University of Sydney Library

In 1885, the University received thirty thousand pounds from the estate of the late Thomas Fisher, retired bootmaker and property investor, to be used "in establishing and maintaining a library".

There was a difference of opinion in the University on how to spend the bequest. The Chancellor thought the fund should be used for a building and to contribute to the salary of a Librarian, but the Vice Chancellor and Library Committee preferred to buy books. In 1887 a compromise was reached. £20,000 plus accumulated interest was set aside for a building fund with the hope that the government would provide matching funds and £10,000 was directed to an endowment for books.

After many reversals and delays the New South Wales government agreed to fund the full cost of a new library building and the Fisher capital could be preserved as an endowed book fund. Plans were drawn up for the library by the Government Architect, Walter Vernon, and construction took eight years.

Fisher Library opened in 1909. The reading room was in the Gothic tradition with a magnificent cedar roof but the adjoining multi-tier book stack was of advanced design, including two electric book lifts. The reading room is now the MacLaurin Hall.[3]

Fisher Library, University of Sydney. To the left of the image is Fisher North, and to the right is Fisher South.

Fisher Library is the largest and first branch of the library system, located on Eastern Avenue on the Camperdown Campus, adjacent to Victoria Park. The Fisher Library is a 24-hour space for University of Sydney students and staff. Its collection focuses on humanities, social science and commercial disciplines. The original Fisher Library, in the 19th century, was housed in the Quadrangle in what is presently the Senate Room. A purpose-built Fisher Library was completed in 1908 at the southwest corner of the Quadrangle, with its former reading room now known as MacLaurin Hall. The library was moved to its present location in 1962. Although it appears to be one building, the university classifies it as two separate buildings which are connected by foyer areas on the lower floors.

Fisher North

(Building F03) was built in 1962 and holds multiple copies of texts commonly used by undergraduate students of the university. This building also houses two computer labs, the audio and visual collection, the microform collection, the rare books and special collections section, and the photocopying room.

Fisher South

(Building F04) was built in 1967 with copper-clad outer walls. It is an accessible stack library with a larger and more historical collection. This building also houses the East Asian collection, the University Archives, and silent study desks. Some of the building's space is used by the School of Psychology.

The interior of the Herbert Smith Freehills Law Library at the University of Sydney showing its curved ceiling

Herbert Smith Freehills Law Library opened in 2009 and is located on Eastern Avenue on the Camperdown Campus, adjacent to Victoria Park and is housed within the New Law Building (F10)[4] The Law Library is a 24-hour space for University of Sydney students and staff.

The Law Library is spread over 5000 square metres of floor space and the collections supports the needs of the Law School. The library consists of a ground floor that contains the majority of the collections, staff area, information desk, printing/photocopying facilities and computer access. Upstairs on the mezzanine level are the research collections and six more group study rooms. All of these rooms are equipped with computers and can be booked online.

Inside the SciTech Library

The library is situated within the Jane Foss Russell Building, on the second floor. This building sits at the junction between the Darlington and Camperdown campuses. The library was opened in 2008 following an international design competition.

Interior

There are terraced areas dividing the study space and like an autumn forest, the book collection flows in lines of brown, green, red and orange, creating pockets of study areas between the shelves. Around the collection, the meeting and training rooms hide behind walls of green glass. In the open foyer which adjoins the information desks, exhibition and lounge areas. These overlook and open onto the terraced study areas, populated by private booths and group tables. There also are adaptable training rooms, more quiet study areas and meeting room. There is also a student kitchen.

The ThinkSpace is a library-owned and run location that is a technology showcase and creative play space, aimed at sparking ideas and providing opportunities for collaboration.[5] These technologies are supported by Peer Learning Advisers (PLAs) who guide, support and assist clients in using the ThinkSpace. The space was officially launched on 1 September 2016.[6]

It has:

• a Lulzbot Taz6 3D printer
• a Carvey CNC
• One Button Recording Studio
• Video Wall
• iMacs
• Soldering station
• graphics tablets
• touchscreen pods.

The Quarter

The Quarter is a postgraduate coursework space located on the ground floor of the Badham Building on Science Road next to the Holme Building, one of the centres of student activity on Camperdown Campus.[7]

The Quarter was formerly called the Badham Library, and the Badham Library's collection was consolidated into the SciTech Library.[8]

The commons is situated in the Bosch Building behind the Bosch lecture theatres on Western Avenue, Camperdown Campus. The Bosch Commons is now a student study and learning space, and is available 24/7 for University of Sydney students and staff. The collection can be found at the SciTech Library or in the HAL-3 book vending machine.

Inside you will find group discussion tables, quiet study areas, a meeting room, and a computer lab that doubles as a training room.

History

The medical library has a long history at the University of Sydney. It wasn't always in the Bosch Building or as well resourced. It was originally in the Blackburn Building, a Georgian style building overlaid with art deco. The library space was an octagonal room which, while being architecturally beautiful, was insufficient to house the growing collection and student population. Material was stored in the most unlikely places such as the staff tea room and anterooms to the lecture theatres. It was cold in winter and the smell from the adjacent animal facilities made opening the windows in summer an unattractive option. In 1968, relief came in the form of the newly built Bosch Building which served to extend the teaching and laboratory spaces of the Medical School. This building was built without pretension but is a good example of the utilitarian style of buildings built during the 1960s and 70s at Sydney University.

Camden Library is located at 335 Werombi Road on the University of Sydney Camden Campus, approximately 65 km west from the City of Sydney, located just outside Camden.

The library supports research, teaching and study in the fields of veterinary science and agriculture. The Camden Library is open 24 hours for University of Sydney staff and students.

The library underwent a refurbishment in 2015 as part of its transition to a library commons.[9] This renovation opened up the space and greatly improved access for all visitors.

The Conservatorium Library is located within the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Building, Macquarie Street by the gates to Government House, right next to the Royal Botanic Gardens in the centre of the city.

The library was not always within the Greenway Building, in fact, due to space problems, many departments of the Conservatorium found themselves spread around the city during the last century. The library spent time in what is now the Intercontinental Hotel as well as other locations around Pitt and Hunter streets.

The need for one location with enough space for the Sydney Conservatorium of Music prompted the State Government to step in and rebuild the Greenway Building at a cost of A$144 million. In 2001, upon completion of the works, the entire Conservatorium (including the library) moved back into what is now a renovation of a historical space.

The entrance level contains the display room for exhibits and the majority of the collection as well as the public access computers, printers and photocopiers. Level 1 includes the quiet study areas, the training room, and an AV room for viewing DVDs from the collection.

Most of the other libraries of the University of Sydney Library are associated with particular schools and faculties. While these libraries specialise in their collections, there is no restriction on their use by borrowers. All library users have access to all collections.

• Curriculum Resources Collection - Education (within Fisher Undergraduate Library, Camperdown Campus)
• East Asian Collection (within Fisher Research Library, Camperdown Campus)
• Rare Books (within Fisher Research Library, Camperdown Campus)
• Storage – (off-campus)
• Digital collections

The most recent library spaces to be established are the ThinkSpace, Law and SciTech libraries. The Law Library moved to the new Law Building on the Camperdown Campus in April 2009, along with the rest of the Sydney Law School.[4] The SciTech Library opened in late 2008 in the new Jane Foss Russell Building on Darlington Campus. It consolidates the collections of the former Architecture, Engineering, Madsen and Mathematics libraries in one location.

• The University of Sydney Library
• Library locations and opening hours
• Library news
• History of the Library
• Library of the University of Sydney by H E Barff. Details of the early history of the library. A record of the Transactions and Proceedings of the Second International Library Conference held in London in 1897.