State Library of Queensland | |
---|---|
Location | South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
Type | State Library [note 1] |
Established | 1896 |
Other information | |
Website | www |
Building details | |
Former names | The Brisbane Public Library The Public Library of Queensland |
Alternative names | SLQ |
General information | |
Type | Public Building |
Address | Cultural Precinct, Stanley Place, South Bank, South Brisbane, Queensland |
Construction started | 2004 |
Completed | 2006 |
Inaugurated | 25 November 2006 |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 5 |
Floor area | 28000m2 |
Design and construction | |
Architecture firm | Donovan Hill, Peddle Thorp |
Awards and prizes | RAIA Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture, 2007 RAIA Emil Sodersten Award for Interior Architecture, 2007 |
The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, which draws its powers from the Libraries Act 1988. [1] [2] It contains a significant portion of Queensland's documentary heritage, major reference and research collections, and is an advocate of and partner with public libraries across Queensland. The Library is at Kurilpa Point, within the Queensland Cultural Centre on the Brisbane River at South Bank.
The Brisbane Public Library was established by the government of the Colony of Queensland in 1896, and was renamed the Public Library of Queensland in 1898. [3] The library was opened to the public in 1902. [3]
In 1934, the Oxley Memorial Library (now the John Oxley Library), [4] named for the explorer John Oxley, opened as a centre for research and study relating specifically to Queensland. The Libraries Act of 1943 established the Library Board of Queensland to manage the Public Library of Queensland; three years later, under the terms of The Oxley Memorial Library of Queensland Act, [5] it took over management of the Oxley Memorial Library as well.
In March 1947, James L. Stapleton was appointed Queensland's first State Librarian. [6] [7] Stapleton advocated for a new building for the library and that library services should be free to the public. [8] He remains the longest-serving CEO (1947–1970), [9] and has been followed by five others: Sydney Lawrence (Lawrie) Ryan 1970–1988, Des Stephens 1988–2001, Lea Giles-Peters (the first woman to be appointed to the position), [10] 2001–2011, Janette Wright, 2012–2015 and from 2016, Vicki McDonald OA. [3]
In 1971, the "Public Library" became the "State Library". The following year, the Public Library Service was established to liaise with Queensland local authorities regarding their public libraries; a subsidy for employing qualified staff in public libraries was also established. A few years later the Country Lending Service was established to provide book exchange and other services to public libraries in Queensland's smaller local government areas. Under the new name of Rural Libraries Queensland, the service is still going strong today, administered by the State Library's Public and Indigenous Library Services program.[ citation needed ]
In 2003, the State Library began a new mission of establishing Indigenous Knowledge Centres (IKCs) in the Cape York and Torres Strait areas. There is now a network of 22 IKCs in remote and regional communities: across Cape York, the islands of the Torres Strait, Central Queensland and at Cherbourg in South East Queensland. [11]
In early 2011, the library donated 50,000 pictures to Wikimedia Commons. [12]
The State Library holds general collections, including books, journals and magazines, newspapers, audio-visual items, family history, maps, music, ephemera, Internet and electronic resources. There are research collections and services – including the John Oxley Library and the Australian Library of Art. [13]
State Library's collection holds 7 significant collections, recognised for their importance by UNESCO's Australian Memory of the World Register: [14]
State Library holds a number of significant collections of material documenting Queensland history; [29]
The library has hosted a number of prominent exhibitions, including:
Free guided tours of the building are available. [48] In 2010, a total of 3730 school students participated in a tour. [49]
Rural Libraries Queensland (formerly the Country Library Service) is a collaboration between the State Library of Queensland and approximately 30 of the local government councils to provide library libraries to rural communities. [50]
As a member library of National and State Libraries Australia, the organisation collaborated on the creation of the National edeposit (NED) system, which enables publishers from all over Australia to upload electronic publications as per the 2016 amendment to the Copyright Act 1968 and other regional legislation relating to legal deposit, [51] and makes these publications publicly accessible online (depending on access conditions) from anywhere via Trove. [52]
The Brisbane Public Library moved into the Old State Library Building in William Street, Brisbane in 1899. This building had formerly been occupied by the Queensland Museum.
The Library originally shared accommodation in the building with an art gallery. In the late 1950s, an extension, with a distinctive tiled mural by Lindsay Edward on the exterior, was built onto the building to provide more space. The mural was the winning design in a national competition held in 1958.
In 1988, the year of Brisbane's World Expo 88, the State Library of Queensland moved to a new home within the Queensland Cultural Centre at South Bank, near the Queensland Museum and the original Queensland Art Gallery, [3] on the site of the former St Helen's Methodist Hospital, South Brisbane. [53] [54] This new building, a C-shaped edifice of straight-faced concrete and glass [55] built around a mature Poinciana tree overlooking the Brisbane River, was the work of architectural firm, Robin Gibson and Partners, [56] and marked the completion of Gibson's ambitious Queensland Cultural Centre project. [57]
In 2004, work began on the Millennium Library Project - a major redevelopment of the existing State Library building. [58] After three years of extensive redevelopment, the South Bank building officially re-opened on 25 November 2006 as "a new cultural and knowledge destination" and a fitting showcase for the collections.
