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Parliamentary Record Series Entry

Classification

Creating Agency Library
Series PRS 0304.L, Correspondence and Papers relating to the Formation and Growth of the Library
Date Range 01/04/1840 - 01/04/1863
Description These papers have apparently been extracted or kept apart from other correspondence series because they were deemed to be more valuable or 'historical' than the others. They are comprised of drafts, letters, reports, and various working papers relating to the foundation and subsequent administration of the Library.

Item List

Item No. Description
      ("Papers and Documents on the Formation of the Library, 1840; [and] Documents on its Growth, 1842 - 1854")

      Bundle 1: Correspondence and Papers, 1840 - 1854 (Folder: "Proceedings of the Select Committee on the Council Library")
      1. Manuscript Report of the Select Committee, 23 October 1840; with List of Books [i-viii]
      2. Letter from William Hustler to Attorney-General Plunkett offering books for sale to the Library, 6 November 1840 [ix-xiii]
      3. Letter from Attorney-General Plunkett to William McPherson, Clerk of the Legislative Council, enclosing the above letter, 7 November 1840 [xiv-xvi]
      4. Draft of letter to the Chairman of the Library Select Committee (the Bishop of Australia) from William McPherson, relating to approval for expenditure on books, 25 November 1840 [xvii-xviii]
      5. Letter to the Clerk (McPherson) from William Hustler, requesting payment, 26 November 1840 [xix-xxvi]
      6. Copy of a letter from the Bishop of Australia to Governor Gipps, giving a progress report, 27 November 1840 [xxvii-xxx]
      7. Printed Report of the Select Committee on the Legislative Council Library 1843. 27 December 1843, R. Therry, Chairman [xxxi-xxxii]
      8. Draft Minutes of the Library Committee's meeting of 21 March 1844 [xxxiii-xxxvi]
      9. Letter from the Colonial Secretary (Deas Thomson) to Roger Therry, Chairman of the Select Committee on the Council Library, giving information on the book vote and other Library matters; and enclosing a copy of a letter to the Colonial Agent, ordering books. 11 March 1844. This letter is referred to in the Minutes of 21 March (No. 8, above) [xxxvii-xl]
      10. Copy of a letter to the Colonial Agent (Edward Barnard), regarding book purchases, 11 March 1844. This letter is the enclosure referred to above (No. 9) [xli-xliv]
      11. Copy of a letter enclosed in No. 10, above, from the Chairman of the Library Committee (Roger Therry) to the Colonial Secretary (Deas Thomson), requesting approval for book purchases, 6 February 1844 [xlv-xlviii]
      12. Note from the Librarian (Richard O'Connor) to the Chairman of the Library Committee (Roger Therry) regarding the purchase of copies of the 'Sydney Morning Herald', 10 June 1844. Enclosed is the Chairman's reply, 11 June 1844 [xlix-lvi]
      13. Copy of a letter to the Colonial Secretary (Deas Thomson) from the Chairman of the Library Committee (Roger Therry) regarding the construction of book-shelves, 6 April 1844 [lvii-lx]
      14. Draft Minutes of the Library Committee regarding the purchase of the 'Encyclopaedia Britannica', 7 June 1844 [lxi-lxiv]
      15. Draft of a letter to the Colonial Secretary (Deas Thomson) regarding the purchase of the 'Encyclopaedia Britannica', 8 June 1844 [lxv-lxviii]
      16. Draft of a letter to the Colonial Secretary (Deas Thomson) from the Chairman of the Library Committee (Roger Therry) regarding the purchase of minor articles, 8 June 1844 [lxix-lxx]
      17. Draft of a letter to Messrs Kemp and Fairfax from the Chairman of the Library Committee (Roger Therry) regarding a subscription to the 'Sydney Morning Herald', 8 June 1844 [lxxi-lxxii]
      18. Letter from the Colonial Secretary's Office (No. 44/15), in reply to the letter of 8 June, giving approval for the purchase of books, 12 June 1844 [lxxiii-lxxvi]
      19. Letter from John H. Baillie offering for sale a set of the 'Annual Register' to 1830, 20 June 1844. Enclosed is a copy of the reply, refusing the offer, 27 June 1844 [lxxvii-lxxxiv]
      20 Letter from the Chairman of the Library Committee (Roger Therry) requesting payment for a book purchased from John Fairfax, 13 July 1844 [lxxxv-lxxxviii]
      21 Copy of a letter to the Colonial Secretary (Deas Thomson) from the Chairman of the Library Committee (Roger Therry) enclosing an abstract of contingent expenses incurred by the Library, 31 July 1844 [lxxxix-xcii]
      22 Note from Alfred Stephen (Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court, later Chief Justice) to the Attorney-General (J. H. Plunkett) regarding the formation of the Council Library and offering for sale his set of the 'Irish Statutes at Large', 1 June 1842 [xciii-xciv]
      23 Letter from the Colonial Secretary's Office (No. 44/30), in reply to the letter of 31 July, approving expenditure, 7 August 1844 [xcv-xcviii]
      24 Note from the Chairman of the Library Committee (Roger Therry) requesting that Minutes be made of a recent joint meeting of the Library Committee and the Standing Orders Committee, 4 September 1844 [xcix-cii]
      25 Draft Minutes of a joint meeting of the Library Committee and the Standing Orders Committee, referred to above (No. 24) [ciii-cvi]
      26 Draft of a letter to the Colonial Secretary (Deas Thomson) from the Chairman of the Library Committee (Roger Therry) regarding abstracts of expenditure, 21 September 1844 [cvii-cx]
      27 Letter from the Colonial Secretary's Office (No. 44/55), in reply to the letter of 21 September (No. 26, above), approving expenditure 28 September 1844 [cxi-cxiv]
      28 Invoice from W. A. Colman, Booksellers, 485 George Street, Sydney, 21 September 1847 [cxv-cxvi]
      29 Blank circular from the Parliamentary Librarian reminding Members that books are overdue. Includes relevant Library Rules. n.d. (c.1850) [cxvii-cxx]
      30 Letter from the Colonial Secretary's Office (No. 52/126), in reply to the letter of 14 October, approving expenditure, 29 December 1852 [cxxi-cxxiv]
      31 Letter from the Colonial Secretary (Deas Thomson) (No. 53/91), in reply to the letter of 1 February enclosing a letter from the Colonial Agent General, relating to payment of book purchases, 10 December 1853 [cxxv-cxxxii]
      32 Letter from the Colonial Secretary's Office (No. 54/48), (Legislative Council registration number 1854/62), in reply to the letter of 27 June, approving expenditure, 7 July 1854 [cxxxiii-cxxxvi]

