Alice Springs Public Library

A number of small libraries existed in Alice Springs from its earliest days and, during the 1930s, the Country Women's Association ran a small library for the community. In 1938 this was taken over by the Northern Territory Government and, by 1940, they boasted 760 books. During World War II the library fell in to disuse and, after the war, the National Library of Australia provided funds for a new library in the town. This would be the first public library and it was first located at the old 'Gum Tree Cafe' (formerly Charlie Meyers saddlery: see Annie Meyers). The library opened on 13 October 1953 and, within two hours of opening, had 50 members and 240 within the following week. When interviewed in 1954, six months after opening, Cuskey described the community of Alice Springs as "book hungry" and said that "people would read almost anything they can get, but travel books and mystery stories are the biggest demand". From 1954 the library offered a 'Library of the Air' which sent out library catalogues and membership cards to outlying cattle stations with Connellan Airways freighting books at a small flat rate. Cuskey retired in the early 1960s. == Special collections ==

The library is home to two not-for-loan special collections; these are: Alice Springs Collection The Alice Springs Collection is a collection of materials which relate to the historical, scientific and cultural heritage of Central Australia. This is a reference collection and items are not available for loan. They can be viewed in the Library during regular opening hours. All items in the collection are not for loan. The Alice Springs Collection also has a significant digital collection and holds editions of the Centralian Advocate, from 1947 to 2015, in PDF format; Additionally over 6000 images, most of which are from the Central Australian Historical Images Collection, which is made up from 29 smaller collections, these are available on an intranet system available on computers inside the collection room. He worked alongside library staff, including the Indigenous Services Officer, and a 'traffic-lighting' system was used to classify the image's in terms of access. It was established in 2002 in partnership with a group of traditional owners from the region. Meaning 'giving knowledge' in Arrernte, Akaltye-Antheme offers visitors to the library an insight into contemporary Indigenous issues and culture and is designed for browsing. All items in the collection are not for loan. A sub-set of the collection is the Local Languages Collection which consists of early reader texts and books for adults in more than 8 different Central Australian languages including Arrernte, Warlpiri, Luritja, Anmatyerr, Pitjantjatjara and Alyawarre. This collection was recently awarded first prize in the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) Library Stars competition. This acknowledged the unique nature of this collection, which contains material not held by any other library or archive service. Tjilpi is a Pitjantjatjara word meaning "old man". == Public art ==

There are numerous pieces of public art around the Alice Springs Public Library; these include: • The "Nevil Shute Giant Books" which form part of the Nevil Shute Memorial Garden by the entrance to the library; these were installed in 2007 and are featured on the Australia's big things list. These did draw criticism from some in the local community who believed that, in again honouring Shute, the library was not reflecting the diversity of the town. In total the murals are 22 metres long and show the artists playful use of narrative and his observations of life in and around Mparntwe (Alice Springs). • The "Library Art Path", concrete inlays, outside the library was installed by artist Elliat Rich in 2012. == References ==