State Library of Tasmania

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The State Library of Tasmania is the organisation which runs the library system in the state of Tasmania, Australia. The State Library operates as part of the Tasmanian Department of Education, and maintains close ties with Tasmanian schools and senior secondary colleges.

The headquarters of the State Library is located at the corner of Murray and Bathurst Streets in Hobart.

1 Lending libraries
2 State Reference Library
3 Heritage Collections
4 External links

[edit] Lending libraries

The State Library of Tasmania administers and funds all public libraries in Tasmania. There are 7 city/suburban lending libraries and 39 smaller branch libraries located in the main cities, regional and rural centres throughout the state. All libraries share a single catalogue and the collection circulates freely between the libraries.

[edit] State Reference Library

Located on the second floor of the Murray Street library, the State Reference Library contains over 200,000 books, periodicals, maps and directories. Items in the catalogue but not located on the library floor can be retrieved by library staff from an area called the Stack within 30 minutes. Reference and research services are provided to on-site and off-site clients using a range of print and online resources. The Ask a Librarian webpage provides clients with access to virtual and online enquiry services.

[edit] Heritage Collections

The library operates several collections and archives of historical publications and documents, particularly those related to Tasmania. In addition, the library maintains a newspaper index, an image library and a sheet music database.

[edit] Tasmaniana Library

A collection of historical and modern published material related to Tasmania, in a range of formats from paper to digital. All Tasmanian-related material is collected including all works published in Tasmania, all works published about Tasmania, and all works by Tasmanian authors.

[edit] W.L. Crowther Library

A collection of historical books, documents, photographs, works of art and objects collected by Sir William Crowther, whose great-grandfather arrived in Hobart in 1825. The library contains about 15,000 books and manuscripts, as well as photographs and artworks, and whaling ephemera including a collection of scrimshaw.

[edit] Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts

Another collection of historical material, bequeathed to the people of Tasmania by the Allport family to the library in 1965. It includes about 6,000 books, and outstanding collection of about 2,500 colonial-era artworks (by family members and others) and collections of Georgian era furniture, British, French and Chinese porcelain.