This major redevelopment was the work of Brisbane-based architecture firms Donovan Hill and Peddle Thorp. Their work earned them several awards - the prestigious RAIA Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture, 2007 (award for best public building in Australia), [59] the RAIA Emil Sodersten Award for Interior Architecture, 2007, [60] the RAIA Queensland Architecture Award for Brisbane Building of the Year 2007, the RAIA FDG Stanley Award for Public Buildings Architecture 2007, and the AIB Queensland Award for Project of the Year + Sustainability Commendation, 2007. [61] [62]
The Donovan Hill/Peddle Thorp additions transformed the State Library building, reconfiguring the entrance, adding another level and doubling its size with an additional 12,000 sqm of new space. [63] [64] [65] Although the elements of the original Gibson scheme were preserved in the renovation, the building was deemed too altered to be included in the 2015 State Heritage Listing of the Cultural Centre. [63] [66]
The State Library building has since been described as an “open, generous knowledge place,” [55] and one of Australia's "most cherished public living rooms". [67]
The building overlooks Stanley Place between the Queensland Art Gallery and the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art.
The State Library of Queensland is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, which draws its powers from the Libraries Act 1988. [2] [1] The Library comprises the following program units:
Regional Access and Public Libraries
Engagement and Partnerships
Corporate Services
Office of the State Librarian
In 2009 State Library of Queensland, the Queensland Library Foundation and QUT Business School at Queensland University of Technology collaborated to establish the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame initiative. [68] The QBLHOF recognises outstanding contributions made by organisations, companies and individuals to develop the Queensland economy and society, both contemporary and historical. A governing committee determines a list of inductees based on a set of criteria including:
The inductees are announced each year in July at a gala event. Since 2014 the QBLHOF has also awarded an annual Fellowship, to recipients working on a research project that utilises the resources of the John Oxley Library to produce new interpretations of Queensland's business history. [68]
Hope Vale is a town within the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and a coastal locality split between the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and the Shire of Cook, both in Queensland, Australia. It is an Aboriginal community. In the 2016 census, the locality of Hope Vale had a population of 1,015 people.
Robin Gibson was an Australian architect, from Brisbane, Queensland.
Oxley is a south-western suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Oxley had a population of 8,336 people.
The Queensland Cultural Centre is a heritage-listed cultural center on Grey Street, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is part of the South Bank precinct on the Brisbane River and was built from 1976.
The recorded History of Brisbane dates from 1799, when Matthew Flinders explored Moreton Bay on an expedition from Port Jackson, although the region had long been occupied by the Yugara and Turrbal aboriginal tribes. The town was conceived initially as a penal colony for British convicts sent from Sydney. Its suitability for fishing, farming, timbering, and other occupations, however, caused it to be opened to free settlement in 1838. The town became a municipality in 1859 and a consolidated metropolitan area in 1924. Brisbane encountered major flooding disasters in 1893, 1974, 2011 and 2022. Significant numbers of US troops were stationed in Brisbane during World War II. The city hosted the 1982 Commonwealth Games, World Expo 88, and the 2014 G20 Brisbane summit
In 1975, Brisbane's first FM radio station began broadcasting from a studio at the University of Queensland Student Union. 4ZZ became a catalyst for the development of original music in the city. Bands such as The Saints, The Go-Betweens, gerrymander and the boundaries, The Riptides and The Laughing Clowns established an ecosystem for alternative music that continues to flourish.
James Tyson was an Australian pastoralist. He is regarded as Australia's first self-made millionaire. His name became a byword for reticence, wealth and astute dealing.
The Tree of Knowledge was a heritage-listed tree in Oak Street, Barcaldine, Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia, that was poisoned and killed in 2006. It was a 200-year-old Corymbia aparrerinja ghost gum. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Sherwood is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Sherwood had a population of 6,082 people.
Gerald Edward "Tony" Fitzgerald is a former Australian judge, who presided over the Fitzgerald Inquiry. The report from the inquiry led to the resignation of the Premier of Queensland Joh Bjelke-Petersen, and the jailing of several ministers and a police commissioner. He was the youngest person to be appointed as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia.
James Birrell (1928-2019) was an architect responsible for the design of significant buildings in Queensland, Australia. James Birrell practiced from 1951 to 1986.
The Johnstone Gallery was a private gallery located in the suburb of Bowen Hills in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia co-owned by Brian Johnstone and his wife, Marjorie Johnstone. It was the leading Brisbane commercial gallery exhibiting contemporary Australian art from 1950 until 1972.
The first inscriptions on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register were made in 1997. By creating a compendium of the world’s documentary heritage, including manuscripts, oral traditions, audio-visual materials, library and archive holdings, the program aims to promote the exchange of information among experts and raise resources for the preservation, digitization, and dissemination of documentary materials. As of December 2018, 429 main documentary heritages had been inscribed in the Register, with 116 of these from Asia and the Pacific.
Sir Manuel Richard Hornibrook OBE was an Australian builder and civil engineer. He founded the firm M R Hornibrook Pty Ltd that after merger with Baulderstone became one of the largest Australian civil engineering firms. Known as "MR", Hornibrook was knighted in 1960. He was highly respected and a builder of bridges across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Papua New Guinea as well as other major projects including Stages 2 and 3 of the Sydney Opera House.
Conrad Gargett is an Australian architecture and design practice. It was founded in Brisbane in 1890 and is one of Queensland's oldest architectural firms.
Karl Langer (1903–1969) was an Austrian-born architect in Queensland, Australia. A number of his works are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.
Carl Magnus Oscar Friström, generally known as Oscar Fristrom, was a portrait painter and art teacher born in Sweden, who had a substantial career in Queensland and South Australia, and was best known for his depictions of Aboriginal Australians.
The Moreton Bay Penal Settlement operated from 1825 to 1842. It became the city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Anzac Day is a day of remembrance in Queensland, Australia. It is a public holiday held on 25 April each year. The date is significant as the Australian and New Zealand troops first landed at Gallipoli in World War I on 25 April 1915.
West's Furniture Showroom is a heritage-listed former shop at 620 Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Karl Langer and built from 1952 to 1953. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 4 December 2015.
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