How do we find and gather the rapidly increasing digital sources found along the landscapes of the Web, other libraries, CD-ROMs etc ? And with what we have gathered to add to the AIATSIS Digital Library, how can we plan to preserve and create sensitive and appropriate descriptions of our collections - for future access in our keeping place, a keeping place for all.

Apart from digitising our own collections, the AIATSIS Library has borrowed material from other libraries to digitise such as annual reports of the state government Protectors of Aborigines. A far greater challenge is in gathering relevant materials from digital libraries, from Google Books, Internet Archive and the Gutenberg Project as well as a rapidly increasing number of individual libraries.

Preserving our collections alone does not tell all the story about our keeping place - a more appropriate means of describing our collections covering the rich diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, languages and lifestyles is required. The AIATSIS Library has recently redeveloped its subject thesaurus that describes the AIATSIS collections in our Catalogue and Digital Archive.

The subject thesaurus complements the language and place thesauri - 'pathways' that are available to browse on the AIATSIS website. The Thesauri have been accepted internationally as an approved code and are now present in the records submitted to Libraries Australia.

…and what we gather, we share. The AIATSIS Thesauri and digitised collections are for all to use.