'Noosawiki' has been developed specifically to provide an online repository for heritage information relating to the Noosa district.

Noosawiki provides people from within the Noosa community and further afield an online heritage resource that is accessible and open for contribution. All contributions are invited as long as they fall within the themes of history and heritage that directly relates to the Noosa district.

Contributions are invited from all sectors of the community including heritage groups, historians, researchers, students and the general public. We are encouraging all people in the community who have an interest in the history of the Noosa district their own histories within the area to contribute their personal stories, photographs and memories. The more that we can tell our own personal histories, the greater is the chance we have to preserve parts of our collective heritage that once lost, is gone forever.

The key characteristic of a wiki is that it allows all users to contribute, update and edit their material online, as well as engage in online discussion and debate that is open, fair and constructive. However, the free and public access nature of Noosawiki necessitates some clear guidelines and ethics for using the site by which we hope all users will abide in order to allow the site to function effectively and for the benefit of all users and the community.

The following guidelines are provided to assist all users.


Noosawiki has been created specifically as a place where all people can become involved in building the story of Noosa's heritage.

Heritage is not necessarily things that are old. Cultural heritage is a dynamic and evolving concept. Cultural heritage -

· encompasses the qualities and attributes of places that have aesthetic, historic, scientific or social value for past, present or future generations. These values may be seen in a place’s physical features, but importantly can also be intangible qualities such as peoples associations with, or feelings for a place (www.forest.nsw.gov.au/education/glossary)

· Knowledge about the historical and cultural background of a place, including, socioeconomic, political, intellectual, ethnic, religious, or philosophical considerations
(www.usm.maine.edu)

Material that is encouraged for contribution includes

· Personal histories of life in the former Noosa Shire
· Historical research of Noosa themes
· Photographs and documents relating to Noosa history
· Recollections, writings and poetry relating to Noosa history
· Artwork reflecting or inspired by Noosa history
· Moving footage, digital stories and multi-media material
· School history projects

Categories

Some broad categories of content have been established as a starting point for the wiki. When contributing material to the wiki, please peruse these categories and their subcategories and add your story in the relevant section. If you can't find an appropriate category and wish to suggest one to be added, please contact us.

Aboriginal History - For contributions relating to the Indigenous people of the Noosa region.

History and Development - For material relating to the development of Noosa

Pioneers, Identities and Family Stories - A place to tell the story of your ancestor, yourself or some other interesting or notable Noosa resident, past or present.

Heritage Places - A page to record the story of the specific buildings or locations such as the Butter Factory or Noosa National Park. Maybe you can tell a story about the house that you (used to) live in, or an old guesthouse along Gympie Terrace that your Great Aunt owned that no longer exists. Do you know the history of an old farming property, or where the buildings in your town were shifted to or from and which historic buildings burned down and when? Do you know something about Noosa's military history and can tell us where military activity was conducted around Noosa during WWII? Any history that relates to a physical place can be posted here.

Localities - Tells the story of each township or geographic region within the shire, including a timeline, photo album and place to record your memories.

Industries - From the early industries such as timber-getting, dairying and agriculture to the newer and ongoing industries that maintain the areas economic growth.

((Festivals & Special Events)) - Do you have a special Noosa Christmas tradition? Have you competed in every Noosa Triathlon? Tell your story about your involvement in any of Noosa's special events and festivals.

Our Photos - This is where we would love to see your photos of Noosa. And not just old black and white images of considerable vintage. Things are continually changing, sometimes rapidly and significantly, so any pictures showing the changing face of Noosa will help to tell the story.

School Heritage Projects - Any schools or students who have undertaken assignments or projects relating to Noosa's history and heritage are encouraged to share their efforts here.


Respectful use and behaviour

Noosawiki has been created for a specific purpose. Whilst the range of material and opinions may be diverse, the most fundamental expectation of Noosawiki is that users consider this purpose when using the site, treat the site and other users with respect and act responsibly to ensure that opinions are respected and content is not destroyed or corrupted with ill intent.

The editing function should really only be used on one’s own work to change or update entries or when potential changes in other users contributions have first been discussed with the author of the work. If you wish to engage in debate about opinions or facts in others work, we recommend you use the forum page to post your concerns and refrain from engaging in content disputes which will diminish the quality and tone of Noosawiki.

