AARL

CASL Libraries 2003 - a snapshot of their history, services and key facts

ACT Library and Information Service

Mission

ACT Library and Information Services facilitates access to a range of information and related educational, heritage, cultural and recreational services and resources.

History

Collections and services

• Public library collection size - 600 000 items
• Collection value - $ 5.8 million
• Annual budget - $11 million
• Staff size - 111.5 full-time equivalent
• Public library loans - 2.3 million (2002-03)
• Public library customers - 1.8 million (2002-03)
• Public library customers online database use - approximately 31 200 (2002-03).

State Library of New South Wales

Mission

To promote, provide and maintain library and information services for the people of New South Wales through the State Library and through co-operation with local libraries and other libraries and information agencies.

History

Collections and services

1. Over 5 million items in the State Library collections, valued at $1.509 billion.
2. Major collection strengths include Australian history, culture and literature, including Aboriginal studies; Antarctic exploration; family history; business and management; social science and applied science; biography; health and law.
3. Collection highlights include:
   • Original accounts of the voyages of the great explorers Abel Tasman, James Cook, Bass and Flinders, and William Bligh, including nine of the 11 known journals of the First Fleet.
   • Paintings and sketchbooks by great colonial artists John Glover, Conrad Martens, Eugene von Guerard, Tom Roberts.
   • Literary papers of famous authors Patrick White, Elizabeth Jolley, James McAuley, Miles Franklin.
4. 16.5 million page requests from the State Library site, and 7 million page requests from hosted sites in 2002/03.
5. 386.8 equivalent full-time staff (average) in 2002/03.
6. Budget of $75.843 million in 2003/04, including the administration of $21.897 million in public library grants and subsidies.

State Library of Queensland

Mission

To build a smart library network of physical and virtual spaces, creatively linking diverse groups of Queenslanders to information, knowledge and each other.

History

Collections and services

As Queensland's major public reference and information library, the State Library is committed to:

• meeting Queensland's reference and research needs through the development and delivery of services and collections,
• collecting, preserving and making Queensland's documentary heritage accessible,
• providing leadership to the Queensland public library network and other key stakeholders,
• developing library services responsive to diverse community needs, including services for persons from regional, rural and remote Queenslanders, persons culturally diverse backgrounds, Indigenous peoples, and children and young people, and
• supporting lifelong learning through the development of statewide programs.

Current statistical information

1. In 2002-03, the State Library of Queensland's budget was $41.469 million, including a funding contribution to the public library network of $17.6 million.
2. In 2001-02, there were an estimated 255 048 onsite visits to the State Library of Queensland and a total of 6 003 091 hits to the website and catalogue.
3. As at 30 June 2002, the size of the collection was 4 628 050 and the estimated value of the collection was $73 950 000.
4. As at 30 June 2002, there were 248 staff (full-time equivalent).

State Library of South Australia

Mission

The State Library of South Australia enriches the lives of South Australians by:

• providing access to world wide information and knowledge,
• collecting, organising and preserving the South Australian story,
• working with other libraries and agencies to support life long learning,
• developing imaginative and inclusive public programs, and
• supporting the economic development of the state.

History

Collections and services

1. The state library's collection size in round figures as at 30 June 2002 is:
   • monographs and government publications 778 000
   • serial titles 38 000
   • newspaper titles 1 100
   • map sheets 109 000
   • ephemera items 153 000
   • photographs 360 00
   • audiovisual items 85 000
   • realia and games 2 700
   • oral history in hours 5 000
   • archives in metres 4 000.
2. In 2001-02 funds spent on electronic subscriptions were 19 per cent of collection purchases, which represents expenditure of $157 000 out of the total government funded expenditure of $825 000.
3. Visits to the State Library in person in 2001-02 (when the Bastyan Wing was closed for the building redevelopment) were 370 000, compared with 542 500 the previous year. Online visits in 2001-02 were 9.7 million website hits and 535 000 website hits.
4. The collections were valued at $40 million as at 30 June 2003, excluding the South Australiana collections, published and unpublished, which were considered by the valuer not able to be valued.
5. The government allocation to the library in 2003-04 is $11 million. Staff size of the State Library as at 30 June 2003 is 142 FTE.

