Parliamentary Library of Australia

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The Parliamentary Library of Australia is a significant research and information service that supports the Parliament of Australia. Established in 1901, the library is an integral part of the Department of Parliamentary Services and provides independent, impartial and comprehensive information to members of Parliament, namely members of the Senate and House of Representatives, their staff and the broader parliamentary community.

Contents

History

The library was established in 1901, the year of the federation of the Commonwealth of Australia. Control of the new library was controversial as the fledgling parliament was located in Melbourne where the Victorian premier and the library committee of the State Library of Victoria sought to influence the control and management of the library. [1] [2]

From 1923 the library used two names describing the two roles and two collections Commonwealth Parliament Library which designated the parliamentary collection and Commonwealth National Library to designate the national collection. [3] The collections were relocated from Melbourne to Canberra in 1927. [4]

Sir Harold White served as Parliamentary Librarian from 1947 to 1967. [5] In 1960 the National Library of Australia was created by act of parliament. [6] [7] [3] The collections were separated when the National Library of Australia building was completed. [8]

Organisation and services

The Parliamentary Library lies within the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS), one of four departments supporting the functioning of Parliament. [9]

The staff of the Library is led by the Parliamentary Librarian, a statutory officer responsible for the control and management of the Library, who is on the DPS Executive Committee. This committee is the department's primary governance body, comprising the Secretary (chair), Deputy Secretary, Parliamentary Librarian, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Information Officer, First Assistant Secretary for Building and Security Division and Chief Finance Officer. [10] [11]

As of September 2023, Mr Steven Fox has been appointed Parliamentary Librarian for a 5 year term. [12]

Key Functions

Importance in the Parliamentary Process

The Parliamentary Library plays a crucial role in supporting the work of Parliament by:

Publications

Some major, publicly available products of the Parliamentary Library include Bills digests, Research publications and Parliamentary handbooks.

Other Products

See also

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References

  1. "PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY". The Age . No. 14, 478. Victoria, Australia. 1 August 1901. p. 6. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  2. "THE PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY". The Age . No. 14, 473. Victoria, Australia. 26 July 1901. p. 5. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Commonwealth Parliament Library (Australia) – Libraries Australia Search". nla.gov.au. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  4. "The National Library of Australia Storehouse of knowledge". The Canberra Times . Vol. 42, no. 12, 080. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 15 August 1968. p. 27. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  5. "Sir Harold still watching over his library". The Canberra Times . Vol. 58, no. 17, 590. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 26 November 1983. p. 10. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  6. "Commonwealth Parliament Library (Australia). – People and organisations". Trove. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  7. "About the Parliamentary Library". aph.gov.au. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  8. "THE FIRST 100,000". The Canberra Times . Vol. 41, no. 11, 633. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 10 March 1967. p. 32. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  9. "Department of Parliamentary Services". Parliament of Australia. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  10. "Annual Report 2018–19". Annual Report. CC BY 3.0 AU licence. Parliament of Australia. Dept of Parliamentary Services. ISSN   1832-0848 . Retrieved 30 May 2020.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. "Organisational Senior Staff". Parliament of Australia. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  12. "The Parliamentary Librarian". Parliament of Australia. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2020.

Further reading