State Library of Queensland

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. Its legislative basis is provided by the Queensland Libraries Act 1988. 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. 

History

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. The library was opened to the public in 1902.

In 1934, the Oxley Memorial Library (now the John Oxley Library), 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, it took over management of the Oxley Memorial Library as well.

In March 1947, James L. Stapleton was appointed Queensland's first State Librarian. Stapleton advocated for a new building for the library and that library services should be free to the public.[7] He remains the longest-serving CEO, and has been followed by five others: Sydney Lawrence (Lawrie) Ryan from 1970 to 1988, Des Stephens from 1988 to 2001, Lea Giles-Peters (the first woman to be appointed to the position[8]) from 2001 to 2011, Janette Wright, from 2012-2015 and from 2016, Vicki McDonald.

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.

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.

The State Library's current strategic vision is to enrich the lives of Queenslanders through creatively engaging people with information, knowledge and community.

In early 2011, the library donated 50,000 pictures to Wikimedia Commons.

Located in: Brisbane's Cultural Precinct
Address: Cultural Precinct, Stanley Pl, South Brisbane QLD 4101, Australia
Hours: Open ⋅ Closes 5PM
Founded: 2006