National Library of Australia Review

The National Library of Australia (NLA) in Canberra, the capital, was formerly the Federal Parliament Library established in 1901. At that time, the Library of Congress was set up in Melbourne, the seat of the Australian Federal Parliament, as an example of the Library of Congress. At the beginning of its establishment, the collection of books was mainly supported by the Victorian State Public Library and the State Council Library. In 1905, the Dewey decimal classification system was adopted; the copyright law passed in 1912 ensured the library's status as a submission book; and in 1914, 33 volumes of Australian historical archives were published. It was officially named the Library of the Federal Parliament in 1923 and moved to Canberra in 1927 with the completion of the Federal Parliament Building. Its main purpose is to serve the Parliament. It also provides reference services and bibliographic services for various government departments and academic institutions. Canberra residents began lending in 1930 and collecting recordings and films; London Liaison Office was established in 1944. After World War II, with the economic prosperity, Australian libraries have developed rapidly. The collection has increased and the scope of service has expanded. The National Bibliographic Center was established in 1956, and the Library Advisory Committee of the Federal Parliament proposed the establishment of a national library, which was embodied in the National Library Act promulgated in 1960. Under the Act, the Federal Parliament allocated funds in 1966 for the construction of appropriate libraries, and in August 1968 the National Library, situated on Lake Berligriffin in Canberra, was officially opened. In 1970, the Music Group was established; in 1976, it began to investigate the feasibility of online catalogue in Australia; in 1978, it compiled the Australian machine-readable catalogue; and in 1981, the Australian Bibliographic Network was ready to be implemented and formed the National Bibliographic database.