Launceston Mechanics Institute | Non-profit organisation

Launceston Mechanics Institute

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25.01.2022 Merry Christmas to all from the Launceston Mechanics' Institute. Charles Dickens is associated with Christmas due to the popularity of his "A Christmas Carol". A probably little known fact associates him also with Launceston, Tasmania. Read our latest blog to find out more.

24.01.2022 Our Bell's Poets collection is on display in Launceston now. http://launcestonmechanicsinstitute.blogspot.com//bells-po

23.01.2022 Annual General Meeting. Tomorrow, Friday 8th June 2018, Phil Leonard Room, Launceston Library. 4-5 pm. Current and prospective members welcome. Membership is free.

20.01.2022 Here is a visitor post for your interest: My grandfather, Edney Forward, was born upstairs above the reading room in the Launceston Mechanics Institute in 1910. His Father Joseph Reginald Forward worked for the institute from 1899 to 1906 as assistant Librarian and from 1906 to 1948 as Librarian. There are 34 fascinating pages [p346-397] about Joes aspirations and dedication as Librarian of the Mechanics Institute in my family History book Continuing the Forward Story I do... not know if this is already a familiar text to the FOLMI, so I more than happy to share it if interested. David Brown Retired Physicist and Mechatronic Engineeer Australian Astronomical Observatory

20.01.2022 Although digitisation of books is a wonderful invention that brings to readers books that might otherwise be hard or impossible to access, some people say you can't beat the experience of holding a real book in your hands. In the following blog, Peter highlights another reason why 'real' books have added value.

20.01.2022 Don't be put off. We would love you to come and see our library. Just email launcestonmechanicsinstitute.gmail.com

19.01.2022 The cataloguing team of Friends of the LMI are still working on the fiction. From time to time a book turns up with the name of a previous owner on it. Today we have a book once owned by H. Westerway, who worked for 40 years as a guard on the Tasmanian Government Railways. The book which was apparently donated by him or his family is "The seats of the mighty; being the memoirs of Captain Robert Moray..." by Gilbert Parker, 19th ed. 1912. Henry Percy Westerway lived in Launceston and Hobart and died on 14 May 1942.

19.01.2022 When evacuating for the Launceston floods, priority was given to one of my most precious items - cataloguing notes for row three of the LMI library.

19.01.2022 Work to catalogue the LMI's 20,000+ volumes has just begun. Once catalogued each title will be viewable on Trove. For details of a survey done earlier to predict what proportion of the collection might be unique to the LMI and what might be held in other Australian libraries, see the latest LMI blog. http://launcestonmechanicsinstitute.blogspot.com.au//catal

19.01.2022 Part 2 of Mike's interesting article on our Bell's Poets collection. http://launcestonmechanicsinstitute.blogspot.com/?m=1

18.01.2022 The LMI books were part of a heavily used and heavily borrowed library collection. Some damage has therefore been inevitable. A volunteer group from the Friends of the LMI have undergone expert training in book conservation and will apply their new skills and knowledge to the preservation of this nationally significant collection. Read the story in the 'Examiner'. http://www.examiner.com.au//heritage-book-collection-in-/

18.01.2022 4. Rev. John West, engraving from the Launceston Mechanics Institute Portrait Gallery. (Launceston Library)

17.01.2022 Stories about the old Mechanics' Institute are always welcome. An ex-Launcestonian has shared his personal experiences and memories of the Institute on our blog.

17.01.2022 Annual General Meeting. The AGM will be held at 10.00 am on Thursday 23 May in Meeting Room 1 in the Launceston Library. Newcomers are welcome and membership is free. This is the ideal time to come and find out what has been happening over the last year.

17.01.2022 Apart from providing library services, entertainment and educational lectures, the LMI was a venue for meetings. One meeting was to have great significance for Tasmania. Read FOLMI member, Catherine Pearce's, article via the link below. http://launcestonmechanicsinstitute.blogspot.com//from-wil

16.01.2022 The LMI book and periodical collection has been searchable on Trove for some time. Now there is also access through the collectorz website. Use the link below to start searching. https://cloud.collectorz.com/folmi/books Trove is more user-friendly, but having another source through which to access our books is a safety net for when Trove is not available. It also means the Friends of LMI have their own data set.... When searching on Trove, remember to use "tlmi" as an extra keyword to narrow the search down to items we hold.

16.01.2022 Never far from the memories of Launcestonians.

15.01.2022 If you are wondering what is in our collection, try using the new Trove search function on our blog. At the end of our cataloguing project every item will be on Trove. Since this blog post the number of our items on Trove has grown to 7,188. The Trove search will retrieve more than just titles and authors. Try searching for 'Fawkner'. The 'Borrow' option on Trove's results page will let you see the LMI copy of 'Criminal trials' and the fact that this copy has 'John Fawkner' handwritten inside. http://launcestonmechanicsinstitute.blogspot.com.au//partn

14.01.2022 Happy Christmas to all from the LMI fiction cataloguers. Here are some reading suggestions for the holiday season - something historical, a good old classic, or a romantic mystery (why did it take Mary Smith's suitor three volumes?!).

13.01.2022 The latest issue of 'Useful Knowledge' (magazine of the Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria Inc.) has two excellent articles by our members, Mike and Prue McCausland. Mike has written about Launceston MI and Prue's article is on Lilydale MI. If you would like a copy of these articles please message this page. Members with access to our room at Newnham may view the magazine there.

