The History of the John Oxley Library - Part Seven

 Continuing our series on the history of the John Oxley Library, in this, our 75th year.

The issue of who should have responsibility for the collection and housing of Queensland public records would cause on-going conflict and confusion and would not be resolved until the late 1950s.  In November 1959, a separate Archives Department was finally established, the foundation of today’s Queensland State Archives.

The 1970s continued to be a period of limited resources however the collection continued to grow with the photographs and artworks collections developing.  This period, through to the 1980s, also saw expansion of the microfilming programme and holdings, the continued development of the photographs and artworks collections, as well as the provision of resources for the preservation of the collections.  The passing of the Libraries and Archives Act 1988 repealed the Oxley Memorial Library of Queensland Act 1946 and the Oxley Memorial Library Advisory Committee was disbanded as a consequence.  Now known as the John Oxley Library, it remained a separate entity within the State Library of Queensland, continuing to develop its collections and services.