Collections inherited from Perth Technical College

WAIT Library started life with an inbuilt disadvantage compared to libraries of entirely new institutions. From Perth Technical College, it inherited a collection totally inadequate for the needs of the 3 000 students enrolled in the first year of operation, 1968. There was no lead-in time or establishment funding before teaching got underway, in essence continuing courses previously taught at the College. Most of the staff at the infant WAIT had transferred from the College, which had a tradition of classroom teaching with high contact hours and little concept of encouraging students to undertake independent study in a tertiary library environment.11

In 1965, when the Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry Departments moved from Perth Technical College to WAIT, their library collections moved to the Bentley campus with them.

By 1967, when Geoffrey Allen became Principal Librarian, library staff numbered 17 and services operated from three locations: the Old Boys’ School in St Georges Terrace where resources for the engineers and architects were held; the James Street branch of Perth Technical College which housed resources for the business departments; and a room in the Chemistry Department at Bentley where the limited resources for mathematics, physics, chemistry and pharmacy were available.