PRESERVING THE DOCUMENTARY HERITAGE OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS

The Pacific Manuscripts Bureau, affectionately known as Pambu, was formed in 1968 to copy archives, manuscripts and rare printed material relating to the Pacific Islands. The aim of the PMB is to help with long-term preservation and accessibility of the documentary heritage of the Pacific Islands. The Pacific Manuscripts Bureau is based in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University. It is a non-profit organisation sponsored by an international consortium of libraries specializing in Pacific research. It is a rare example in the world of an on-going archival project involving this high level of international cooperation and commitment. The current PMB member libraries are:

Photo courtesy of Pacific Manuscripts Bureau

• The Mitchell Library, Sydney
• National Library of Australia, Canberra
• The Library, Australian National University
• The Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington
• The University of Auckland Library
• Library of the University of Hawaii, Honolulu
• Library of the University of California, San Diego
• Yale University Library, New Haven
• University of Michigan Library

The renowned Pacific historian, Professor Brij V. Lal, is Chair of the PMB Management Committee, and Ewan Maidment, a professional archivist, is PMB Executive Officer. Prior to his appointment at the PMB in 1995, Ewan was Senior Archivist at the Noel Butlin Archives Centre at the ANU where, since 1982, he had worked on archives of Australian business and labour.

The Pacific Manuscripts Bureau has built up an archive of Pacific documentation consisting of over 3,400 rolls of 35mm microfilm and related published indexes which is recognised as a key resource for time-based studies of the Pacific Islands. Since Brij Lal took the PMB Chair, the Bureau has extended its collecting to records of contemporary organisations. The PMB has also commenced compiling a digital archives of photographs, database and audio materials. Complete sets of the PMB microfilms are held in the major Pacific research libraries which sponsor the Bureau. Detailed catalogues are accessible on the PMB website http://rspas.anu.edu.au/pambu/.