The Australian Cultural Library is a 100% volunteer-run, independent reference-only library that aims to gather, preserve and promote as much of Australia's culture as possible. The Library collects items created by people who were born in Australia, migrated to Australia or were directly connected to Australian culture. The collection encompasses music, film, visual arts, performing arts, literat
ure, zines, history and more. It currently holds over 100,000 items including books, sheet music, music recordings, DVDs, film, posters, t-shirts and paintings; from the well-known to the rare and obscure. Special collections include the Queensland Arts Council archive, QPIX film collection (believed to be largest collection of QLD film-making in the world), the Bernie Snep Collection (largest collection of Toowoomba live recordings), the Dulcie Mason collection (73 hand sewn ball gowns from the 1950s to 2000), the Judith Rodriguez A.M. & Thomas Shapcott A.O. The Library promotes Australian art, fosters scholarship into the arts, and runs programs to support the arts and artists. It hosts events with music performances, poetry readings, visual art, film screenings and more. These events often highlight items from the library's holdings as well as new creations by contemporary Australian artists. Likewise, ACL's programs draw upon library's collection as a resource for scholarship and for the creation of new works. is not government- or corporate-funded. It relies on donations and volunteers to contribute, collect, house and manage its resources. Donations of items to the collection or towards running costs are welcome, as are volunteers for a wide range of roles. It is open via appointment Wednesday and Thursday, 12 noon to 5pm. The Australian Cultural Library is 100% volunteer run and 100% donation based.
