The obsession of David Scott Mitchell.(Magnificent Obsession: The Story of the Mitchell Library, Sydney)(Book review)

Magnificent Obsession: The Story of the Mitchell Library, Sydney, by Brian H. Fletcher; Allen & Unwin and the State Library of New South Wales, 2007, $59.95.

 
   Since it is usual in histories 
   To make a contribution to research 
   ... I went 
 
To Ida Leeson at the Mitchell, saying: 
   "I don't suppose you have a document ..." 
   Of course she had one! Had it there for years ... 

--James McAuley, "The True Discovery of Australia" (1944)

JAMES MCAULEY is probably the only poet to celebrate a Mitchell Librarian. in his verse, but almost every Australian historian, professional or amateur, for the past 100 years has applauded the Mitchell ...