Project update 2 - Provenance

Over the last week I have been thinking about the next step....Having located what I can so far on the development of Rare Books and Special collections it is now time to turn to the collections themselves.
I'd like to look at the collections that formed the base of the "Special Collections" created in 1963. One of the documents I found in the files listed the criteria for material to be moved out of the general collections. A lot of the material was collected in the nineteenth century and I would like to look at the provenance of some of this material. For background I've been reading Historical notes on the Public Library of NSW, 1911, by F.M. Bladen. It would be interesting to find examples in the collection that were owned and donated by some of the early founders and trustees of the Library.
The DSM project has located material from the original David Scott Mitchell bequest but how can I go about locating this earlier material from the Public Library? I'll try the notes field on the catalogue but I won't hold my breath! I'll try the "Points" catalogue held in the Rare books card catalogue in the RB stack. I could also look through the old annual reports from the Trustees in the nineteenth century - then there is the option of a physical search. Any other suggestions?