11.01.2022 The LMI’s set of Bell’s Poets is on display at Launceston Library. This is a remarkable collection of 109 miniature volumes beautifully bound and engraved, with marbled endpapers. The display is on the first floor near the entry. The library’s hours are 9.30-6.00 Mon-Thu, 9.30-7.00 Fri and 9.30-2.00 Sat. They are well worth a look for their beauty alone, but the display also contains detailed notes and a leaflet which may be taken away. For those unable to visit, our current President, Mike McCausland, has posted three excellent blogs on https://launcestonmechanicsinstitute.blogspot.com/search

11.01.2022 Our AGM was held on Friday 8th June in the Phil Leonard Room at Launceston Library. The Phil Leonard Room was built to house the Local Studies reference collection and enquiry desk. Some items from the Launceston Mechanics Institute were fortunately retained when the building was demolished in 1971, and some can be seen here in the PLR.

11.01.2022 If you think bookmobiles are a twentieth century phenomenon, take a look at this newspaper article with the illustration of the "Perambulating Library": "We have been much interested by hearing from a gentleman who recently travelled in Cumberland, of a happy looking old man who was wheeling along the high road a novel looking burden. On enquiry, it proved to be the Perambulating Library; the large box containing a supply of books which the messenger was taking from Mealsgat...e to Bolton New Houses. On depositing his burden, he would then have to take the books which had been in use at Bolton New Houses forward to another village, and so on for a circle of eight villages, comprising in addition to the above, Ireby, Torpenhow, Bothel, Bolton Low Houses, Sandal, Bolton Gate and Uldale." (Source: The British Workman, and Friend of the Sons of Toil, No. 26 [1857], p104) The British Workman ... for 1856-60 is held in our collection.

10.01.2022 President of the Friends of the LMI, Peter Richardson, gave a very interesting talk on the Institute last Sunday at the monthly meeting of the Launceston Historical Society. His presentation focused on the collection of books and serials currently maintained by the FoLMI. The enthusiastic response at question time reflected the importance the Launceston community places on preserving Launceston's heritage.

09.01.2022 A year ago we published a post about Gertrude Bell. Now she is being featured by Current Archaeology Magazine because of efforts to restore her home to a museum in her honour. We feel honoured to have three of her books in the LMI collection, including a first edition of Amurath to Amurath (1911), about her experiences in Syria and what is now Iraq.

08.01.2022 For our new 'likers', have you checked out the Launceston Mechanics' Institute blog? There are articles about the old building, current activities of the 'friends' volunteers, special items in the collection, and lots more. Here is a link to one article which relates how Anthony Trollope, renowned English author, had some connection with Launceston and the LMI. His novels include 'The Warden', 'Orley Farm', 'The Vicar of Bullhampton' and Framley Parsonage', all of which, and more, are in the LMI library collection.

08.01.2022 It's International Children's Day, and pleasing to know that in Victorian times children were valued too. Not all of the handy hints in this book should, however, be tried at home today. http://launcestonmechanicsinstitute.blogspot.com.au/?m=1

08.01.2022 Annual General Meeting of Friends of the Launceston Mechanics' Institute, Wed 13 May, 5pm. This year the AGM will be held over internet via Zoom. Invitations to the Zoom meeting will be sent out via email a few days before the meeting. If current members have not yet received papers and would like to attend the meeting, please message Sue McClarron privately through Fb Messenger with your email details or postal address. Anyone wishing to join FoLMI is welcome. Please message this page if you would like more information.

06.01.2022 Exciting finds from another Tasmanian Mechanics' Institute. Well done, Scottsdale.

06.01.2022 The Friends of the Launceston Mechanics Institute are represented on the steering committee which is hoping to secure Paterson Barracks as a community history centre.

06.01.2022 Yet one more thing that makes old books so interesting. https://www.theguardian.com//the-smell-of-old-books-scienc

05.01.2022 Some interesting personal recollections bring the Institute to life.

04.01.2022 A rare shot from 1971 of the corner of Cameron and St John Streets. The old Mechanics Institute library alongside the still under-construction new library build...ing in the background. The Mechanics Institute was built in 1860 and served Launceston as the public library for over 110 years. Sadly the building was demolished in 1971. SLT23-1-239 #LibrariesTasmania #TasArchives See more

04.01.2022 So often it's the stories behind the books that make the Launceston Mechanics' Institute so interesting. Our President has turned up a lively story of interactions between some Launcestonians of the nineteenth century. Despite the criticism pencilled in by a reader, we can thank St John Browne for leaving behind his collection of the Penny Cyclopaedia. http://launcestonmechanicsinstitute.blogspot.com.au//st-jo

02.01.2022 Happy St Patrick's Day! On this day in 1908, the St Patrick's Day Anniversary Association held their annual celebration in the Launceston Mechanics Hall. Ther...e was a concert programme which included 'The Wearing of the Green' and 'Where the Shamrock Grows', and a lecture by Mr H Mahon. You can read more about his address and the celebration from the Daily Telegraph article on Trove: http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/151809252

02.01.2022 The set of "Bell's Poets" is one of the many treasures in the Launceston Mechanics' Institute collection. Read this interesting and detailed blog by Mike McCausland. Remember, visits to the LMI collection can be arranged by contacting us through the blog at the link below.

01.01.2022 Nineteenth century inventions feature in the blog below and in the previous blog "Two things to celebrate in June". The periodicals in which they can be found are very apt inclusions in our Mechanics' Institute Library. Two examples are the "London Mechanics' Register" and the "Glasgow Mechanics' Magazine".