An early colonial thirst for knowledge: Australia's first subscription library

Abstract

On 26 February 1826, the first subscription library was heralded in Australia, thirty-eight years after the British colony was established. While northern-hemisphere subscription libraries were generally open to the local community, with membership accessible to a range of classes including women, this library was a more exclusive affair. The cost of membership was five guineas; women were not welcomed, and the enterprise was managed by members of the Sydney elite. By the 1830s the library was in trouble with a falling membership, poor accommodation, and dire finances. Eventually the book stock and the premises were purchased by the New South Wales government, forming the Free Public Library of Sydney in 1869. Despite this chequered history from 1826 and throughout the 1830s, the collection was developed through purchases and donations to become the foundation of one of the most important collections in Australia now held at the State Library of New South Wales. The collection contained a standard stock of reference material, classic texts, and serials, reflecting a colonial thirst for knowledge and a desire to create an institution and collection equal to the great libraries of Europe.