These walls speak volumes : a history of mechanics' institutes in Victoria / Pam Baragwanath and Ken James.
Publisher: [Ringwood North, Victoria] : Pam Baragwanath and Ken James, 2015Copyright date: ©2015Description: 704 pages : illustrations, facsimiles ; 30 cmContent type:- text
- still image
- unmediated
- volume
- 9780992308780
- 374.9945 23
Illustrations on end papers.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
The history of mechanics' institutes in Victoria is an inspiring story of courage, committment to the local community, and endurance, from 1839 to the present. Determined to succeed in working towards more opportunity in a fairer society, they were formed by local communities with the following aims: 'The diffusion of literary, scientific and other useful knowledge and the literary advancement and recreation of members and the community generally. The means to be employed are the delivery of lectures, a library of reference and circulation, a reading room and the formation of classes'. Arguably Victoria's oldest and most influential surviving institution, they were the forerunners to TAFE, the regional library system, intellectual culture and the hub of social life around Victoria. The mechanics' institute legacy is that over half of them remain today still in traditional use. Surely this is one of Victoria's great success stories. -- Inside front jacket.
Item type | Current library | Call number | Status | Notes | Date due | Barcode | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Book | SMSA Library Non-fiction | 374.9945 BARA | Available | Jan 2016 | 64306 |
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