If you're looking for a copy of Madonna's book Sex at Monash, you'll find it in the Rare Books collection. It's on the shelf near early editions of Swift and Voltaire, not far from the 15th-century Venetian biblical works.
The university's Rare Books section, home to more than 50,000 publications, not only documents the history of the book but also gives a fascinating insight into the popular culture of the past four centuries.
Founded in 1962, when Monash's first libra-rian purchased a collection relating to Jonathan Swift, Rare Books has developed one of the best antiquarian collections in the country, with some wild diversions. Among the musty volumes of Horace, Ovid, Defoe and Diderot, you'll also find science fiction, comics and aged girlie magazines.
"The books kept here aren't like sacred objects or relics. They're here for people to use," says Richard Overell, Rare Books librarian. No kid gloves are required and most books can even be photocopied.
Exactly what makes a book 'rare' is different in every case. Age is an obvious hallmark of rarity, as is value, but comics and even cookery books can become rare because of small print runs.
Among the more unusual items in Mr Overell's keeping are a series of whodunnits from the 1930s that mimic actual crime files, complete with police reports, mock weapons and other evidence to help you solve the mystery. There is even a display box of old Christmas cards, complete with hand-made tree ornaments. An artist's 'book' by Chris Mann has neither binding nor pages: it is a box containing a glass, a matchbook and a serviette, each covered in poetry.
The science fiction collection amounts to literally thousands of pulp paperbacks, a selection of which will be exhibited later this year. You'll be able to find out how Stalin captured a Martian and how a man (really!) walked through walls.
While Mandrake and the Phantom are well represented in the comics area, a large collection of political and propaganda pamphlets spanning Swift's day, Australia's anti-Vietnam War protests and the Petrov Affair presents less traditional heroes and fiends.
The younger material, however, raises new conservation concerns. Degenerating acid paper - affecting books produced from the 1870s to the present day - is the most serious threat to the integrity of the Rare Books collection. Ironically, rag paper books made in the 16th century remain better preserved today than editions from the 1960s.
Rare Books librarian Mr Richard Overell says degeneration of more modern books is the most serious threat to the collection.
For details of forthcoming Rare Books exhibitions, contact Mr Richard Overell on (03) 9905 2689. They can also be viewed online at www.lib.monash.edu.au/hss/rare/xhibitn.htm