To read more about TinyCat’s Library of the Month feature, visit the TinyCat Post archive here.

Each year Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures, a division of the American Library Association, celebrates Preservation Week to highlight the importance of preservation. Many TinyCat libraries have preservation within their mission including TinyCat’s Library of the Month for April. The Pioneers Association of South Australia manages a historical library centered around the pioneers of South Australia. Two of the library’s volunteers Alison and Julie were kind enough to field my questions this month:

Who are you, and what is your mission—your “raison d’être”?

Founded in 1935, the Pioneers Association of South Australia is a volunteer-run members organisation committed to perpetuating the memory of the pioneer settlers of South Australia and promoting their unique history.

Tell us some interesting things about how you support your community.

The library of Pioneers SA has a collection of approximately 1500 items including books, electronic media, pamphlets, journals, posters, and history folders. The focus is on the pioneering years: the people who settled, the ships on which they arrived, and the early colonial settlements. Through the research of members, databases and history folders are being created, collating information about the passengers on the immigrant ships and the stories of these pioneers. We also aim to preserve records, portraits, relics, and historical materials associated with pioneer settlement.

What are some of your favorite items in your collection?

The shipping and family history folders are unique to the Association. There are also a number of old, out-of-print books that provide fascinating reading of early days in South Australia.

What’s a particular challenge your library experiences?

As a fully volunteer organisation it’s always a challenge to find the time to keep up with technological changes and work involved in maintaining the collection and assisting people with their family history inquiries.

What is your favorite thing about TinyCat, and what’s something you’d love to see implemented/developed?

TinyCat is easy to use for both library administration by volunteers and searching the catalogue by the public. It is very affordable and the online access to LibraryThing and TinyCat is also beneficial for all.

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Want to learn more about the Pioneers Association of South Australia? Visit their website here and check out their full TinyCat collection here.

To read up on TinyCat’s previous Libraries of the Month, visit the TinyCat Post archive here.

Calling all TinyCat libraries: become TinyCat’s next Library of the Month—just send us a Tweet @TinyCat_lib or email Kristi at kristi@librarything.com.

Labels: libraries, Library of the Month, TinyCat