The Friends of the Battye Library (Inc.) was inaugurated on 6 July 1981 and the patron is Mrs Ruth Reid.
The aims of the Society are to assist and promote the interests of the J.S. Battye Library of West Australian History and the State Records Office, with particular concern for the acquisition, preservation and use of archival and documentary materials.

Activities of the Friends of Battye Library
Meetings are held for members and visitors four to five times per year. Guest speakers cover many topics relevant to the Battye Library and the State Records Office, including Friends' own projects and research. Meetings are preceded by light refreshments for which there is a small donation.

The Friends of the Battye Library Newsletter
The Society produces a regular newsletter which includes interesting articles, details of meetings, and information for members on the various activities taking place in the Battye Library, State Records Office and the Alexander Library Building. Contributions are welcome and should be sent to the Editor at our postal address.

Friends of Battye Library (Inc.) have a representative on the Battye/State Records Office Customer Service Council, a body set up by the State Library to enable formal consultation with customers on their needs.

Tours of the Battye Library and the State Records Office are offered to members from time to time. These are announced in the Newsletter.

Some Projects to Date
Archivists have been employed to compile inventories of previously unprocessed records in both government and private archives.

• Donation of The Banksias. Volume 2 by Celia Rosser and Alexander George. This significant volume of a limited edition was presented to the Battye Library in 1992.

• Adopt-a-Book. The Friends of Battye Library have helped preserve Chunuma by Mary Durack by donating funds for restoration work.

• A bibliography of Perth maps compiled.

• Experts employed to assess and organise sections of the 16mm film collection in the State film Archives.

• Important selections from the map collection encapsulated to ensure preservation.

• Assisted the pictorial collection in the processing of the Winmar collection of photographs.

• Applied for and received a grant from Lotterywest (formerly the Lotteries Commission) for the microfilming of pre-1900 Western Australian newspapers.

Volunteers
Volunteers work on assigned projects and assist in processing material according to their interests or expertise. All volunteers are asked to contribute a minimum of two hours per visit on a regular basis. Most contribute more! If you are interested in this aspect of the Friends activities please address your inquiries to the coordinator of Volunteers at the Battye Library. (Telephone: (08) 9427 3291).

Subscriptions
Subscriptions for membership of the Friends of Battye Library run from July to June.

You can also make donations to the Friends. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.

For further information contact:

The Secretary
The Friends of Battye Library (Inc.)
PO Box 216
Northbridge WA 6865