Project Description
Finding a sustainable future for the Dictionary of Sydney
> THE CONTEXT
The Dictionary of Sydney is a unique public history project that catalogues the City and its stories in an online encyclopaedia. The Dictionary includes everything from essays by expert historians to popular local history entries, oral histories, photographs and artworks, important documents and images of artefacts, sound and moving images. Since its launch in 2009, the Dictionary has grown to be an authoritative digital resource on Sydney’s history.
> OUR APPROACH
To determine the appropriate model for the future of the Dictionary of Sydney, we examined the content, organisational arrangements and income generation of other relevant web-based information services. We undertook interviews with Dictionary staff, board members, stakeholders and representatives of web-based information services, universities and selected cultural institutions to prepare a discussion document containing a comprehensive list of organisational options. Positive Solutions facilitated a combined board-staff workshop to consider the options and following staff consultation and interviews a final report was prepared.
> THE BRIEF
Positive Solutions was engaged by the City of Sydney to determine appropriate management and governance models for the organisation’s long-term sustainability, including investigating the viability of The Dictionary being housed in a like-minded organisation, incorporating the Dictionary’s operations into the City of Sydney or maintaining it as an independent organisation.
> THE RESULT
After considering the recommendations and research undertaken by Positive Solutions, the Dictionary of Sydney entered into a new partnership with the State Library of New South Wales in June 2016. Through this new partnership, the library will preserve and maintain the content of the Dictionary.