State Library of Western Australia

Mission

To provide and promote equitable access to information resources and services which support the intellectual, economic, cultural, social and recreational needs of the people of Western Australia.

History

Collections and services

1. There are three main operational areas of Western Australia's State Library: Public Library Services, the State Reference Library and the J S Battye Library of West Australian History. Public library services are delivered through a partnership between the State and local governments and other participating bodies. To cater for a very large state with a scattered regional population, the State Library provides the state government's library subsidy in the form of centrally purchased and processed library materials, as well as consultancy services and training. To keep the stock in public libraries fresh, particularly in small libraries which face the possibility of being 'read out', stock is exchanged regularly between libraries, and inter library loans are coordinated centrally so that each person has access to more than 2.3 million items. There are currently 238 public libraries in the state, 171 of which are in regional areas.
2. For the 2003-04 financial year, the State Library has a budget of $38.6 million and a staff of 234 FTE. The library collections, excluding the private archives and ephemera collections, are valued at $81 million.
3. Collections of more than 500 000 items are supplemented by access to remote electronic databases, many of which include the full text of journal articles. Over the years, specialist collections have been developed in the areas of music, film, genealogy, performing arts, Australian children's literature and a business information service.
4. The J S Battye Library of West Australian History has 102 000 monographs and more than 15 000 serial titles, as well as collections in many other formats. The library has digitised and linked 10 000 images, most of which are available over the internet via the library's catalogue.
5. Each year, approximately 650 000 people visit the library, with many more using the other facilities available including the theatre and meeting rooms, exhibition area and shops. Services are also provided via the library's website which now has more than 11 million page hits per year.

Northern Territory Library and Information Service

History

Collections and services

1. The Northern Territory Library and Information Service (NTLIS) is unique in that it has a special responsibility for ensuring that the appropriate capacity and infrastructure is available for the delivery of library and information services to the territory's indigenous population. The 2001 ABS Census indicates that indigenous people comprise 25 per cent of the overall territory population of 202 729 persons, with 59 per cent of indigenous people residing in very remote areas, as against 11 per cent of non-indigenous people.
2. The Northern Territory Library is the largest reference and research library available to members of the public in the Northern Territory, and has responsibility for delivering heritage services for the management of the territory's documentary heritage, for the delivery of integrated reference services through the utilisation of electronic information products, and for the delivery of reference and information services to the members and staff of the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory.

State Library of Tasmania

Mission

The mission of the State Library is to actively promote the cultural, economic, social development and well-being of Tasmanians by providing access to knowledge, information, and creative literature.

History

Collections and services

1. The State Library of Tasmania is a statewide library service with a network of seven city libraries, 41 branch libraries and six reference and specialist collections available to all Tasmanians.
2. The reference and specialist collections include:
   • State Reference Service - including specialised services for research, business, electronic databases and Internet services,
   • Tasmaniana Library - a comprehensive collection of historical and contemporary Tasmanian publications,
   • W L Crowther Library - a collection of mainly Tasmanian printed, manuscript, pictorial and museum material,
   • Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts - an outstanding collection of 18th and 19th century antiques, colonial paintings and books,
   • Tasmanian Parliamentary Library, and
   • Launceston Local Studies Library - historical material (printed, manuscript and photographic) - relating to Launceston and northern Tasmania.
3. All libraries are linked through the Tasmanian Automated Library and Information System (TALIS) network, a library management system which includes an integrated catalogue and electronic information databases. TALIS, accessible through the internet and available in all libraries at http://www.talis.tas.gov.au:8000/, contains the holdings of all public libraries in the state, together with those of eight senior secondary colleges and 156 school, eight TAFE and six community (within a school) libraries. The state library network uses the one universal Librarycard which allows customers to borrow and return library materials at any branch and gives them remote access to electronic resources from their homes or offices.
4. The State Library of Tasmania has in recent years developed a number of innovative electronic services for whole of government information including Tasmania Online which is the official web entry point for information about Tasmania; and Service Tasmania Online which enables the community to easily access online government information and services located across Tasmanian government agencies, federal and local government.
5. During 2002-2003, there were 2 926 821 onsite visits to all State Library service points, and 5 994 378 offsite visits to the State Library website.
6. The State Library collection size is 881 745 library materials available for loan or research. (This does not include the Heritage Collections.) The approximate ratio of expenditure on print resources to electronic resources is 80:20.
7. The State Library of Tasmania's annual budget is $16.05 million and the staffing FTE is 209.895 (these figures exclude the Department of Education Information Services unit and the Tasmanian Communities Online program).
8. The director (Library and Information Services) is also responsible for the Department of Education Information Services Unit which includes the Department's Library and Information Centre, Records Unit and Web Service Support Unit. Also part of the portfolio is the Tasmanian Communities Online program which operates a network of 64 online access centres across the state.