      Bundle 2: Correspondence and Papers, 1850 - 1863
      1 Note from the Librarian to give a Mr Pooly certain books, 28 April 1857 (?) [i-ii]
      2 Draft letter from the Clerk to a bookseller (unspecified), relating to the purchase of books, 1852. Enclosed with this draft are: lists of books ("Bohn's Catalogue (vol. 1) 1847"; "See Henry C. Bohn's Catalogue, 1841"); a letter from the Clerk to the Colonial Secretary relating to the books ordered from Mr Bohn of London in August 1851, 1 February 1853; copies of letters (made on 20 November 1852) from Edward Barnard (6 July 1852) and Henry Bohn (30 June 1852) relating to the above order. [iii-xxiv]
      3 Copy of letter from the Colonial Secretary to the Agent General in London relating to the order of books from Henry Bohn in London, 20 September 1851 [xxv-xxviii]
      4 Draft page of the Library accounts, to 31 January 1851 [xxix-xxx]
      5 Page of Library accounts, September 1850 - December 1851 ("Enclosure No. 1 in the Clerk of Councils letter to Colonial Secretary No. 52/29") [xxxi-xxxii]
      6 Working papers showing the number of books on each shelf, n.d. (Folded in a piece of scrap paper showing a draft 'Meteorological Register') [xxxiii-xl]
      7 Draft page of the Library accounts, January 1851 - September 1852 [xli-xlii]
      8 Draft letter from the Clerk to the Colonial Secretary requesting payment to be made to Mr Richardson, a London bookseller, August 1852 [xliii-xliv]
      9 List showing duplicates received from Mr Richardson, 31 December 1850 - 30 November 1851 [xlv-xlvi]
      10 Copy of a letter from the Clerk to Henry Bohn, regarding the mix-up in the ordering of books, 19 November 1852 [xlvii-xlviii]
      11 Letter from Henry Bohn to the Library regarding the same mix-up, 16 July 1852 [xlix-lii]
      12 Copy of letter from the Colonial Secretary to the Colonial Agent regarding the order of books from Mr Bohn, 20 September 1851 [liii-liv]
      13 Blank page [lv-lvi]
      14 Letter from the Colonial Secretary's office to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly enclosing copies of statutes, 19 February 1857 [lvii-lx]
      15 Letter from the Colonial Secretary's office to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly enclosing copies of statutes, 20 February 1857 [lxi-lxiv]
      16 Letter from the Colonial Secretary's office to the Clerk of the Legislative Council approving payment for books, (Legislative Assembly registration number 1856/16), 18 February 1856
      [lxv-lxvi]
      17 Letter from the Chairman of the Legislative Council Library Committee (Edward Broadhurst MLC) to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly transmitting a copy of Resolutions proposing a conference between the two Library Committees on the subject of the joint use of the Library of the late Council (Legislative Assembly registration number 1856/190) (A copy of the Resolutions is to be found below, No. 22) [lxvii-lxx]
      18 Letter from the Colonial Secretary's office to the Presiding Officers, advising of the appointment of F. Robinson as Assistant Librarian, 8 April 1857 [lxxi-lxxiv]
      19 Report for 1856 from the Library Committee of the Legislative Assembly (Legislative Assembly registration number 1856/447), n.d. [lxxv-lxxxii]
      20 Letter from the Colonial Secretary's office to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly (Legislative Assembly registration number 1856/390), loaning a volume of statutes to the Assembly Library, 27 November 1856. This letter encloses a note relating to the volume, 28 November 1856 [lxxxiii-lxxxviii]
      21 Letter from the Refreshment Room Committee allowing the Librarian to use the Dining Room, 30 April 1861 [lxxxix-xcii]
      22 Copy of the Resolutions referred to in the letter from the Chairman of the Legislative Council Library Committee (Edward Broadhurst MLC) to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly transmitting a copy of Resolutions proposing a conference between the two Library Committees on the subject of the joint use of the Library of the late Council (Legislative Assembly registration number 1856/190) (No. 17, above) [xciii-xciv]
      23 Copy of a note from John Hay, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, to the President of the Legislative Council (?) regarding his reasons for not making any recommendation as to filling the position of Assistant Librarian, 5 October 1863 [xcv-xcviii]
      24 Letter from the President of the Legislative Council (Alfred Stephen) to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly (Daniel Cooper), replying to a letter from the Assembly regarding the use of the Library by Members of the Legislative Council (Legislative Assembly registration number 1856/180), 8 August 1856 [xcix-cii]
      25 Letter from the Colonial Architect's office to the Speaker submitting a plan (not in the papers) of the proposed alterations to Parliament House, allowing for a new Refreshment Room and Library (Legislative Assembly registration number 1857/185), 2 March 1857 [ciii-cviii]

      Box List



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