Library director closes the book on distinguished career
As he prepares for retirement this month, State Library of South Australia director Geoff Strempel outlines how he and his team have positioned the iconic North Terrace library for the 21st century and beyond.
Transforming the State Library of South Australia into a digitised, diverse and accessible resource for all South Australians has been at the heart of Geoff Strempel’s vision during his seven years as director of the North Terrace landmark.
What had been a “traditional state library over decades”, has now been positioned for the 21st century under Strempel’s leadership, which has included upskilling staff, installing digital storage techniques, and implementing creative ways to engage the broader public – from children to retirees.
“We’ve just bought some digital systems, a digital preservation system, which we need,” he tells InReview. “Digital preservation ensures that you will always be able to read files that have been ingested in a known format.
“We have digitised two million pages of newspapers for South Australia and they’re on Trove, which is run by the National Library. We deliberately put them there so people can find them. So this is about how do we put our content in places where people will find it.
The State Library’s Mortlock Wing often hosts events and exhibitions. Photo: Sia Duff
“I think the State Library has the most remarkable collection of materials that isn’t as well known as it perhaps could be, should be. So it’s about giving greater exposure to the remarkable collection we have. We’ve got about 60 kilometres of shelving full of the history of South Australia.
“One of the things we’re also doing is trying to improve the number of exhibitions, podcasts, talks online, and visits to the library to hear lectures. Information is held in books, but books are only one form of transmitting information, and we need to find ways to curate and tell South Australian stories.”
Next February, for example, the State Library, which welcomes more than 550,000 visitors a year, will hold an exhibition about General Motors Holden and its car manufacturing history in South Australia. The exhibition will coincide with the VAILO Adelaide 500 car race, capitalising on the car-loving crowds in town.
“That’s because we know there’ll be lots of visitors, many of whom are interested in not just Holden, but the whole history of manufacturing cars in Australia,” Strempel says.
“So, those people may be interested to spend an hour or two in an exhibition and find out things they never knew, because they’ve got a passion for cars. Exhibitions are a great way to share information with people who have an interest but are not necessarily keen to go further and read books or even write a book about it.”
One of the historic photographs from the Douglas Darian Smith collection, showing Henley Beach in the 1930s.
During his time as director of the State Library, Strempel has been instrumental in several significant collection acquisitions, including more than 100,000 images from famed SA aerial photographer Douglas Darian Smith’s career, and items from filmmaker Scott Hicks’ personal archive of film memorabilia.
“Scott has donated his life’s archive to the library, and we’ve been cataloguing and processing that, and we intend to turn that into a beautiful exhibition to showcase the whole of Scott’s history since he was back in film school at Flinders University,” Strempel says.
“Scott was really concerned that he wanted his collection preserved and not at risk. Sometimes these collections can be at risk because of where they’re stored or how they’re stored.
“Secondly, Scott has got a real sense of history in South Australia, and while he’s obviously just an incredibly talented person, he has also been part of a significant movement in the film industry, from the early days of film and even video right through to digital. He’s also worked overseas. So, he is a very important piece of the South Australian film history story, and I think Scott just wanted to make his collection accessible and available here at the library.”
The Hicks’ collection includes hand-drawn sketches of movie scenes, storyboards from completed movies that have been mapped out in logbooks and diaries, and memorabilia such as the glasses and costume worn by Geoffrey Rush in Shine. The exhibition is expected to take place in late 2025.
Some of the Scott Hicks collection held at the State Library, with photographs taken during the filming of Shine. Photo: Sia Duff
Before his appointment at the State Library, Strempel oversaw South Australia’s 140 public libraries in his role as associate director, Public Library Services. He was recently awarded the HCL Anderson Award, which is the Australian Library and Information Association’s highest honour, recognising outstanding services to the Australian library and information sector.
Strempel says one of the things he’s most proud of during his 40-year-career has been the establishment of the One Card Network for local libraries.
“That was a once-in-a-generation transformation for our public library network, which means people in Ceduna, for example, have access to three million items on the shelf of every public library,” he says.
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“For me, that was transformative in the public library realm. I then moved into the State Library and had visions of doing something very similar. We’re actively looking right now at the possibility of the State Library joining in on the public libraries’ One Card Network.
“So, it’s about modernising the State Library to ensure that it has the facilities, the technology and the skills to ensure that it is turning its collections into digitally accessible and exhibition-ready material to raise the profile of what we should be proud of to be South Australians.”
Scott Hicks and Geoff Strempel with a painting of the filmmaker which will form part of the Hicks exhibition. Photo: Sia Duff
Strempel also reveals that the State Library is partnering with the Words Grow Minds early-childhood literacy program run by Raising Literacy Australia, with an exciting new project soon to be announced which will encourage more young children into the library.
His last day in the job will be October 18 and he says he will miss the people he works with more than anything.
“Working in libraries is about a bit of a mission that you love. It’s not just books – books are just a vehicle for transmitting ideas. So, the people who work in libraries are passionate and really interesting. They are early adopters of changes in how we keep relevant to the community.”
The 67-year-old says he has a couple of retirement projects in mind, including spending more time with his 14-month-old grandson, Joey.
“He knows that books have pages, and you turn the pages and you say words. So he’s on the way, which is wonderful.”
If you’re at all curious about the world, a library will provide you with the answer
Local government and library services executive Megan Berghuis has been appointed to replace Strempel as the new director. Asked what advice he has for Berghuis, Strempel says he wouldn’t be so presumptuous.
“What I would say is, it’s a great job with great prospects and a great board,” he says.
“I’ve worked with boards for over 40 years and at the moment, the State Library’s board is the most innovative, supportive board I’ve worked with; highly professional and really strategic in their focus. And it is just a pleasure to work with them and some really great senior staff. It’s fantastic.
“We know that 78 per cent of people who go into libraries tell us the main reason for going is to borrow books. So, books are still at the heart of who we are, but that’s about information.
“But the other thing about libraries is that they’re always looking to talk to their customers, or prospective customers, about what they’re interested in, and that then spills into, ‘Are you interested in joining a book club, or are you wanting to participate in a range of community activities that the library is running?’. This is particularly the case for people who have a bit of extra spare time – libraries are a great place for lots of free engagement activities, library material, etc. But there’s something for everybody who is curious.
“If you’re at all curious about the world, a library will provide you with the answer. Having said that, for the very busy people, we have the single largest digital borrowing collection in Australia, here in South Australia: over half a million items online to be able to borrow, everything from magazines through to audio books through to print books.
“So if you’re at all interested in flicking through a magazine about your local passion, your personal passion, sailing, golfing, gardening, you’ll find an online magazine that you can borrow without having to leave your lounge room.”