Trove yields treasure for researchers 

A recent survey of humanities researchers by the National Library of Australia reveals that the Trove database has had a 'transformative impact' on the research of students, academics and members of the public alike since its launch in April 2010.

Survey respondents used the digitised newspapers and other resources in Trove to research subjects ranging from genealogy and political history to automobiles, fishing, mining, climate, the built environment and the history of media itself. One researcher praised the 'highly addictive Trove website' for providing access to local and international information 'in quantities so vast they would have been unthinkable in earlier times'.

Trove provides access to millions of digitised newspaper and magazine articles, books, maps, music scores, websites, archives and photographs at the click of a button. The collection will continue to expand, with researchers calling specifically for more content post-1950, and for the digitisation of regional and specialist newspapers.

Dr Nikki Henningham is Executive Officer of the Australian Women’s Register, one of the many external databases that feed into Trove. She spends much of her time tracking down the stories of Australian women who left few records or who had various aliases. For her, Trove has proven to be an invaluable research tool.

She cites the example of the little-known Esme Odgers, a founding member of Plan International, whose story she stumbled across by accident: 'It was while I was doing research for another interview. I saw her referred to in a paper she delivered at Murdoch University,' says Henningham. 'The text caught my eye. So I looked her up in Trove and found the digitised newspapers and the Australian Women’s Weekly digital archive to be very helpful. Without that resource it might have taken months to put Esme's story together.'

To explore Trove for yourself, visit www.trove.nla.gov.au.