Melbourne/Victoria coverage. Sources checked 22 October 2026.

A historical directory citation can be difficult to follow if its “page number” is actually a digital viewer position. State Library Victoria’s guidance for Sands & McDougall directories makes that difference explicit. For a Melbourne local-history enquiry, retain the printed page and the viewer context together. This small distinction helps another researcher find the same listing without mistaking navigation for the original document’s pagination.

The library distinguishes two identifiers

The Library’s Collection Discovery guide explains that image numbers refer to positions in a digitised volume and do not correspond directly to directory page numbers. Its collection gateway describes sections organised by location, name and trade. These are source descriptions of navigation and arrangement; no individual directory entry was examined for this article.

Start with the volume identity

Before writing down a page, record the directory’s identified year or edition and its catalogue link. A page reference without a volume can point to many different places across a long-running series. Then note the section being used, such as a street or alphabetical listing. Those details explain the route into the evidence rather than leaving a later reader to guess what kind of entry was found.

If you use an index, treat the number it supplies as a printed-page reference unless the resource says otherwise. In the viewer, compare the page’s visible printed number with the displayed image position. Retain both if that makes the citation easier to reproduce. This is a proposed research habit, not a claim that the viewer’s interface or every volume has been tested here.

Keep a transcription distinct from an interpretation

For a hypothetical historical business enquiry, copy only the relevant entry and identify unclear characters instead of silently correcting them. Then write your interpretation separately. A directory listing can contribute to an enquiry about an address or business, but it does not by itself prove property ownership, continuous occupation or the identity of every person with a similar name.

If two editions appear to differ, first verify that the same section and kind of listing are being compared. A missing name in one place may require another search or source. Do not turn a navigation difficulty into a claim that a resident left Melbourne or that a business closed. Such a conclusion needs more than an unconfirmed absence from a selected page.

Do not freeze the search interface in an old description

The guidance is a dated post that also says it has been updated. Interface and search features can change separately from the historical content of a directory. Use the current collection route to confirm how to access the chosen volume. This guide preserves the page-versus-image distinction without claiming that every search limitation described in an older interface remains current.

The useful result is a citation with an identifiable volume, section, printed page and, where helpful, viewer position. It supports a reproducible Melbourne history enquiry while keeping the listing’s content separate from a broader historical conclusion. That is more dependable than a bare screenshot or a lone number that nobody else can confidently follow.

Sources and scope

• SLV: Sands & McDougall collection-discovery tips — 7 February 2022 post, marked updated without a revision date; checked 22 October 2026
• SLV: Sands & McDougall directories — Current collection gateway, checked 22 October 2026

Citation and navigation method only. No individual resident, business, address or ownership finding is reported, and no live viewer was tested.

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