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Image searches made easier

3 August 2005

More than 6000 images of Monash life are now available online through the PictureAustralia internet-based service.

Students in a geography tutorial in 1963. Source: Monpix

Vice-chancellor Professor Richard Larkins and National Library of Australia assistant director-general Ms Roxanne Missingham officially launched Monash's participation in the consortium last week.

PictureAustralia relies on organisations joining the consortium and making their digital collections available through a single search interface, so users can search numerous collections simultaneously.

Monash's pictorial collection covers all aspects of the university, including its history, buildings, students, staff and research activities, as well as posters and photographs of productions held at the Alexander Theatre, and images from the Sir John Monash collection.

Although many of the images have been available online via Monpix since 2000, they can now be searched alongside the collections of other archives, libraries and galleries throughout Australia.

Professor Larkins said the archives showed the vibrancy and range of Monash's activities, and that he was particularly pleased that Monash was collaborating with other institutions to make the collection accessible to a wider audience.

Ms Missingham said it was increasingly important for archives and libraries to work together to make electronic resources available for research.

"Monash has added a wonderfully varied range of images from the late-20th century to those already searchable via PictureAustralia," she said.

The university archives include early photographs of the Clayton campus as well as of institutes and centres that are now part of the university. Photographs and posters of productions held at the Alexander Theatre from the 1960s to the mid-1990s are also accessible.

The university's collection continues to grow with transfers and donations of photographs. There is also an active digitisation program to increase the number of images available online.

To search for Monash images and those from other archives, libraries, museums and universities, visit www.pictureaustralia.org.

The Monash University Archives online image database, Monpix, can be searched at www.adm.monash.edu.au/records-archives/archives/monpix/. Digital copies of images are provided free for administrative use within the university. Archives welcomes new images, and anybody interested in donating photographs or other pictorial materials should call extn 53674.