Adelaide Philanthropist donates $140,000 to Preserve Fragile Newspapers

The State Library of South Australia has received a donation of $140,000 from the James and Diana Ramsay Foundation towards preserving and providing access to South Australia’s most fragile newspapers.

Well known for her support of the arts, Mrs Diana Ramsay, on a recent visit to the Library’s Preservation studio, took a particular interest in the newspaper collection from the 19th century.

“These newspapers are really important to our State’s history and we must see that they are preserved and made accessible to all South Australians” said Mrs Diana Ramsay.

A project phased over three years has been established which will result in the long-term preservation of 12 South Australian newspaper titles at high risk of disintegration.

“The Library’s strategic direction is to make our collections, safe and accessible to the public, and this project will ensure our most fragile newspapers, will be digitised and made available free on-line to everyone” said Director of the State Library, Mr Alan Smith.

Newspapers are a cornerstone of a society’s historical record and the State Library has sole responsibility for preserving access to the 410 newspaper titles that have been published in South Australia since 1836. The broadsheet newspapers, some 208,000 pages will be microfilmed to international standards and then made available digitally through the National Library of Australia, and their Australian Newspaper Service.

Mrs Ramsay’s generous gift guarantees the Library can immediately progress this important project. This significant gift, negotiated with the support of the State Library of South Australia Foundation and the James & Diana Ramsay Foundation, sees Mrs Diana acknowledged as a Mortlock donor, the Foundation’s most prestigious donor group.

Media inquiries:

Bev Scott, Marketing & Development Manager

State Library of South Australia
Phone (08) 8207 7221
scott.beverly@slsa.sa.gov.au