Inside the Restricted Section

By Danielle Pope

Inside the Restricted Section
The State Library of Queensland recently shared some of its secrets...

Turns out Hogwarts isn’t the only library with a restricted section. Earlier this week, the State Library of Queensland opened its Rare and Restricted Room which houses some of its most valuable publications, including an 1848 edition of John Gould’s Birds of Australia.

Hidden among this treasure trove are a group of books that are banned from public access. The books are required to be housed in the library under the Libraries Act, which requires at least one copy of everything that is published in Queensland to be held in the State Library.

As told to the Brisbane Times, Queensland literature coordinator Joan Bruce said, ”We’ve reduced the collection to books that are actually illegal to provide to members of the public.” Some books were banned on the basis of ‘profanity’ or ‘obscenity’, others have been banned for legal reasons.

A previous edition of A History of Queensland was initially restricted due to a defamation suit by former premier Joh Bjelke-Peterson. This has since been released to the public.

Read about the human library that lets you borrow people not books here

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