# The history of the Library

**Source**: https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/12013
**Parent**: https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/

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# The history of the Library

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In 1851 the University Senate formed a committee to select books even before any professors were appointed. Frederick Hale Forshall was appointed Librarian in 1852. A room on the first floor in the Main Building (now the Senate Room) was prepared for the Library in 1857. 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". It wasn't until 1909 that the first Fisher Library opened after the NSW Government funded its construction in 1901. The second Fisher Library was opened in 1963 with a five storey undergraduate wing, to which a nine storey stack was added four years later.

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Fisher Library architectural drawings, 1959-1960.](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/15145)

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Queer Sydney : A History](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14589)

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Construction crane working on Stack](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14388)

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View of construction from Victoria Park](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14387)

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View from Level 2 construction site of Fisher Library Stack](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14385)

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Fisher Library official opening day](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14384)

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Group of people in front of Fisher Library](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14383)

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Front of Stack looking towards Quadrangle and University Place](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14382)

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Group of people behind wooden planks during Stack construction](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14381)

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Steel foundations of Fisher Library](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14380)

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Workers install wall panelling on top floor of Library](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14379)

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East end of plant room during Fisher Library Stack construction](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14378)

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View of Geology and Carslaw Buildings from Stack towers](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14377)

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Pillars for plant room of Fisher Library Stack](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14376)

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Concrete flooring for Level 6 of Fisher Library Stack poured](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14375)

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Concrete flooring for Level 8 of Fisher Library Stack poured](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14374)

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Construction of Level 9 of Fisher Library Stack](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14373)

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Bricks for internal partitioning of Fisher Library spaces](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14372)

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Fisher Library Stack construction: Great Duct Hole](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14371)

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Construction of stairway to Level 8 of Fisher Library Stack](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14370)

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Construction of Level 7 of Fisher Library Stack's western side](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14369)

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Construction of staff dining room in Fisher Library](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14368)

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Construction of Levels 4 and 5 of Fisher Library Stack](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14367)

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Roisin Murphy speech at Fisher rooftop opening event, Thursday 2 November, 2023.](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/15146)

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Fisher Library 60th Anniversary Memory Book](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14591)

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The Fisher Library centenary : 1909-2009 : a short history of the Fisher Library, University of Sydney, to commemorate the centenary of the opening of the original Fisher Library building](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/13637)

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In Establishing and Maintaining a Library: Two Essays on the University of Sydney Library](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/12024)

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An Australian Library in the A.M.](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/12023)

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The Fisher Library](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/12022)

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The Library of the University of Sydney](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/12021)

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A Singular Ornament in the University'](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/12020)

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Commissioned artworks](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/14590)

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A Tale of Two Universities : Early libraries at Sydney and Melbourne](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/15197)

Collections[The history of the University of Sydney](https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/11843)

*The history of the Library*. University of Sydney Library, accessed 23/03/2026, https://digital.library.sydney.edu.au/nodes/view/12013