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I know what you did last summer: secret's out on library treasures
Over the summer of 2001-02, a quiet frenzy had everybody talking.
Queues formed in the early hours of the morning. Disappointed punters were turned away. New friendships were made over hours of waiting. And the hottest ticket in town was not to an international cricket match or a rock concert, but to a library--the National Library of Australia and its Treasures from the World's Great Libraries exhibition.
Developed to coincide with Centenary of Federation celebrations, and to mark the National Library's own centenary, Treasures from the World's Great Libraries showed168 significant works from libraries around Australia and the world, highlighting the development of civilisation.
Never before had the National Library mounted an exhibition on this scale and the response from the public was overwhelming.
The free exhibition had a strong beginning as it was supported by a national campaign to reach as many Australians as possible but over the weeks its popularity grew to amazing levels. To cope with the increasing interest, a deli-style ticketing system was introduced, opening hours were extended, and visitors were encouraged to arrive early to ensure a place in the queue.
As word of mouth took on a life of its own and the queue to see the exhibition increased the National Library, in an unprecedented move, cancelled some of its television advertising.
Opening hours were extended several times to cope with the demand and in the last period of the exhibition the Library was open from 7 am to 5 am.
The question of why this exhibition touched a chord with so many Australians has become the subject of many discussions amongst the cultural community. For many thousands of visitors the response to the items in the exhibition was deeply emotional and personal. Visitors found unexpected connections between themselves and the creators of these extraordinary items. This discovery was central to their understanding of why history and libraries are intrinsically connected.
After three months, the exhibition closed with over 115 000 people passing through its doors. Exhausted library staff were delighted by the exhibition's success.
Developed over two years, Treasures from the World's Great Libraries paid tribute to the unique role of libraries in collecting and preserving the history and culture of the world. It showed the diversity of Australian and international library collections and, for many visitors, the opportunity to see Alexander Graham Bell's sketches that led to the development of the first telephone, Mozart's Requiem manuscript, 3000 year old oracle bones from China or Ned Kelly's Jerilderie Letter first-hand proved to be a must.
Other treasures on display included pages of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species; the original design for the dust jacket of Tolkien's The Hobbit; and one of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The exhibition was indemnified under the Commonwealth Government's Art Indemnity Australia scheme, which is helping to bring billions of dollars in artworks and cultural treasures to Australia. Without the scheme the exhibition would not have been possible.