University of Sydney Library

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Fisher Library, University of Sydney. To the left of the image is Fisher Undergraduate library, and to the right is Fisher Research library.

The University of Sydney Library is the library system of the University of Sydney. According to its publications, it is the largest academic library in the southern hemisphere, with a print collection of over 5.1 million items (circa 2005).^[1] It is composed of over fourteen libraries across nine campuses of the university. The main building, Fisher Library, is named after Thomas Fisher, an early benefactor.

Amongst the collection are many rare items such as one of the two extant copies of the Gospel of Barnabas, and a first edition of Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica by Sir Isaac Newton.

[edit] Fisher Library

Fisher Library is the main library of the University and located on Eastern Avenue in the Camperdown/Darlington campus of University of Sydney adjacent to Victoria Park. Although the University library had previously been housed in the original building, in what is presently the Senate Room, its collection was moved to the purpose-built Fisher Library when it was completed in 1908. The original building constitutes the south-western corner of the Main Quadrangle and the original reading room is now MacLaurin Hall. Fisher Library moved to its present location in 1962. The current library consists of two conjoined buildings, which were built separately due to funding issues in the early days of the university.

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

Fisher Research library (Building F04) was built in 1967 with copper clad outer walls and is an accessible stack library with a larger and more historical collection.

This building also houses the East Asian collection. There is additional space in the F04 building which is used by the School of Psychology. Until the end of 2005, the basement of the building also housed the Fishery Café, a location largely unknown to most of the student population probably because it was unable to be accessed from the front of the building nor from within the library itself. This side entrance to the building is currently closed due to construction of the new Faculty of Law building, between the Fisher Research and Carslaw buildings, and fronting Victoria Park and Eastern Avenue.

[edit] Other libraries

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 the use of any of these libraries by borrowers.

• Architecture Library (Wilkinson Building, Darlington Campus)
• Badham Library - Veterinary Science, Agriculture, Biological Sciences (Badham Building, Camperdown Campus)
• Burkitt-Ford Library - Public Health, Medicine (Sir Edward Ford Building, Camperdown Campus)
• Camden Library - Veterinary Science, Agriculture (Camden Campus)
• Curriculum Resources Collection - Education (within Fisher Undergraduate Library, Camperdown Campus)
• Dentistry Library (Sydney Dental Hospital Campus)
• East Asian Collection (within Fisher Research Library, Camperdown Campus)
• Engineering Library (PNR Building, Darlington Campus)
• Health Sciences Library (Building R, Cumberland Campus)
• Law Library (St James Campus)
• Madsen Library - Chemistry, Geosciences, Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, Physics (Madsen Building, Camperdown Campus)
• Mathematics Library (Carslaw Building, Camperdown Campus)
• Medical Library (Bosch Building, Camperdown Campus)
• Music Library (Seymour Centre, Darlington Campus)
• Narrabri Library - Agriculture (Watson Wheat Research Centre)
• Nursing Library (Building F, Mallett Street Campus)
• Rare Books (within Fisher Research Library, Camperdown Campus)
• Schaeffer Fine Arts Library - incorporating the Power Research Library of Contemporary Art (Mills Building, Camperdown Campus)
• Storage - Darlington Repository Library (Darlington Campus)
• Sydney College of the Arts Library (Sydney College of the Arts Campus)
• Sydney Conservatorium of Music Library (Sydney Conservatorium of Music Campus)
• Sydney eScholarship digital collections

In mid-2008, the SciTech Library will open in the new Usyd Central building on Darlington campus.^[2] It will consolidate the collections of the Architecture, Engineering, Madsen and Mathematics libraries in one location.^[3]

[edit] External links

• The University of Sydney Library
• Fisher Library
• 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.
• Sydney eScholarship

[edit] References