LUV A LIBRARY

We booked up for a tour of the State Library of Queensland with our U3A winter school. (University of the Third Age.) It was something I have wanted to do since the new building opened in 2006. It has taken me a while to get around to it.  However, I am glad I did because it was really interesting.

 The building is made up of two buildings side by side and five storeys high. The buildings are connected by bridges and the roof. There is a walk way between the buildings which leads to the art galleries in the adjacent buildings We started the tour on the 4th floor. There were too many different areas to showcase here so I'll show just a few from each floor. There was some lovely art on this floor especially in the Black Opium Rooms.  They are very small rooms for only one or two students to study in. The walls are decorated with art created by Fiona Foley an aboriginal artist. She depicts a sad part of our history when aboriginal labourers were paid with opium. There is also acknowledgement to the traditional owners of the land that the library stands on.
The famous John Oxley Library is housed on this floor. It is a collection of historical ephemera  of Queensland's history.

 On the the third floor, one area was the Tim Fairfax Reading Room which was a comfortable lounge with draws containing the latest newspapers from around the world. There were also televisions with earphones to get the latest news from around the world, as well as microfiche readers for newspapers from years ago.

 From the music collection area we could see down into the Asian/Pacific design section on the second floor. It covers design in all areas.

 We could look over the balcony and see the Poinciana Lounge, named after the huge Poinciana tree outside the window on the bank of the Brisbane River. This was a beautiful area for reading and research.

We walked down to the second floor to The Red Box, so called because from the outside it is a big red box shape sticking out of the building almost over the river. It is an area for reading but it can be hired for talks or other functions.

 The view from The Red Box is a great one of the river city, Brisbane. See the huge Poinciana tree outside.

 Also on the second floor is the Queensland Terrace. An open area with a mirrored ceiling and walls made of cabinets full of cups and saucers. I tried to catch the reflection of our group in the ceiling but I couldn't move back any further without falling over the balcony into the gardens. This area is often used for weddings. The collection of teacups is part of a project called "Tea and Me". It is about sharing stories and memories over a cuppa the cups have been donated together with stories about the cups.

Finally the ground floor has a special area for aboriginal people to come and tell their dreaming stories as well as studying it even has an outside area around a fireplace. There is also a fabulous Children's Corner area where activities for children are on everyday. "Infozone" is here too where you can pop in to use computers or charge your devices. There is an adjacent building called "The Edge" mainly used by young people for using all kinds of digital media. They can record songs or make movies all equipment is provided and a cafe as well. There is a restaurant and a book shop near the "Knowledge" walkway. Naturally there are loads of activities and exhibitions going on all the time. All in all it was an enlightening experience. Anyone can book free tours.