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.
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.[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]
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]
Richard Stringer Architectural Photography Archive, includes over 63,000 photographic negatives and approximately 100,000 digital images, providing a substantial documentary record of Queensland’s built heritage from 1967-2021.[32]
Services
Access to collections, including access to 50,000 Copyright-free Queensland images through
Wikimedia Commons[33]
Provides books and other resource material to public libraries throughout
Queensland.[34]
Specialist services to public libraries in a number of areas, including services to young people and multicultural communities [34]
Public programs and exhibitions, including exhibition loans to schools, museums and other community organisations.[citation needed]
Outreach programs in reference, research, information literacy, Internet training and digitisation throughout Queensland for public library staff and the general community.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
A digital culture centre called The Edge, for young people.[35]
A free coworking space, the Business Studio, supports startups, entrepreneurs and small business.[36]
kuril dhagun Indigenous Knowledge Centre
The Corner, an activities area for children under 8, their parents, carers, educators and friends.
Exhibitions
The library has hosted a number of prominent exhibitions, including:
100 not out: a century of Queensland sporting memories (3 August - 17 November 2002)[37]
A Few of our Favourite Things (25 November 2006 – 11 March 2007)[38]
Bold but Faithful: John Oxley Library at work (4 April - 11 October 2009)[39]
Transforming Tindale (6 September 2012 - 9 December 2012)[40]
Islands: hidden histories from Queensland Islands (30 Jun 2018 – 27 January 2019)[42]
Home: A Suburban Obsession (7 December 2018 – 14 July 2019)[43]
Plantation Voices (16 February - 8 September 2019)[44]
Legacy: Reflections on Mabo (28 May 2022 – 9 October 2022)[45]
Working Country (24 June 2023 – 28 January 2024)[46]
Purpose Built: Architecture for a better tomorrow (2 September 2023 - 14 April 2024)[47]
Tours
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
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]
National edeposit (NED)
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 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 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 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:
Content Development
Queensland Memory
Discovery
Information Communications and Technology Services
Regional Access and Public Libraries
Literacy and Young People
Public Library Development
Regional Partnerships
SLQ Cairns
Engagement and Partnerships
Indigenous Services
Visitor Experience
Learning and Participation
The Edge
Asia Pacific Design Library
Business Studio
Government Research and Information Library
Corporate Services
Finance, Facilities & Administration
HR Consultancy
Strategic Reporting
People and Planning
Office of the State Librarian
Communications
Queensland Library Foundation
Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame
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:
Sustained leadership
Major financial contribution
Pioneering
Outstanding contribution
Achievement of iconic status
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]
Walker, Paul. Millennium Library [Donovan Hill and Peddle Thorp rework Robin Gibson's State Library of Queensland edifice] Architecture Australia Vol 96 No 2 Mar/Apr 2007 pp 64–73
^"Home: a suburban obsession". School of Architecture. University of Queensland.
Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
^"The Edge, SLQ". The Edge.
Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
^jurisdiction=Queensland, corporateName=State Library of Queensland.
"Business Studio".
Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
^Love, W.R.F. (1975).
"ST. HELEN'S HOSPITAL HAS PLAYED A LIVING ROLE". Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland. 9 (6): 78–88.
Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022 – via Text Queensland.
^
abThomson, Sheona (2011).
"State Library Queensland". Architecture Australia. 100 (5): 93.
Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023 – via QUT ePrints.
^Van der Plaat, Deborah; Jones, Lloyd, eds. (2022). "The Queensland Cultural Centre". Light, Space, Place: The Architecture of Robin Gibson. Melbourne: Uro Publications. p. 155.
^"State Library of Queensland". Constructional Review. 61 (4): 20. November 1988.