Alert! Ephemera now on the catalogue.

The John Oxley Library ephemera has been an under-utilised collection. However, this is all set to change! After months of work the ephemera collection is now accessible on the State Library catalogue.

Ephemera refers to transitory material which is usually thrown away and not intended to have a long lifespan. It includes such items as tourist brochures, concert and theatre programs, how-to-vote cards, menus, calendars, advertising flyers and other similar material.

Speedo swimsuit advertisement, from the John Oxley Library ephemera collection

The ephemera is stored in pamphlet boxes and arranged by subject.  Box level cataloguing has been provided.  This means that although you cannot search for an individual piece of ephemera you can search for a general category and gain an idea of what sort of meterial it contains.

A good strategy when searching the catalogue for ephemera is to undertake a guided search using the phrase “ephemera material” and then the subject you are looking for, for instance, circus, tourism, ballet etc.

Give it a go and you may be surprised at what you find!

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