Sydney

Libraries and Museums

The City of Sydney Library, founded in 1826, has three branches: the newly renovated Town Hall branch, Haymarket, and Ultimo. A total of over 250,000 items are found in the library's catalogue. The three branches are used by an average of 3,000 people a day, and between 50,000 and 60,000 items are borrowed every month. The Jessie Street National Women's Library focuses on promoting awareness of the cultural heritage of Australian women by collecting and preserving documents relating to the lives and experience of women from all ethnic and racial backgrounds, highlighting their contribution to Australian history, and providing information on current resources for women.

The Australian Museum houses the country's largest natural history collection. It includes a gallery devoted to Aboriginal history. The Art Gallery of New South Wales, at the edge of the Domain park in the central city, has permanent European, Japanese, and Australian collections and temporary exhibits. The Museum of Contemporary Art, fronting the Circular Quay, is noted for its collection of modern art, and the Museum of Sydney, near Macquarie Place, focuses on all aspects of the city's early history. Sydney's other museums and galleries include the Justice & Police Museum, Artspace, the Australian Centre for Photography, Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative, The Cartoon Gallery, and Coo-ee Aboriginal Art Gallery.