Original Material

Noosawiki is a free and open platform for all contributors. Likewise it is accessible to all people. Therefore, anybody who wishes to publish original material on Noosawiki must ensure that their work is authored to avoid copyright infringement and plagiarism. Noosa Library takes no responsibility for the use of original material by others except the original creator of the material.

Authenticity
It is expected that any person who makes a contribution to Noosawiki does so in good faith, adding only material that has been researched to the best of their ability to verify the authenticity of the work.

Policy Enforcement
All users have the right to and are expected to assist with enforcing Noosawiki policies. Anyone who views content that they consider breeches Noosawiki policy can easily notify the author of the work.


Conflict Resolution
Noosawiki does anticipate that from time to time information will be posted on the site that may be disputed by others. It is expected that all information will be respected and that those who disagree or wish to debate any content will do so directly and discretely with the contributor.


2. Access/Evaluation and Monitoring


Whilst the Wiki is still in its infant stages of content development, the Noosa Library will maintain control over the sort of information that is contributed to the site in order to establish relevant themes, ensure content integrity and set a tone for Noosawiki within its heritage-specific purpose.

For the purposes of balanced evaluation and monitoring of Noosawiki content, the Noosa Library maintains its right to remove any unrelated content and ensure that the Noosawiki is being used for its specified intent only and not as a platform for individuals to advertise, proselytise and hijack the site for their own commercial or personal agendas.


The laws regarding copyright are complex and are updated regularly to address technological, political and economic challenges. Comprehensive information regarding copyright laws and issues can be accessed via the Australian Copyright Council. The following are a few key points:

. Copyright automatically applies as soon as material is created.
. Copyright in Australia does not need to be registered to apply.
. Copyright protects a range of materials including artistic works, written material, musical works, images, and films.
. Copyright is in effect for set periods of time

Copyright and photographs
Generally, the copyright holder of a photograph is the photographer. Only the copyright holder has the right to reproduce, publish and disseminate photographs.

Copyright holders can transfer their rights to another person or organization by either selling them the rights or giving permission for the material to be used for a particular purpose.

Copyright duration
The following general rules apply:
For photographs where the identity of the photographer is known:
- taken before January 1, 1955: out of copyright
- taken between January 1, 1955 and January 1, 2005 – copyright extends for 70 years from the end of the year the photographer died.
- Taken since January 1, 2005 – copyright extends for 70 years from the end of the year the photographer died.

For photographs published anonymously or under a pseudonym:
- taken before January 1, 1955 – out of copyright
- taken between January 1, 1995 and January 1, 2005 or created since January 1, 2005, copyright lasts for 70 years from the year in which the photograph was first published.

Moral rights
The Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000 protects the following moral rights for individual creators:
- the right of attribution or authorship (eg naming the photographer as the creator of the image)
- the right of integrity of authorship (eg the work should not be treated or presented in a derogatory manner)
Contributors to Noosawiki are encouraged to cite the source of all information added to the site.

Indigenous Protocols

Cultural sensitivities must be taken into consideration in the representation of indigenous history and heritage. Images of deceased persons and religious ceremonies can cause offence to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Images considered inappropriate for online display by the National Library of Australia include those depicting secret/sacred images, offensive images, images of mourning of the deceased, any recognizable Indigenous person. Of utmost importance is consultation with the community and obtaining written permission prior to posting any images of Indigenous persons online.

Use of Material on Noosawiki.

If you have found information or an image on Noosawiki that you would like to utilize, you will need to consider whether you can or should use it, taking into account the copyright, moral and indigenous rights issues outlined above.
The fact that an image has been made freely available on the Web does not automatically entitle anyone to copy it: most online images are subject to some restrictions. Look carefully for indications of copyright, but note that © symbols or "All rights reserved" statements are not required - copyright is automatic and does not need to be asserted in any way. In the online environment, people are increasingly making their content available under simple and standardised Creative Commons (CC) licences.

Creative Commons Licensing seeks to bridge the gap between the traditional “all rights reserved” Copyright and one whereby the Copyright owner can assign “some rights reserved” in advance. In other words, it works within the strictures of Copyright law, but enables the creator to preassign permissions about how the work may be reproduced.
Creative Commons' licenses let people copy and distribute the work under specific conditions, and general descriptions, legal clauses and HTML tags for search engines are provided for several license options. One of the primary uses of a Creative Commons license is to allow people to copy the material as long as it is not made a part of any commercial venture. Individuals who are making substantial contributions to Noosawiki representing large amounts of research and work may wish to consider Creative Commons as a means of protecting their work.

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