Russell Doust
Russell Doust (19 September 1927 – 20 April 2025)[1] was a State Library of New South Wales State Librarian, 1973-1987. He was appointed Deputy in December 1970, and became Acting Principal Librarian before becoming the Principal Librarian on 13 September 1973. He was instrumental in securing support for a major extension to the Library, the Macquarie Street building.
Early life and education
[edit]Russell Fletcher Doust was born on 19 September 1927 in Lindfield. The son of Harold Stephen Doust and Dorothy Annie Doust (nee Fletcher).[2] Doust attended Sydney Boys High School and was an organ scholar at the University of Sydney, graduating in 1948. He achieved registration as a librarian in 1953.[3][4][5] In 1969 he was awarded a Master of Librarianship by the University of New South Wales for his thesis, "The administration of official archives in N.S.W. 1870–1960".[6]
Career
[edit]Russell Doust held a number of positions throughout his library career commencing at the Public Library of New South Wales as a junior library assistant (1944-1949) before moving on to the Newcastle Teachers College (1950-1951), Balmain Teachers College (1952-1958), Alexander Mackie Teachers College (1958-1960) and returning to the Public Library of New South Wales in 1960, Doust was the senior archivist (1962-1970), deputy principal librarian (1970-1973) and Principal Librarian, later known as State Librarian of New South Wales, from 1973 until his retirement in 1987.[2][7][8][9][10] An active member of the professional association, Doust was made a foundation Fellow of the Library Association of Australia in 1963, recognising his contribution to library services.[11][3]
In 1973 when he became Principal Librarian, Doust re-established the Mitchell Librarian role as a separate position reversing the decision of the previous Principal Librarian who had absorbed both the Deputy Principal Librarian and Mitchell Librarian roles into the Principal Librarian position.[12] Doust led the amalgamation of the two statutory bodies previously responsible for the State Library and free public libraries into a single Library Council of New South Wales in 1975.[3][13]
Russell Doust wrote to Neville Wran, Premier of New South Wales, in June 1978 suggesting that a new wing for the State Library would be an appropriate way to commemorate the Bicentenary of European settlement in Australia.[14][4] On 19 September 1980, Jill Hickson Wran, opened Australian Library Week in the State Library announcing the Government’s intention to “build a new Library, as part of the commemoration of Australia’s Bicentenary in 1988”.[14][15] This heralded the construction of the Macquarie Street wing of the State Library of NSW.[16] Work began on the Macquarie Street wing in 1983. Doust retired in 1987 and the Macquarie Street wing was officially opened in 1988 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.[17]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Russell DOUST Obituary (2025)". Legacy.com. The Sydney Morning Herald. 2025-04-26. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
- 1 2 "Australian Library and Information Association Honours Board 2021" (PDF). Australian Library and Information Association. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- 1 2 3 Horton, Warren (20 March 1987). "Forty-three years on!" (PDF). Incite: Newsletter of the Library Association of Australia. 8 (4): 1 – via Austlii.
- 1 2 Jones, David John (November 2006). "State Librarians I have known since 1826". The Australian Library Journal. 55 (4): 343–359. doi:10.1080/00049670.2006.10721880. ISSN 0004-9670.
- ↑ Doust, Russell (Autumn 2015). "My life in music". Sydney Organ Journal. 46 (2): 31–33.
- ↑ Doust, Russell Fletcher (1969). The administration of official archives in New South Wales, 1870–1960 (Thesis). UNSW Sydney. doi:10.26190/unsworks/8213. hdl:1959.4/62718.
- ↑ Kosa, Geza Attila (1984), Biographical dictionary of Australian librarians, Academia Press, ISBN 095896680X, retrieved 2025-09-27 – via National Library of Australia
- ↑ "CHANGE OF DESIGNATION". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 1973-11-16. p. 5013. Retrieved 2025-09-27.
- ↑ "Library crammed: The Library of New South Wales, interview with the Principal Librarian, Russell Doust". State Library of New South Wales. 1974. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
- ↑ "State Library of New South Wales - Russell Doust, former State Librarian of State Library of New South Wales, interviewed on his retirement by Paul Brunton, 1987". State Library of New South Wales. 1987. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
- ↑ Australian Library and Information Association (18 August 2021). "ALIA Honours Board" (PDF). www.alia.org.au. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
- ↑ Fletcher, B. H. (2007). Magnificent Obsession: The Story of the Mitchell Library, Sydney. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74175-291-5.
- ↑ State Library of New South Wales (2025-06-18). "Russell Fletcher Doust, 1927–2025". www.sl.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
- 1 2 Jones, David John (1 May 1988). "The Best of Both Worlds: The State Library of New South Wales New Building and Refurbishing Project". Australian Library Journal. 37 (2): 81–86 – via SSRN.
- ↑ Jones, David John (21 November 1980). "Good news for New South Wales . . . Second State Library" (PDF). Incite: Newsletter of the Library Association of Australia. 1 (19): 1 – via Austlii.
- ↑ "Neville Wran's reforms bridge the political divide". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2014-04-21. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
- ↑ State Library of New South Wales (2024-01-31). "History of the Library". www.sl.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-09-28.
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
