The Merle Ricklefs Collection

The Indonesian Historical Collection has been part of Monash University Library from its earliest days. Containing over 2,000 books, serials and pamphlets about Indonesia from the Dutch East Indies era, the collection exists thanks to the efforts of founding Southeast Asian Studies Librarian, Paulette (Bob) Muskens and her successor, Helen Soemardjo

Muskens and Soemardjo worked in conjunction with many Monash academics from the Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, in particular Professor of History, Merle Ricklefs.

The collection was renamed to the Merle Ricklefs Collection following his passing in 2020.
This exhibition features a short documentary about the collection and its history.

Interviewed in the documentary are
Professor of Indonesian Studies, Julian Millie
Indonesian Studies Librarian (former), Dr Rheny Pulungan
Special Collections Curator, Dr Anne Holloway.

Between them they tell the story of the collection, in particular its importance to researchers from Indonesia and to those studying Indonesia at Monash University and the many different ways the individual books have been used and engaged with over the decades.