Australian National University Library

The Australian National University (ANU) Library has its foundations in the appointment of the first University Librarian, Arthur Leopold Gladstone McDonald (1898–1981) in early 1948 [1]. The importance of the establishment of the ANU Library in the development of the university was such that McDonald was appointed by the Interim Council before any of the professors [2].

Initially McDonald and several assistants were housed in Ormond College at the University of Melbourne [3], where they began to form the collection. At the end of 1950 the collection, which had grown to approximately 40,000 volumes, was transferred to Canberra, to be located in the Canberra Community Hospital and nearby huts [4]. Over the course of the 1950s the collection grew steadily, and by the time of McDonald's retirement in 1960 the collection had grown to 150,000 volumes (excluding pamphlets) [5].