Chair and Director-General reappointed to the National Library of Australia

Senator the Hon. Helen Coonan

Former Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts; Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate archived website

Senator the Hon. Rod Kemp

Minister for the Arts and Sport from 23 November 2001 to 30 January 2007

Senator the Hon George Brandis was Minister for the Arts and Sport from 30 January 2007 to 3 December 2007. This site is available for archival purposes only.

Chair and Director-General reappointed to the National Library of Australia

The Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator George Brandis today announced the three year reappointment of Sir James Gobbo AC CVO as Chair of the Council of the National Library of Australia, and the five year reappointment of Ms Jan Fullerton as the library’s Director-General.

“Sir James and Ms Fullerton have led the national library very successfully through a period of great change and I am delighted they will both be continuing in these roles,” Senator Brandis said.

“Both appointments will ensure that the National Library of Australia continues to develop as one of Australia’s major national cultural institutions.

“Sir James’ knowledge and professional expertise will continue to be of considerable value to the work of the Council. Ms Fullerton has had a long association with the national library and her leadership and effective management style have been central to the library’s many successes”.

Sir James is a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria and was the Governor of Victoria from 1997–2000. As well as his expertise in law he has an extensive background with ethnic and community organisations and advisory bodies. He was first appointed as part-time member and Chair of the Council on 27 June 2001, and was reappointed for a second term on 27 June 2004.

Since her initial appointment in August 1999, Ms Fullerton has overseen a number of major achievements at the library which have capitalised on opportunities created through the development and use of new technologies. These achievements include the introduction of the popular Pandora archive that broke new ground in making collection information easily available to researchers online.

The National Library of Australia, funded by the Australian Government, contributes significantly to the continuing vitality of Australia’s culture and heritage. Visit www.nla.gov.au for more information on the National Library of Australia.

Media contact: Travis Bell 0448 950 248

20 July 2007

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