Lu Rees was the first President of the CBCA ACT Branch in 1957. All her life she worked in the book industry and was dedicated to the recognition of Australian children’s literature. In 1974, Lu Rees proposed that the branches of the CBCA develop a collection of biographical files about Australian children’s authors and illustrators, including copies of their books. Her own personal donation of 500 children’s books formed the nucleus of the collection.
The special strength of the Archives, comprising some 16 800 titles in 2008, including rare and foreign language titles, authors’ and illustrators’ papers, manuscripts and artwork, and research files on over 300 Australian creators, is that all this related material has been gathered together in one readily accessible place for students, researchers and the general community. This broad and in-depth collection provides a particularly rich and comprehensive overview of Australian children's literature, its creation and publishing endeavour.
The Library of the University of Canberra has, for the last 28 years, provided invaluable resource support, in recognition of the value of the collection to the University and the wider research community. All the Branches of the CBCA fund a part-time staff member to further the work of the Archives in promoting Australian children’s literature.
You can learn much more about the collection on their website, located at http://www.canberra.edu.au/lurees/home