State Library of Victoria

Mission

The State Library of Victoria will help to create a knowledgeable society through:

• collecting, preserving and making available Victoria's recorded heritage and providing access to the world's information resources,
• developing the state network of information resources and libraries, and
• promoting the world of ideas and the culture and heritage of the state.

History

Collections and services

1. The State Library of Victoria supports the statewide library and information network through VICNET, providing consultative and project management services for public libraries. VICNET provides internet connections for all Victorian public libraries and has trained more than 94 000 Victorians to use the internet through its Skills.net programs. It has also pioneered multilingual access to online resources through the Open Road web site.
2. Other State Library of Victoria initiatives include:
   • Writers on the Road, where leading authors visit their audiences throughout the state,
   • Australian Centre for Youth Literature, running programs for young writers in metropolitan and regional centres,
   • Schools programs, catering for more than 6 000 school students in the last year,
   • Premiers Literary Awards,
   • Educational programs and tours for the wider community focusing on the collections and services of the state library,
   • Creative Fellowships for scholars and for staff; and
   • an extensive Exhibitions program.
3. There were 1 025 497 visits to the state library in Swanston Street from July 2002 to June 2003 and more than 21.5 million online visits to the state library's web sites.
4. Expenditure on the collections in the 2002-2003 financial year was $2,224 000, with 9 per cent or $195 000 of this amount used to purchase electronic resources and online access.
5. Total agreed value of the collections is $301.13 million, as at 30 November 2001.
6. Annual budget for 2002-2003 was $25.8m and the Library employs 326.13 staff (FTE).

National Library of Australia

History

• Commonwealth Parliamentary Library established in Melbourne at Australia's Federation.
• Moved to Canberra, new site for the national capital, in 1927.
• Separation of the National Library and the Parliamentary Library with the passing of the National Library Act in 1960.
• National Library moved to present lakeside building in Canberra.
• Launch of the Australian Bibliographic Network.
• Launch of National Library website.

Services and collections

1. National Library collections total 5.4 million items and are valued at $1.5 billion.
2. The collections include 2.75 million monographs, 690 000 photographs, 56 000 pictorial works, 182 000 music scores, 618 000 maps and 2 500 electronic items, with a further 8 000 electronic titles on subscription. The library has major collections of pictures, oral history and folklore recordings, manuscripts, maps, Asian language resources and ephemera.
3. $9.2 million is spent annually on acquiring collection materials. To complement the more traditional collections, the National Library is building an online archive (PANDORA) of Australian Internet publications and web pages.
4. The Australian Bibliographic Network is provided through the Kinetica Service and includes over 14 million bibliographic records and 36 million holdings from over 1 000 member libraries.
5. A key strategic direction for the library is the provision of services to Australians remote from Canberra, through digitisation of collection items for online access, the provision of information and guides on the website, and through a travelling exhibitions program. Information services are increasingly being offered online, and the National Library is participating in the AskNow chat reference service in Australia, as well as the Questionpoint service based in the United States.
6. During 2002-03, over 470 000 people visited the National Library in Canberra, there were 4.4 million visits to the library's website, and 125 000 saw a National Library travelling exhibition outside Canberra.
7. The National Library of Australia has an annual budget of $58 901 000 (2003-04). It is a statutory authority within the Federal Communications, Information Technology and the Arts portfolio. Governance is the responsibility of the National Library Council, and management of the Library is undertaken by the Corporate Management Group headed by Ms Jan Fullerton, director general.
8. There are six administrative divisions within the Library, and a staff of 437 (FTE).

Collated by Council of Australian State Libraries secretariat
October 2003