The City of Sydney Library is a network of eight branch libraries

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

 and two 'library links', located
within the City of Sydney

City of Sydney

The City of Sydney is the Local Government Area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, Australia...

 Council administrational area.

History

A free public lending library service has existed in Sydney since 1877 when the New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 state government opened a lending branch of the State Library of New South Wales

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...

 on Macquarie Street

Macquarie Street, Sydney

Macquarie Street is the easternmost street of Sydney's central business district. Macquarie Street extends from Hyde Park at its southern end to the Sydney Opera House at its north.-Description:...

. By the end of the same year there were over one thousand registered borrowers. In 1899 the lending library moved to the second floor of the Queen Victoria Building

Queen Victoria Building

The Queen Victoria Building, or QVB, is a late nineteenth century building by the architect George McRae in the central business district of Sydney, Australia. The Romanesque Revival building is 30 metres wide by 190 metres long, and fills a city block, bounded by George, Market, York and Druitt...

 and in 1909 control passed from State to the City of Sydney Council. In 1918 the library moved again, this time to the old concert hall of the Queen Victoria Building. This provided space for a separate children's library to open in the same year. The first branch libraries opened in 1949 which also provided book deposit stations at a number of local schools. In 1970, the City library moved to yet larger premises within the Queen Victoria Building before taking up residence on Pitt Street

Pitt Street, Sydney

Pitt Street is a major street in central Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The street runs through the entire city centre from Circular Quay in the north to Waterloo, although today's street is in two disjointed sections after a substantial stretch of it was removed to make way for Sydney's...

 in 1984. High rent fees prompted it to move again in 1994 to Town Hall House. In 2005 the Town Hall branch moved to its current location at Customs House

Customs House, Sydney

The Customs House is an historic Sydney landmark located in the city's Circular Quay area. Constructed initially in 1844-1845, the building served as the headquarters of the Customs Service until 1990. Ownership was then transferred from the Commonwealth Government of Australia to the City of...

 at Circular Quay.

Locations

• Customs House
  Customs House, Sydney
  The Customs House is an historic Sydney landmark located in the city's Circular Quay area. Constructed initially in 1844-1845, the building served as the headquarters of the Customs Service until 1990. Ownership was then transferred from the Commonwealth Government of Australia to the City of...
  
  
• Glebe
  Glebe, New South Wales
  Glebe is an inner-city suburb of Sydney. Glebe is located 3 km south-west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney, in the Inner West region....
  
  
• Haymarket
  Haymarket, New South Wales
  Haymarket is a locality of Sydney's city centre, New South Wales, Australia. It is located at the southern end of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney....
  
  
• Kings Cross
  Kings Cross, New South Wales
  Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 2 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
  
  
• Newtown
  Newtown, New South Wales
  Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the local government areas of the City of Sydney and Marrickville Council in the state of New South Wales, Australia....
  
  
• Surry Hills
  Surry Hills, New South Wales
  Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is located immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
  
  
• Ultimo
  Ultimo, New South Wales
  Ultimo is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ultimo is located 2 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney....
  
  
• Waterloo
  Waterloo, New South Wales
  Waterloo is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Waterloo is located 4 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney.-History:...
  
  

Library Link

• Town Hall House
  Sydney Town Hall
  The Sydney Town Hall is a landmark sandstone building located in the heart of Sydney. It stands opposite the Queen Victoria Building and alongside St Andrew's Cathedral...
  
  
• Pyrmont
  Pyrmont, New South Wales
  Pyrmont is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Pyrmont is located 2 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
  
  

Collections and services

In addition to the network's collection of over 400,000 books the libraries provide for
the loan of CDs, DVDs, magazines, newspapers, toys and non-English books. The libraries also provide internet,
copying and printing services.

Library Link

A Library Link has existed in Town Hall House, close to the location of the library's previous premises, since its relocation to Customs House in 2005. The Library Link makes available a number of current newspapers and magazines, a fiction collection, a self-operated check-in and check-out machine and a telephone to contact library staff. Members can pick up books and other material held at other branches at the Library Link by contacting staff. In 2006 a link opened at Pyrmont offering a limited services. People are able to drop off books and pick up items they have asked for during the time that the volunteers are there.

Membership

The library network has around 40,000 active members and processes 1,350,000 loans per year.
Membership of the library network is free to residents of the City of Sydney local government area. There is an annual fee for non-residents.

External links

• City of Sydney Library