Editing University of Sydney Library (section)

== A brief history of the Library==
In 1885, the university received thirty thousand pounds from the estate of the late Thomas Fisher, retired bootmaker and property investor, to be used "in establishing and maintaining a library".

There was a difference of opinion in the university on how to spend the bequest. The Chancellor thought the fund should be used for a building and to contribute to the salary of a Librarian, but the Vice Chancellor and Library Committee preferred to buy books. In 1887 a compromise was reached. £20,000 plus accumulated interest was set aside for a building fund with the hope that the government would provide matching funds and £10,000 was directed to an endowment for books.

After many reversals and delays the New South Wales government agreed to fund the full cost of a new library building and the Fisher capital could be preserved as an endowed book fund. Plans were drawn up for the library by the Government Architect, [[Walter Vernon]], and construction took eight years.

The first Fisher Library opened in 1909. The reading room was in the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic tradition]] with a magnificent [[Cedrus|cedar]] roof but the adjoining multi-tier book stack was of advanced design, including two electric book lifts. The reading room is now the MacLaurin Hall.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Brief History of the University of Sydney Library|url=https://library.sydney.edu.au/about/uslhistory/|publisher=The University of Sydney Library|access-date=24 January 2018}}</ref>