The National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature

by Yvonne Low

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I had the most wonderful and enlightening visit to the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature or NCACL during a recent trip to Canberra earlier this year.

Through Twitter I had connected with the lovely NCACL Director Dr Belle Alderman AM and when I heard about the special Exhibition ‘Story Time – Australian Children’s Literature’ a collaboration of NCACL with the National Library of Australia and that it was due to close soon, I grabbed the opportunity to make it to Canberra and visit them both.

NCACL is located in the Library of the University of Canberra (Belconnen), staffed by Centre Director Dr Alderman and her small team of committed and enthusiastic volunteers.  The Centre may be located in a small space, but it’s a precious world where a huge and valuable collection is being amassed of all things Kid Lit.

The team collect and preserve everything they can get their hands on: original manuscripts, storyboards, roughs, dummy books, original artwork, original books including translations, magazines, reviews, rare books, the CBCA Children’s Book Week artwork… the list goes on.  They are even on the look out for publishing merchandise – bookmarks, promotional material, toys, flyers, stickers, memorabilia; anything that will help to tell the story about a particular children’s book and the production journey behind it. There are files on every published Australian children’s writer and illustrator (even emerging ones like me!).  Please contact them, if you have something that would interest them. 

Every now and again, the general public, enthusiasts and industry professionals can enjoy the fruits of NCACL’s labours, when an exhibition is mounted such as ‘Story Time’ at NLA, showcasing a lot of NCACL’s own collection.

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This was a beautiful (and free!) exhibition, displaying many literary and artistic gems, including manuscripts, notes and sketches from Mem Fox, Elyne Mitchell, May Gibbs, Alison Lester and Jackie French.  Original artwork from Shaun Tan, Graeme Base and Bronwyn Bancroft featured amongst many more treasures, including the very first Australian children’s book, written by the ancestor of best-selling authors Kate Forsyth and Belinda Murrell.  Bob Graham’s picture book dummies were wonderful to view – NCACL has a major collection of his work.  I had so much fun reminiscing with books from my childhood, and lingering over the gorgeous artwork, absorbing the artistic process with initial sketches, roughs and dummies, and reading early draft manuscripts.

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The NCACL collection began with the visionary Lucy Rees (Lu Rees), first president of the CBCA ACT Branch, donating her collection (literary correspondence with authors and illustrators, and 1,000 Australian children’s books), which became the Lu Rees Archives and is now known as the NCACL.  The original collection has grown to 46,000 books with 4,300 in 67 different languages, along with 523 research files on Australian children’s authors, illustrators and publishers.

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This collection is being preserved for posterity.  The value to our Aussie heritage, education, children, writers, artists, illustrators, researchers, academics and the general public is immeasureable and deserves our attention and support. Unbelievably, the Centre receives no government funding!  They exist through the support of the University of Canberra, the work of volunteers, donations and the few grants that they can attract. 

Visiting the Centre was such an eye-opener.  I would encourage anyone who’s interested in children’s books, art and literature to organise a tour of the NCACL, and at the very least, to support and spread the word about their important work.  The Government (and corporate donors) need to sit up and take notice!

You Can’t Lock Down Creative Community 

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The Sunshine Coast branch of SCBWI QLD recently had to reformat their first quarterly meeting of 2020 thanks to the escalation of precautions against COD19. They’d scheduled a low-key Sketch & Scribble on Chambers Island, a quiet picnicking spot featuring pretty views, some squelchy mangroves, and an abundance of bird life. 


“My first inclination was to cancel,” Ali Stegert, Sunshine Coast coordinator and QLD ARA, reported. “But in this time of uncertainty and upheaval, people crave connection and a bit of normalcy. I wanted to find a way to go ahead with the meeting while respecting the current health protocols.”

The event she devised included three optional parts: 1. The Island Hop activation guide (PDF, done individually) 2. Group discussion (Zoom) 3. Sharing sketches and scribbles (our private Facebook group) 

Zooming Meetings

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If ever there was a time to master Zoom, it’s now when we must isolate for the common good. Zoom is a virtual meeting platform used for business events and online conferences. Its basic functions are fairly intuitive, and it offers ample training support for the more advanced options. Ali trialled the free plan to see if it would be adequate. “It worked fine, but you get a maximum of 40 minutes; that was its only limitation.”


Angela Sunde, Gold Coast branch coordinator, said: “As a debut attendee at a Zoom meeting, I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to be extended and challenged outside of my usual online activities and comfort zone. I don't feel at all isolated now.” 


“The Zoom session was a little clunky as we figured out the technology,” Ali explained. The trick is learning to master running the meeting so people feel comfortable answering questions and participating. Another important step is letting everyone know to mute their mic when they move around, as everyone can hear ambient noises in your space (e.g., dogs barking, cups clinking, etc.).  


Brisbane member Jane Hodgkinson reported: “I had taken part in my first Zoom meeting for work only last week, so it’s good to see it being used quite widely - it seems very stable and versatile. Great for sharing screens and having group presentations. Similar to today, we posted questions and comments on the chat function, which one person was asked to read out as we worked through them.”


Zoom has a gallery view that shows all the participants on your screen. Everyone agreed it felt like the Brady Bunch. One member who joined the Zoom session on her phone couldn’t access the gallery view, which she found a bit limiting.

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A Cyber Sketch & Scribble? 
Ali also had to devise a way to replicate something of the island’s value as a creative stimulus for writers and illustrators. “A Sketch & Scribble is all about creative activation. Fortunately, we’re working with imaginative people,” Ali said.


This was the Queensland branch’s first Sketch & Scribble, so she created a guide that explained the event and provided participants with ten exercises based on the theme of Islands in Children’s Literature. Exercises in the Island Hop Guide included:

• mind mapping 

• brainstorming 

• building an island lexicon 

• drawing a mud map.


“Trying to create activities that would be meaningful to both writers and illustrators was a fun challenge,” Ali said. “I made up more than enough so people could pick and choose.” 


Ali made the document with PowerPoint, saved it as a PDF, and shared it with a Google Drive link. 


Jane Hodgkinson was one of several participants who developed a story idea through the exercises. “Apart from the fact it was a helpful focus for idea generation, it was a very welcome distraction from the rest of what is going on at the moment. I really liked the format of sending out step-wise exercises to work though then coming together at a set time to discuss them. I'll keep working on what I managed to come up with over the coming  weeks...” 


The Outcome
The online format made it possible to open up the regional branch meeting to the whole state (and country). “My favourite thing about the whole day was being able to connect with people from our entire region, from the Di in the Far North down to Penelope in northern NSW and everyone in between,” Ali reported.


Corona virus might shut schools and close down cafes, but it can’t lock down creative community. 
Stay safe everyone. 
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Island Hop PDF (link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HHSiC0jZJzNJUWrYkAfunyi3ubAXN2Ba/view?usp=drivesdk