Alice Springs Public Library

Do you remem­ber when the new Alice Springs Pub­lic Library was built?

It’s almost forty years since Alice Springs Pub­lic Library opened on the cor­ner of Gre­go­ry and Leich­hardt Ter­races beside the Civic Cen­tre. On 19 Octo­ber 1980 May­or George Smith offi­cial­ly declared the new library build­ing open, which was named the Nevil Shute Memo­r­i­al Library in hon­our of the writer whose pas­sion for Alice Springs brought it inter­na­tion­al renown.

To cel­e­brate this anniver­sary and the unique role the library plays in Alice Springs life, we are com­pil­ing a 40^th ​‘Birth­day Book’. The Alice Springs Pub­lic Library has not only changed its loca­tion, and grown in size and facil­i­ties over time. It’s become a hub where a broad mix of com­mu­ni­ty groups, out-of-town­ers and tourists come to relax and min­gle, browse mag­a­zines and bor­row books, watch John Wayne DVDs, use com­put­ers and the inter­net, research in our his­tor­i­cal collections.

The 40^th Birth­day Book will cel­e­brate how the Alice Springs Pub­lic Library has evolved over the past four decades, adapt­ing to tech­no­log­i­cal change and respond­ing to our diverse com­mu­ni­ty. We are keen to include con­tri­bu­tions from our loy­al patrons in the Birth­day Book. Please get in touch with us if you’d like to share any of the fol­low­ing con­cern­ing the library’s history:

• Pho­tographs
• Mem­o­ra­bil­ia
• News­pa­per or oth­er articles

Or if you’d like to jot down your mem­o­ries of the library and email them to us via library@​astc.​nt.​gov.​au, we’d be delight­ed to hear from you. 

We’re also inter­est­ed in any mem­o­ries or mem­o­ra­bil­ia you might have from when the library was on Hart­ley Street (below) in 1958­ – 80 or even ear­li­er on Todd Street in 1953 – 58.

NEW! Sto­ry Box Library

Imag­ine the best sto­ries being read aloud to you by our favourite sto­ry­tellers – well that’s Sto­ry Box Library!

We get kids excit­ed about read­ing, inspire their imag­i­na­tions and let them have fun with sto­ries, improv­ing their lan­guage and lit­er­a­cy skills along the way.

Click here to access Sto­ry Box Library FREE with your Alice Springs Pub­lic Library mem­ber­ship card.

Fol­low us on Face­book for all the Library latest

For the most up-to-date Library news, pro­grams, events and notices, fol­low the Alice Springs Pub­lic Library Face­book page.