KEY RESULT AREA 3: I
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THE VAUGEIAN EVAN S L IB R A R Y ’S g re a te r pu blic p ro file and m o re pleasant research environm ent at W h a rf 7 resulted in a dram atic increase in people visiting the library in person (7 2 8 vs 3 6 4 the previous y ea r).T h e num ber o f requests received by phone, fax and em ail also increased. G ood w orking relationships w ere established w ith th e Syd ney H e rita g e F le e t L ib ra ry w h ic h sh ares fa c ilitie s at W h a r f 7 . Enhancem ents w ere m ade to the L ibrary’s web pages and a Library Intranet site for M useum staff was developed as a gateway to Library facilities. M uch-valued help cam e fro m v o lu n te e r s w ho assisted w ith p u b lic e n q u irie s and in d e x in g th e shipbuilding journ als in the Library co llectio n . T h e Library also shares a volunteer w ith the Society o f Australian G enealogists w hich helps develop ties and mutually beneficial p ro jects. Thanks also to m aritim e artist P eter Yeomans fo r his donation o f a collectio n o f books on m arine painting. T h e planned placem ent o f the Library catalogue on the web did n o t go ahead due to lack o f IT resources but we hope to do so in 2 0 0 0 -2 0 0 1 . Problem s w ith the Kinetica National Bibliographic D atabase resulted in the Library suspending itself from the K inetica D ocu m en t D elivery Service. T h e nu m ber o f Inter-L ibrary loan requests to the M useum fro m oth er Libraries dropped as a resu lt. R e feren ce searches to ok significantly lon ger than w ith ABN and no original cataloguing was added to the N ational Bibliographic D atabase this year. W e hope these issues will be resolved in the n e x t financial year. FL E E T M A IN TEN A N CE benefited from an internal review covering every area o f w ork. This identified the reduction o f ship repair and slipping facilities in the P ort o f Sydney as a threat to the traditional ship and boat repairs carried out on Museum vessels. M useum C ouncil endorsed the need fo r enhanced facilities, a self-sufficient F leet w orkforce and a com m itm ent to training apprentices. In addition to F leet staff listed in Appendix 18 we employed tw o apprentices, M atthew Q uinn and Todd Maiden, through the M etroskills program (form erly the H unter Valley Training Com pany). T he newly-opened submarine Onslow required further conversion w ork fo r its new role as a public display. Shipkeepers for the submarine w ere engaged, a m aintenance plan was developed and Volunteer guides were trained and supervised. The destroyer Vampire, 4 0 years on from its com missioning in 1 9 5 9 , had the superstructure repainted, various aerials refitted and some significant steelw ork replaced. The AN M M Shipyard at Berrys Bay was opened for Heritage W eek where the focus was on the changing face o f Sydney’s w aterfron t.T h e program was booked out.
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