Two national living treasures meet at Icon Bondi
Their professional friendship and respect goes back to 1970s …
Russell Cope Retires
P a r l i a m e n t a r y L i b r a r i a no f NSW, 1962-91
Russell Cope was born in Melbourne on
21 July 1931.
He undertook all of his tertiary
education on a part-time basis, graduating BA
in 1932, M A (Hons) in 1964, both front the
University of Sydney, and PhD (UNSW) in
1975.
At that time studying for a doctorate on a part-time basis while in employment was
unusual, and required special approval of both
university and parliamentary authorities.
Russell Cope joined the staff of the
Parliamentary Library on 1 March 1949.
The
library then had a staff of ten. He moved
progressively through die ranks, and was
appointed Parliamentary Librarian on
5 September 1962, by which time the staff of the library numbered eleven.
He was only the
seventh Parliamentary Librarian to hold office
since 1856.
He retired from Parliamentary
service on 21 July this year, having completed
over 42 years in the service of the Parliament,
and having held the office of Parliamentary
Librarian for over 28 years.
At the time o f his
retirement the library had grown to 33 staff.
In recognition o f his contribution to
librarianship, the Library Association of
Australia made him a Fellow in 1968.
He
became an Extraordinary Member of the
Verein Deutscher Bibliothekare in 1973. He
was also the inaugural President of the
Association of Parliamentary Librarians of
Australasia from 1983 until 1985.
Throughout his professional career Russell
Cope has been particularly interested in
official publications, and their treatment and
the library to its modern premises in 1980.
His final major achievement has been the
introduction of the library’s highly successful
automation project, launched late in 1990 an
and
use in libraries.
Another continuing interest
was parliamentary librarianship itself.
Russell Cope’s administration of the New
South Wales Parliamentary Library saw the introduction of specialised reference and
information services for Members of
parliament in the 1960s, and the relocation of
the library to its modern premises in 1980.
His final major achievement has been the
introduction of the library’s highly successful
automation project, launched late in 1990 as
part of the library’s Sesquicentennial
Celebrations.
His retirement was marked by
speeches of appreciation in Parliament, and a
farewell dinner was hosted by the President of
the Legislative Council The Honourable Max
Williss, MLC, and The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, The Honourable
K R Rozzoli, MP.
Outside these professional interests Russell
Cope is an accomplished linguist, especially in
German, the subject of his M A and PhD
degrees.
He has also built up an extensive
collection of contemporary Australian pottery,
fine examples of which adorned his office.
Some were occasionally displayed in the
library’s showcases and a large proportion of it
is now housed in the Powerhouse Museum.
As a librarian, Russell Cope has always
been an avid reader and book collector. His
retirement will afford him the opportunity to
enjoy in a more leisurely way many of the books which he has collected during his
working life.
Richard Baker
Acting Parliamentary Librarian
Source: inCite 23 September 2021