The Librarian, his books and his library: the contributions of the first Librarian to the University of Melbourne

Although the University of Melbourne was founded in 1853, it was not until 1892 that the post of Librarian was inaugurated.Edward Hippius Bromby built collections, facilities and services to support the growing curriculum of the remote young university.The paper examines Bromby the person and Librarian, the collections that he assembled and the physical manifestation of the Library on campus.Scarce funding coupled with inadequate student and collection spaces posed particular challenges in the post Gold Rush economy.The paper posits that these environmental factors and the limited response provided by the university were a source of disappointment