State Library of New South Wales - Sydney

State Library of New South Wales

The State Library of New South Wales is a large public library owned by the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Macquarie Street, Sydney near Shakespeare Place.
The public library started as the 'Australian Subscription Library' in 1826. It was then taken over by the NSW Government in 1869 and became the 'Sydney Free Public Library'. In 1895 it was renamed the 'Public Library of NSW' until its most recent name change in 1975, when it became the 'State Library of New South Wales'.
The library contains over 4.7 million books and other items. As well as being a general purpose reference and research library, it contains many historically significant collections dating from the European colonisation of Australia, including accounts from Australian explorers and other pioneers, paintings and sketches, and many other historical records. These are held in the Australiana research collections known as the Mitchell (named for David Scott Mitchell) and Dixson libraries, housed within the State Library precinct. The collections grow through purchase and other acquisitions of material, and legal deposit for all books published in New South Wales.
The Library hosts many exhibitions, both from its own collections and from other organizations such as World Press Photo and the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize.

(inserts: Christmas Lighting at the Library)