Albury councillor appeals for greater funding to stop National Library's Trove archive being shelved

Albury councillor David Thurley drew the parallel in successfully moving a motion to lobby the Arts Minister Tony Burke to inject money into Trove which is at risk of closure.

"I note, for example, that we have lots of money to spend on things such as the war memorial, something like half-a-billion dollars, but the National Film and Sound Archive, Trove are suffering badly and they hold just as much important memory as the Australian War Memorial," Mr Thurley told councillors on Monday night.

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The council will be writing to Mr Burke and Opposition arts spokesman Paul Fletcher "calling for sustainable funding to ensure the continuation of free access to the Trove national database and upgrade of the digital archive systems of Trove".

It will also be contacting Farrer MP Sussan Ley to seek her support for greater funding.

Albury Council chief executive Frank Zaknich, in a note in Monday's agenda, outlined how the city's library and museum pay a subscription to share Trove resources which is set to increase.

"In 2022, Trove introduced a new pricing model for participant organisations which raised serious concerns regarding the affordability and ongoing viability of participation in resource sharing for public libraries," Mr Zaknich stated.

"For Albury libraries and museum the new pricing model is expected to result in a substantial increase in subscription fees in the years ahead."

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