australian Joint Copying Project
After her appointment in London as the State Library's Liaison Officer (1958–1960) based at the Office of the Agent-General for NSW she embarked on the major project of her career: the
Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP).
Taking up the position of AJCP officer for the
Public Library of NSW and the
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
from July 1960, Mander-Jones continued the work of the project initiated in 1945 for the copying of records of Australian and Pacific interest held in repositories in the United Kingdom.
Then, in 1964, she was appointed to direct the project under the joint administration of the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
and the
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
. This led to the publication of her major life's work: ''Manuscripts in the British Isles Relating to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific'' (1972).
Legacy
In 1996, the Australian Society of Archivists introduced a suite of awards in her honour.
The awards are presented annually at the Society's national conference.
Honours and awards
*
*
*
*
Later life
In retirement Mander-Jones returned to Australia and pursued her interest in bibliography, contributing most notably to
J.C. Beaglehole's ''The Life of Captain Cook'' (1974) as well as researching the family history of her Arnott ancestors.
She spent the final years of her life in South Australia and died at
Prospect, Adelaide on 19 February 1984.
See also
*
Australian Joint Copying Project
*
Ida Leeson
Ida Emily Leeson (11 February 1885 – 22 January 1964) was the Mitchell Librarian at the State Library of New South Wales from December 1932 – April 1946. She was the first woman to achieve a senior management position in an Australian ...
*
Jean Fleming Arnot
*
Pacific Manuscripts Bureau
The Pacific Manuscripts Bureau is a non-profit organisation sponsored by an international consortium of libraries specialising in Pacific research. The Pacific Manuscripts Bureau was formed in 1968 to copy archives, manuscripts and rare printed mat ...
*
State Library of New South Wales
References
Further reading
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mander-Jones, Phyllis
Australian librarians
Australian women librarians
1896 births
1984 deaths
Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire
Australian archivists
Australian Society of Archivists