Inspired by the social media phenomenon Humans of New York, we have been uncovering the Library's greatest treasure, the people who breathe life into its spaces - the 'Humans of the Library'.
Meet Owen - The Library Detective
"History makes me happy. It’s cool. Since I was five I’ve been collecting old photographs, articles, books, objects and maps from my local area. Now I’m 13.
I go door knocking asking people if they have old photos to share. Most people enjoy having me and now I see them all the time. Only sometimes people think I am coming to sell something and lock themselves in. I love making new discoveries like the photo of an old railway bridge across the Great Eastern Highway in Sawyers Valley from the 1950’s. It’s on the cover of my picture book ‘Lost Mundaring & Surroundings’ (Owen Briffa 2018) and shared on my community Facebook Page.
I also have a Travelling Local History Museum. It’s the first of it's kind in the Southern Hemisphere. I take it to local events. People bring me old photos to be scanned, its also a place where they find old friends and talk about their memories.
Today I’m at the State Library going through old gazettes and maps. I come here because there are precious records about Western Australian history that cannot be sourced from anywhere else. I also use the Library catalogue to make requests for items to read in the Reading Room.
What do my friends at school think? At first they were not interested in history but now they are. Because of my love of history they can see that it’s not just of old people. It’s for all ages.
My ultimate ambition is to be the Mayor of Mundaring. I would start history projects, build an historical village and save old buildings. It makes me sad to see old buildings deliberately being run down so that they become unsafe and have to be demolished, when they could have been saved."
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