A guide to saving citations and creating bibliographies from the State Library catalogue.
State Library Victoria holds many collections of material. If you are referencing or reproducing Library material in a publication, display or research paper, it is likely that people reading your work may want to follow the citation back to the source. In order to make this as easy as possible, best practice is to state which collection the item has been sourced from in your citation. This will also ensure that all items are thoroughly and correctly cited, and that items still in copyright are acknowledged.
You can determine the collection for any item in the catalogue by finding the item's location code in the table below. The location code for an item is the group of letters that precede the call number in the availability statement in the catalogue. In the example shown below, the letters "LT" indicate the La Trobe (Australiana) collection.
|
Collection Name / Location Codes |
Citation statement |
|---|---|
|
La Trobe (Australiana) Locations: LT*, SLT*, YLT* |
La Trobe Collection, State Library Victoria |
|
Riley and Ephemera Locations: EC, ECP, ECPO |
Riley and Ephemera Collection, State Library Victoria |
|
Theatre Programmes Locations: TPC |
Theatre Programmes Collection, State Library Victoria |
|
Manuscripts Locations: MS, MSF, MS Box, MS F Box, MSB, MC DR, TMS, YMS |
Australian Manuscripts Collection, State Library Victoria Include a unique identifier/accession number. Refer to Citing from the Manuscripts or Pictures collections below for more information |
|
Maps Locations: MA, MAP, MAPEF, MAPF, MAPMF, MAPR, MAPS |
Maps Collection, State Library Victoria |
|
Children's Literature Locations: CTC, J, JEF, JF, JKP, JLT, JLTEF, JLTF, JLTP, JMC, JMCF, RAREJ, RARJEF, RAREJF, RAREJLT, RAREJLTF |
Children's Literature Collection, State Library Victoria |
|
Rare Books Locations: ACX, ACXF, CC, CCEF, CCF, MC, MCEF, MCF, MCP, RARE* |
Rare Books Collection, State Library Victoria |
|
Pictures Locations: PC*, PIC*, LTAD, YLTAD |
Pictures Collection, State Library Victoria Include a unique identifier/accession number. Refer to Citing from the Manuscripts or Pictures collections below for more information |
|
Newspapers Locations: LTRN, N, NM, NMR, NPR, NPRF, NS, NSM |
Newspapers Collection, State Library Victoria |
|
Arts Locations: A, AAA, AEF, AF, AI, AM, AMF, AO, AOF, AP, AR, AUCT, TC, TV, TX |
Arts Collection, State Library Victoria |
|
Genealogy Locations: G, GM, GMF, GR |
Helen Macpherson Smith Genealogy Centre, State Library Victoria |
|
Main reference collection Locations: any other Location code not mentioned above |
State Library Victoria |
Note: Location codes with an * indicate multiple codes apply. For example, in the La Trobe (Australiana) collection, LT* represents any of LT, LFT, LTOM, LTR, LTH, etc
When citing items held in either the Manuscripts of Pictures collections, it is important to include a unique identifier in the citation to ensure the item can be found by others. For manuscripts and pictures in the State Library catalogue, the accession number provides a unique reference to a given item's bibliographic record (this is usually preceded by "MS" for manuscripts or "H" for pictures).
The accession number is listed in the Identifier(s) field of the bibliographic record as shown in the examples below. Where more than one accession number is listed on a record, please ensure the relevant number is referenced if a specific item is being cited. And while it is not necessary, it may be appropriate to cite the exact location of a specific document (e.g. "MS 8486 box 899/6")
So, for example, Ned Kelly's Jerilderie letter might be cited as (APA style):
Kelly, N., Byrne, J., & Living, E. (1879). Letter written by Joe Byrne at the dictation of Ned Kelly. MS 13361. Australian Manuscripts Collection, State Library Victoria.
While one of the images associated with the record shown below might be cited as (APA style):
W. Watson & Sons. (1883 - 1908). Tale of a tub. H2004.41/73. Pictures Collection, State Library Victoria.
Note that, for the example given above, the accession number for a specific image can be determined by selecting the links to one of the Related Titles. These links will take you to the digitised images in the catalogue, where you can identify the correct accession number being cited.
You are welcome to copy material or order copies from the Library's collections and re-use these materials provided you meet the requirements of the Australian Copyright Act 1968 and any special requirements that may apply to material that is rare, unique or culturally sensitive.
Generally speaking, you do not need to seek copyright permission when reproducing material for the purpose of research, study, criticism, review, parody, satire, reporting the news, or giving legal advice. Other instances where you do not need to seek copyright permission include if a work has been made freely available without copyright restriction (for example, under a Creative Commons licence), if copyright has expired, or if copyright never applied.
Where material can be used without permission, you should still cite the author/creator of the work (use the table on this page to help you), and State Library Victoria as the source. Find out more about Understanding Copyright at SLV.
Knowing whether or not something is in copyright can be complicated. Read about understanding copyright and useful copyright resources on our website for more information, or read the fact sheets available on the Australian Copyright Council's website.
Items in SLV's picture collections will generally include a copyright statement in the catalogue record, under Details. In the below example, you can see that the work is out of copyright and there are no additional conditions for use:
In the next example the work is still in copyright, and copyright restrictions apply to usage:
More detail about the copyright of an image can be found in the image viewer when you view the item online (select Link to Online Resource). Click the Download icon at the bottom right corner of the image that you are interested in for more information:
A copyright statement such as this will appear:
For more information about the copyright holder of an image, contact copyright@slv.vic.gov.au, or Ask a Librarian.
