State Library of New South Wales

For the library in Glasgow, Scotland, see Mitchell Library.

State Library of New South Wales
State Library of New South Wales, Mitchell Building, exterior
Map
33°51′59″S 151°12′48″E / 33.86639°S 151.21333°E / -33.86639; 151.21333
LocationMacquarie Street and 1 Shakespeare Place, Sydney central business district, City of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
TypeState Library[note 1]
Established1826; 198 years ago (1826)
Reference to legal mandateLibrary Act 1939
Collection
Size5 million items (5,000,000)
Legal depositSince 1879[1]
Other information
BudgetA$91.7 million[2]
DirectorDr Caroline Butler-Bowdon
(State Librarian)[3]
Websitewww.sl.nsw.gov.au
Built1905–1910
Architect
Official nameState Library of NSW; Mitchell Library
TypeState heritage (built)
Designated2 April 1999
Reference no.1071
TypeLibrary
CategoryEducation
Builders
  • Howie Bros (1939);
  • FWC Powell & Sons (1959);
  • Mellocco Bros (1964)

The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Established in 1869 its collections date back to the Australian Subscription Library established in the colony of New South Wales (now a state of Australia) in 1826.[4] The library is located on the corner of Macquarie Street and Shakespeare Place, in the Sydney central business district adjacent to the Domain and the Royal Botanic Gardens, in the City of Sydney. The library is a member of the National and State Libraries Australia (NSLA) consortium.

The Mitchell Wing of the State Library of New South Wales building was designed by Walter Liberty Vernon, assisted by H. C. L. Anderson and was built from 1905 to 1910, with further additions by Howie Bros in 1939; by FWC Powell & Sons in 1959; and by Mellocco Bros in 1964. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.[5] Work began on the Macquarie Street Wing in 1983 and it was opened in 1988.

  1. ^ "Copyright Act 1879 No 20". Government of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  2. ^ "8. Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services Cluster" (PDF). New South Wales Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  3. ^ "State Library of NSW news". State Library of New South Wales. 26 October 2023. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference History1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "State Library of NSW". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01071. Retrieved 13 October 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.