10. Careful Curation for Serendipitous Discovery

Libraries and archives have long been tools for serendipitous discoveries where an unexpected connection is found seemingly by accident.

“[S]cholars can become inspired by visions of wandering through vast corridors of deserted stacks and then happening on a passage in some long-dormant volume that unexpectedly reveals a special insight. For some, the promise of such treasured discoveries is at the heart of deeply felt sentiments about the library’s role in scholarship.” – Patrick Carr, College and Research Libraries

Sometimes good curators can nudge this along. This photograph of Betty Broadbent from 1938 is part of a set of images from PIX Magazine acquired by the State Library of New South Wales as part of a larger acquisition, as seen on the Flickr blog and the State Library of NSW’s blog.

That image, when uploaded to Flickr Commons, was put into four different albums so that viewers could find it alongside other images which shared certain characteristics.

1. Images of Ms. Broadbent

2. Images from PIX Magazine

3. Images from Australia Consolidated Press including this basket of puppies

4. Images that are uploaded with known date information which has some serendipitous discoveries of its own

9. Increasing Access to Fragile Materials

William Buelow Gould was an English convict who was convicted of stealing a coat and was transported to Tasmania. He was marooned after a mutiny and later had his sentence commuted as one of the people who had stayed with the officers, earning him a certificate of freedom.

While imprisoned, he had created a series of illustrations of fish and other water-dwelling creatures. It contained the first images recorded of a number of species.

Called [Gould’s] Sketchbook of Fishes, it has been recognized as a document of world significance. It is now on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.

A fictionalized account of Gould’s life was written by Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan. Gould’s Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish won the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize in 2001.

The original sketches are not available for general access but all of the drawings can be viewed on Flickr Commons via the Tasmanian Archives and State Library.

9. Increasing Access to Fragile Materials

William Buelow Gould was an English convict who was convicted of stealing a coat and was transported to Tasmania. He was marooned after a mutiny and later had his sentence commuted as one of the people who had stayed with the officers, earning him a certificate of freedom.

While imprisoned, he had created a series of illustrations of fish and other water-dwelling creatures. It contained the first images recorded of a number of species.

Called [Gould’s] Sketchbook of Fishes, it has been recognized as a document of world significance. It is now on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.

A fictionalized account of Gould’s life was written by Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan. Gould’s Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish won the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize in 2001.

The original sketches are not available for general access but all of the drawings can be viewed on Flickr Commons via the Tasmanian Archives and State Library.

9. Increasing Access to Fragile Materials

William Buelow Gould was an English convict who was convicted of stealing a coat and was transported to Tasmania. He was marooned after a mutiny and later had his sentence commuted as one of the people who had stayed with the officers, earning him a certificate of freedom.

While imprisoned, he had created a series of illustrations of fish and other water-dwelling creatures. It contained the first images recorded of a number of species.

Called [Gould’s] Sketchbook of Fishes, it has been recognized as a document of world significance. It is now on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.

A fictionalized account of Gould’s life was written by Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan. Gould’s Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish won the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize in 2001.

The original sketches are not available for general access but all of the drawings can be viewed on Flickr Commons via the Tasmanian Archives and State Library.

9. Increasing Access to Fragile Materials

William Buelow Gould was an English convict who was convicted of stealing a coat and was transported to Tasmania. He was marooned after a mutiny and later had his sentence commuted as one of the people who had stayed with the officers, earning him a certificate of freedom.

While imprisoned, he had created a series of illustrations of fish and other water-dwelling creatures. It contained the first images recorded of a number of species.

Called [Gould’s] Sketchbook of Fishes, it has been recognized as a document of world significance. It is now on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.

A fictionalized account of Gould’s life was written by Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan. Gould’s Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish won the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize in 2001.

The original sketches are not available for general access but all of the drawings can be viewed on Flickr Commons via the Tasmanian Archives and State Library.

9. Increasing Access to Fragile Materials

William Buelow Gould was an English convict who was convicted of stealing a coat and was transported to Tasmania. He was marooned after a mutiny and later had his sentence commuted as one of the people who had stayed with the officers, earning him a certificate of freedom.

While imprisoned, he had created a series of illustrations of fish and other water-dwelling creatures. It contained the first images recorded of a number of species.

Called [Gould’s] Sketchbook of Fishes, it has been recognized as a document of world significance. It is now on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.

A fictionalized account of Gould’s life was written by Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan. Gould’s Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish won the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize in 2001.

The original sketches are not available for general access but all of the drawings can be viewed on Flickr Commons via the Tasmanian Archives and State Library.

9. Increasing Access to Fragile Materials

William Buelow Gould was an English convict who was convicted of stealing a coat and was transported to Tasmania. He was marooned after a mutiny and later had his sentence commuted as one of the people who had stayed with the officers, earning him a certificate of freedom.

While imprisoned, he had created a series of illustrations of fish and other water-dwelling creatures. It contained the first images recorded of a number of species.

Called [Gould’s] Sketchbook of Fishes, it has been recognized as a document of world significance. It is now on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.

A fictionalized account of Gould’s life was written by Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan. Gould’s Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish won the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize in 2001.

The original sketches are not available for general access but all of the drawings can be viewed on Flickr Commons via the Tasmanian Archives and State Library.

9. Increasing Access to Fragile Materials

William Buelow Gould was an English convict who was convicted of stealing a coat and was transported to Tasmania. He was marooned after a mutiny and later had his sentence commuted as one of the people who had stayed with the officers, earning him a certificate of freedom.

While imprisoned, he had created a series of illustrations of fish and other water-dwelling creatures. It contained the first images recorded of a number of species.

Called [Gould’s] Sketchbook of Fishes, it has been recognized as a document of world significance. It is now on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.

A fictionalized account of Gould’s life was written by Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan. Gould’s Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish won the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize in 2001.

The original sketches are not available for general access but all of the drawings can be viewed on Flickr Commons via the Tasmanian Archives and State Library.

9. Increasing Access to Fragile Materials

William Buelow Gould was an English convict who was convicted of stealing a coat and was transported to Tasmania. He was marooned after a mutiny and later had his sentence commuted as one of the people who had stayed with the officers, earning him a certificate of freedom.

While imprisoned, he had created a series of illustrations of fish and other water-dwelling creatures. It contained the first images recorded of a number of species.

Called [Gould’s] Sketchbook of Fishes, it has been recognized as a document of world significance. It is now on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.

A fictionalized account of Gould’s life was written by Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan. Gould’s Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish won the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize in 2001.

The original sketches are not available for general access but all of the drawings can be viewed on Flickr Commons via the Tasmanian Archives and State Library.

9. Increasing Access to Fragile Materials

William Buelow Gould was an English convict who was convicted of stealing a coat and was transported to Tasmania. He was marooned after a mutiny and later had his sentence commuted as one of the people who had stayed with the officers, earning him a certificate of freedom.

While imprisoned, he had created a series of illustrations of fish and other water-dwelling creatures. It contained the first images recorded of a number of species.

Called [Gould’s] Sketchbook of Fishes, it has been recognized as a document of world significance. It is now on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.

A fictionalized account of Gould’s life was written by Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan. Gould’s Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish won the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize in 2001.

The original sketches are not available for general access but all of the drawings can be viewed on Flickr Commons via the Tasmanian Archives and State Library.