Scholars at work.

• Author: Ayres, Marie-Louise
• Position: News & Events

The National Library of Australia awards several Harold White Fellowships to senior researchers every year, with each Fellow spending between three and six months exploring the Library's collections. Many past Fellowships have resulted in major publications, and all past recipients attest to the value of uninterrupted time and unfettered access to the Library's rich collections.

For various reasons there has been some 'overlap' between 2007 and 2008 Fellows, with one 2007 Fellow taking up her Fellowship at the beginning of 2008, and one 2008 Fellow taking up hers during 2007. This report therefore covers both years.

The Fellows room was very busy throughout 2007, with seven Fellows in residence.

Rowena Ward deepened her research on the human legacy of Japanese colonialism, especially in Manchuria. While Dr Ward, a lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney, concentrated her research in the Library's extensive Asian book and serial collections, she also utilised maps of Manchukuo in the Maps Collection. Like a number of Fellows, she identified many small research 'gaps' adjacent to her main research interests and intends to pursue some of these in the future.

Narangoa Li, a reader in Japanese studies at the Australian National University, also focused on the Japanese state of Manchukuo in Manchuria and inner Mongolia. Dr Li made sustained use of the Library's Asian Collections over many months to research the occupation of...