Fostering family and local history in libraries: The Hawkesbury experience

There has never been a better time to be a researcher. So much material is being digitised, indexed and made easily accessible for research. Many researchers can work from the comfort of their own home, so how do we ensure that local studies collections remain appropriate and appealing? Over the years, Hawkesbury Library has encouraged interaction with researchers and as a result the local studies collection has gone from strength to strength. Other strategies to keep the collection relevant include promotion of collection strengths; educating the community about resources; assisting local and family historians to be better researchers and engaging the community with events and programs that have a history focus. Hawkesbury Library does not have all of the answers but has risen to the challenge facing all local studies collections. Edited paper presented at the conference A sense of place: local studies in Australia and New Zealand Sydney 5-6 May 2011.