Research Project
Researchers: Cianci, Lisa , McCarthy, Gavan , O'Sullivan, Lisa , Tropea, Rachel
Full description This project was established to document the involvement of the Australian Science Archives Project (ASAP) and subsequent organisations with the records of the Initial Teaching Alphabet Association Australia. The initial teaching alphabet (i.t.a.) is an "initial alphabet" based on a phonetic spelling system for the teaching of reading to beginners, consisting of 44 symbols which represent the "40 sounds" of the English Language. Sir James Pitman's development of i.t.a. (initially called the "Augmented Roman Alphabet") was not an attempt at spelling reform, but the creation of a "medium" for the initial learning of reading. The archival work on the records of the i.t.a. Association was carried out by the Australian Science Archives Project. The records are deposited with the State Library of Victoria. The Project was initiated in 1992 by Gavan McCarthy in discussions with Arlie B. Hargreaves, who was storing the records of the i.t.a. Association in her Carlton home at the time. Mrs Hargreaves wrote detailed box lists before the records were transferred to the offices of the Australian Science Archives Project. On this list it was noted that the i.t.a. typewriter and some films remained behind after the rest of the records were transferred. They were subsequently transferred to Austehc and made part of the collection. The archival work on the records of the i.t.a. Association was completed in 1995, and a printed Guide to the records produced. This was prepared by Gavan McCarthy, Helen Barber and Lisa Cianci with Lisa O'Sullivan. The Guide details Provenance, Series and Inventory data; an accession was added to an updated HDMS in 2001 by Rachel Tropea at the completion of the Project, and the records were transferred to the State Library of Victoria on 6 June 2002.
Data time period: 11 1992