Thirteenth—The intended Library. May every Inhabitant of Colony unite in promoting
the general diffusion of useful Knowledge!
(Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (1813). ‘A toast’, 30 January. p.2).
The notion of the Public library is one we often assume is understood in the same way internationally. In contemporary literature the notion of the public library is characterised as being a third or community space providing a positive place for communities to come together and to freely access information and resources and address disadvantage. In my recent research I have been exploring the origins of Australian public libraries, and asking if the origins of these libraries have something to tell us about these contemporary notions, and if there is something particularly unique about the Australian public library which could lead to a more critical understanding of their place and purpose in 21st century society.
My research has found that substantial collections of books arrived with the First Fleet and libraries were intentionally part of the post-invasion colonial administrative and religious infrastructure. Early colonial officials, religious and colonists actively pursued the establishment of libraries both in the public sphere (as the quote at the beginning illustrates) and in other areas such government and educational institutions and as part of early learned societies and religious organisations. In particular religious organisations such as the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SPCK) were very active contributors to colonial library collections and religious minsters invariably responsible for libraries both public, religious and governmental. This active and intentional involvement of government and religious bodies highlights a need I believe, to reflect on the function they were seen to serve in Australian colonial life and to ask if this left a long-term legacy on the notion of the public library in Australia.
“Public Free Library Sydney’
The answer is, unsurprisingly, not straightforward and requires further research however the literature suggests that libraries in the public sphere in Australia emerged at an important phase in the development of Western ideas about reform, education, crime and punishment. Libraries were considered important tools in ‘engendering discipline and order’ and they would ‘improve the efficiency of the population’ and ‘civilise it” and ‘elevate it morally” (Black, et al, 2009 p, 45). The appeal of discipline and order and the production of an efficient workforce in the early colonial experience is remarked upon frequently in the literature of the period as is the link between missionary work and early Australian colonial libraries. In the mid and late nineteenth century Australian libraries were also promoted as a vehicle of ‘self-education’ and as a means to promote national unity and pride through access to local literature and culture. Many of these themes are echoed by 21st century public libraries—if in somewhat more contemporary language. I believe exploring the origins of the notion of the Australian public library has scope to provide new perspectives on the colonial experience and insight into contemporary practice by casting a critical and reflective eye on who we are and where we have come from.
Black, A., Pepper, S. and Bagshaw, K. (2009), Books, Buildings and Social Engineering: Early Public Libraries in Britain from Past to Present, Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, New York, NY.
Carroll, M and S. Reynolds (2014) “There and Back Again:” Re-imagining the Public Library for the Twenty-First Century, Library Trends, 62 (3), pp. 581-595.
Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (1813)‘A toast’, 30 January. p.2.
