The State Library of Queensland is a large public 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 located within the Queensland Cultural Centre on the Brisbane River at South Bank.

Mission

Creatively linking Queenslanders to information, knowledge and each other.

Services

• Access to reference and general collections and services, including books, journals and magazines, newspapers, audiovisual, family history, maps, music, ephemera, Internet and electronic resources
• Access to research collections and services – including the John Oxley Library and the Australian Library of Art, which includes the James Hardie Library of Australian Fine Arts
• Books and other resource material to public libraries throughout Queensland
• Specialist services to public libraries in a number of areas, including services to young people and multicultural communities
• Public programs and exhibitions, including exhibition loans to schools, museums and other community organisations
• Outreach programs in reference, research, information literacy, Internet training and digitisation throughout Queensland for public library staff and the general community
• Library services to Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders including the establishment of Indigenous Knowledge Centres primarily in Cape York and Torres Strait regions and increasing the employment and training opportunities for Indigenous peoples in the library industry.

Governance

The State Library of Queensland is governed by the Library Board of Queensland and comprises the following program units:

• Collection Access
• Collection Preservation
• Finance, Facilities & Administration
• Heritage Collections
• Information Communications and Technology Services
• Indigenous Library Services
• Marketing & Communications
• People & Learning
• Policy & Planning
• Public Library Services
• Public Programs
• Queensland Community Books
• Reference Services
• Resource Discovery

History

The Brisbane Public Library was established by the government of the Colony of Queensland in 1896, but was renamed the Public Library of Queensland in 1898. The library was not opened to the public until 1902.

In 1934 the Oxley Memorial Library (now the John Oxley Library, and 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.

A year after that, James L. Stapleton was appointed Queensland's first State Librarian. He remains the longest-serving CEO, and has been followed by three others:

• Sidney Lawrence (Lawrie) Ryan (1970-1988)
• Des Stephens (1988-2001)
• Lea Giles-Peters (2001- )

In 1971 "Public Library" became "State Library." The following year the Public Library Service was established to liaise with Queensland local authorities regarding their public libraries. A qualified staff subsidy for public libraries was also established. A few years later the Country Lending Service (CLS) was established to provide book exchange and other services to public libraries in Queensland's smaller local government areas. The CLS is still going strong today, administered by the State Library's Public Library Services program.

In 2003 the State Library began a new mission when it established the first fifteen of its Indigenous Knowledge Centres (IKCs) in the Cape York and Torres Strait regions. Other IKCs were opened in the following years.

Architecture

The then-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 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 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.

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. New services include the kuril dhagun Indigenous Knowledge Centre, and The Corner, an activities area for children under 8, their parents, carers, educators and friends.

The newly redeveloped building was designed by Brisbane based architecture firms Donovan Hill and Peddle Thorp. Their work earned them the prestigious RAIA Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture, 2007 (award for best public building in Australia) [179291] and the RAIA Emil Sodersten Award for Interior Architecture, 2007. For further reading see Architecture Australia references below.

The building overlooks Stanley Place between the Queensland Art Gallery and the new Queensland Gallery of Modern Art.

Photos of the State Library of Queensland

Image:Slq_exterior.JPG|The new State Library of QueenslandImage:Slq_opening.jpg|The Knowledge Walk during the opening of the new building on 24 Nov 2006Image:The-old-State-Library-leftside.jpg|The State Library ,
1899 - 1988
Image:The-old-State-Library.jpg|The old State Library building, with extensionImage:The-old-State-Library-rightside.jpg|The old State Library extension, built in the late 1950'sImage:State-Library-Mural.jpg|The old State Library extension showing the prize-winning mural

References

2. 2007 RAIA National Architecture Awards: Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture: State Library of Queensland Architecture Australia Vol 96 No 6 Nov/Dec 2007 pp 74-75

3. 2007 RAIA National Architecture Awards: Emil Sodersten Award for Interior ArchitectureArchitecture Australia Vol 96 No 6 Nov/Dec 2007 pp 86-87

4. Walker, Paul. Millennium Library Architecture Australia Vol 96 No 2 Mar/Apr 2007 pp 64-73

External links

• State Library of Queensland
• John Oxley Library - the Queensland history section of the State Library
• Australian Library of Art - a major collection devoted to the history of Australian art
• State Library of Queensland images on Flickr
• Timelapse videos of building redevelopment - Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
• Libraries Act 1988 (Queensland)
• Music Queensland - tune in to scores of musical heritage
• Queensland State Archives