Ephemera collecting plan

This plan outlines the specific strengths and current collecting priorities for the Ephemera collection held by Auckland Council Libraries.

 

We aim to build on the existing strengths of the Ephemera collection and prioritise collecting which extends the representation of different communities in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland.

About the collection

Ephemera is printed material originally intended to have a limited lifespan. Some examples of ephemera include posters, programmes, invitations, tickets, postcards, and flyers. Ephemera can help people learn more about the political and social history of a time and place as well as show visual design trends.

Sometimes there are overlaps between what might be considered ephemera, a printed booklet or a map. In these cases, curators discuss and decide on the best collection location for the material.

History and formation

The Ephemera collection held at the Central City Library contains over 370,000 items of printed material from the 1860s to the present day, with the majority of the collection dating from the 1970s onwards.

There are four closed collections within the Ephemera collection. No new material is added to these collections.

• The Grey Collection contains 32 items originally belonging to Sir George Grey.
• The Old Colonists’ Museum Collection contains 264 items which came to the Library after the Old Colonists’ Museum closed in 1956.
• The Freida Dickens Programme Collection contains music, dance, and theatre programmes from 1911 to 1976 donated by Freida Dickens.
• The Nora Gee Collection contains greeting cards and invitations sent to Nora Gee during the mid-20th century.

Subject coverage

The collection covers a broad range of subject areas. Topics include nuclear disarmament, Springbok tour protests, health, broadcasting, schools, computing, sports, transport, restaurants, elections, tourism, history, telecommunications, local government, circuses, environment and regional events such as Matariki, Anzac Day, and the Pasifika festival.

Geographic coverage

The collection has both a national and regional focus. Current collecting focuses primarily but not exclusively on Tāmaki Makaurau.

Strengths of the collection

The Ephemera collection is strong in the following areas:

• Music: Classical music ephemera has been collected since the late 1800s. The collection has grown to include popular music produced and performed by New Zealand-based musicians and bands. The collection includes posters from Auckland music venues. The former Music Programmes Collection of concert ephemera is part of the collection.
• Theatre: The collection includes one of the largest collections of theatre ephemera in the country, particularly as it relates to Auckland material. There is a strong emphasis on Auckland and New Zealand theatre productions. It also includes some material from overseas where there is a connection to New Zealand.
• Performing arts: The collection is strong in other performing arts categories including dance, comedy and festivals.

Current collecting priorities

Current collecting is prioritised. The aim is to build on existing collection strengths, fill gaps in collections, and respond to the changing needs of researchers now and in the future.

Proactive priorities

Acquisitions in these areas seek to fill gaps and/or provide balance to the collection.

• Clubs and societies: Expanding this area of the collection to reflect the cultural diversity of community groups and collectives in Tāmaki Makaurau is a priority.
• LGBTQIA+: Liaising with community groups to extend the LGBTQIA+ material in the collection.
• Te ao Māori: Working with the Associate Curator Taonga Māori to grow the collection of te ao Māori related material.
• Pasifika: Working with the Curator Pasifika to grow the collection of Pasifika related material.

Ongoing priorities

Acquisitions in these areas build on our existing collection strengths:

• Ephemera connected to music, theatre, dance, comedy and festivals.
  
• Filling gaps in subjects that are commonly asked for by library users.
  
• Active collecting of present day material that will be of interest in the future.
  

Selectively collected items

These subject areas are well-represented in the collection and acquisitions are considered on a case-by-case basis:

• Calendars
• Conferences and seminars
• Crafts
• Forestry
• Horticulture
• Libraries and archives
• Magazines and newspapers
• Parks and reserves
• Sewing and knitting
• Sports: horse racing
• Sports: rugby union
• Wrapping paper and wallpaper

Stop collecting

These are areas in which we may have previously collected, but are no longer collecting:

• Art exhibition and gallery ephemera: potential donors will be referred to the EH McCormick Art Gallery Research Library at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.

Exclusions

Subject exclusions

The collection does not include militaria: potential donors are referred to the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Format exclusions

These formats are not collected:

• Stamps
• Coins
• Artifacts
• Stickers (with rare exceptions)

Want to discuss a research query or donation?

Specialist staff are available to assist you with research questions or potential donation of materials. 

Learn more about our research services or find out how to donate to the heritage collections.