State Library of Tasmania facts for kids
Quick facts for kids State Library of Tasmania |
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| Libraries Tasmania HQ, including the State Library, in Hobart | |
| Country | Australia |
| Location | Hobart, Tasmania |
| Branch of | Libraries Tasmania |
| Collection | |
| Legal deposit | Yes |
The State Reference Library is a special library in Tasmania, Australia. It's a key part of Libraries Tasmania. Libraries Tasmania helps people across the state with library services, learning programs, and even looks after Tasmania's important historical records.
Contents
A Look Back: The Library's Story
The very first "Tasmanian Public Library" opened its doors in 1849. It was in a house in Hobart. The library got money from the government and from people who paid a yearly fee to be members.
It became open to everyone in 1860. But sadly, it had to close in 1867 because of money problems. In 1870, a brand new, free public reference library opened. This one was inside the Hobart Town Hall.
A kind person from America, Andrew Carnegie, helped the library move to a new building in 1907. He said that if he helped, the library must also start a free service where people could borrow books.
The Libraries Act (1943) was a law that created the State Library of Tasmania. It was managed by the Tasmanian Library Board. At this time, the library had many branches all over Tasmania. More branches opened over time. Later, some branches closed as the government made changes to how things were run.
In 2006, the State Library joined with other services. These included the Archives Office, Adult Education, and online access centers. They became known as the Community Knowledge Network. In 2009, the name changed to LINC Tasmania. This system was part of the Tasmanian Department of Education. Then, in mid-2018, the name changed again to Libraries Tasmania.
Where to Find It: The Library's Home
The main office for Libraries Tasmania is in Hobart. It's at the corner of Murray and Bathurst Street. This building is also where the State Library is located.
If you visit, you'll find the public Reading Room on the second floor. The State Library has over 200,000 items! This includes books, magazines, maps, and phone books. They help people find information whether they visit in person or ask questions from far away. They use both printed books and online resources to help.
Special Collections: Treasures of Tasmania
The library has several special collections. These are like mini-museums of old books and documents. They focus on Tasmania's history. The library also keeps a newspaper index, a picture library, and a database of sheet music.
The Tasmaniana Library
This collection is full of historical and modern materials about Tasmania. It includes books, papers, and digital files. The library tries to collect everything related to Tasmania. This means all works published in Tasmania, all works written about Tasmania, and all works by Tasmanian authors.
The W.L. Crowther Library
This collection holds historical books, documents, photos, art, and objects. They were all collected by Sir William Crowther. His great-grandfather came to Hobart in 1825. The library has about 15,000 books and old handwritten papers. It also has photos, artworks, and items related to whaling, like scrimshaw (art carved into whalebone).
The Allport Library and Museum
This is another collection of historical items. The Allport family gave it to the people of Tasmania in 1965. It has about 6,000 books. There's also an amazing collection of about 2,500 artworks from the colonial era. These were made by family members and other artists. You can also see Georgian era furniture, and British, French, and Chinese porcelain.
Digital Treasures: Online Collections
Our Digital Island
In 1998, the State Library started a project called Our Digital Island. They wanted to save important Tasmanian websites. They would download these websites and put them on a special library server. This way, the websites would always be available, even if the original site disappeared.
Because of a law called the Tasmanian Libraries Act 1984, the library could save these websites without asking permission. By 2003, they had saved about 600 websites. The public can still access Our Digital Island with websites saved from 2001 to 2012. There are 3000 website records available through the Libraries Tasmania online catalogue.
STORS: A Digital Archive
Over time, Our Digital Island also started saving electronic documents. But it was hard to find and use them. So, the library decided to create a new kind of online storage. This was called the Stable Tasmanian Open Repository Service (STORS).
STORS was a project by the State Library and Service Tasmania. It officially started in late 2003. STORS focused on complete electronic documents, like annual reports or policy papers. It collected all digital materials published in Tasmania, as required by law. The goal of STORS was to store and provide access to these modern electronic documents forever. Publishers would send their digital works directly to STORS. By the end of 2017, it held about 33,000 items.
NED: Australia's Online Library
STORS stopped on May 31, 2019. It was replaced by a new system called the National edeposit system (NED). NED is a team effort by Australia's nine national, state, and territory libraries.
The State Library of Tasmania helped create NED. This system lets publishers from all over Australia upload their electronic publications. This follows the 2016 change to the Copyright Act 1968 and other laws about legal deposit. NED makes these publications available online to the public. You can find them through Trove.
