Draft:Library Act 1939
The Library Act (1939) is a piece of Ausatralian legislation(?) that was passed in 1939 and made official in 1944, after being post-poned due to World War II priorities.
History
[edit]The act was made in response to the 1934 Munn-Pitt report, which claimed that free public libraries in Australia were behind those in the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and reccomended more effort be made to stablish public libraries in every Local Government Area.[1]
Critics argued that a Library Act was unecessary, and that regulatiosn for libraries should be included in a local government act instead.[2]
The act was drafted by the Libraries Advisory Board, and passed by the New South Wales Parliament on the 3rd of November 1939.[3][1] It was expected that the act would be made official within six months, but it was put on hold with the outbreak of World War II.[4]
In 1943, NSW premier William McKell stated that the Library Act would take effect from 1 January 1944.[4]
The act is an agreement between the state government and local councils who choose to adopt the act, that the state government will provide subsidies for public libraries.[5]
By mid 1945, thirty-two councils had adopted the act.[2]
Censorship
[edit]The act has been brought up in multiple discussions of censorship in libraries. When the Cumberland Council banned a book on same-sex parenting from Cumberland Libraries, they were accused by arts minister John Graham of breaking the Library Council of NSW Guideline on Freedom of Access of Information, which is part of the Library Act 1939.[6] This meant they were at risk to lose their state funding.[7]
The act was invoked during discussions about removing LGBT books from the children's section at Campbelltown Libraries[8] and sex education books in Wagga Wagga.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Lake Macquarie Library History: Library Act 1939". Lake Mac Libraries.
- ^ a b Jones, David J. (1995-01-01). "From Munn-Pitt to Library Act: Stimulating support for public libraries in New South Wales 1935–1939. Part 3: Troubled times". The Australian Library Journal. 44 (4): 225–236. doi:10.1080/00049670.1995.10755726. ISSN 0004-9670.
- ^ Maguire, Carmel (2016-01-02). "Ifould, Remington and Metcalfe: three mostly wise men behind the New South Wales Library Act 1939". The Australian Library Journal. 65 (1): 41–49. doi:10.1080/00049670.2016.1126810. ISSN 0004-9670.
- ^ a b Jones, David J (2005-05-01). "Public library development in New South Wales". The Australian Library Journal. 54 (2): 130–137. doi:10.1080/00049670.2005.10721740. ISSN 0004-9670.
- ^ "Regional Library Models Literature Review" (PDF). University of Technology Sydney. 2013.
- ^ "What's in the same-sex parenting book banned by Western Sydney councillors". ABC News. 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
- ^ "Protesters lash council over 'extremely homophobic' same-sex parenting book ban as decision reversed". ABC News. 2024-05-15. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
- ^ Kontos, Eric (2023-05-03). "Investigation into 'sexually explicit books' in council libraries". South West Voice. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
- ^ Roe, Chris. "Welcome to Sex debate reignites with Wagga Library agreeing to move book from the junior section". Region Riverina. Retrieved 2025-05-12.