Jump to Content

Media Release

May 2, 2005

New library to benefit learning opportunities in Northern Adelaide

The Sir Eric Neal Library extension at Mawson Lakes is a part of UniSA's $100 million Blueprint project

The official opening of the Sir Eric Neal library at the Mawson Lakes campus of the University of South Australia heralds a focal point for learning and education for Northern Adelaide communities.

Costing $9.2 million, the extension to the Sir Eric Neal Library involved the construction of a new building that is linked via an atrium to the existing building. All central services for the Library are accommodated in the new extension including Information Resource Management, Administration, Information Technology and the Flexible Information service. A total of eighty staff and 160,000 books and journals are currently housed in the library with study and casual seating available for 250 people.

Designed by Thomson Rossi, the 2,500-square-metre extension has revitalised this key Mawson Lakes resource.

The library now allows for extra group study rooms, more access to computers, better student resources, new training facilities and improved access to special collections. The extension also includes a number of environmentally sustainable development initiatives including a grey water system and the use of materials with low embodied energies.

Matching the open design of the expansion, the Sir Eric Neal library is open to members of the community, enriching the learning and life opportunities for students and especially those students attending the many schools engaged with the Northern Areas Partnership Program.

Of special interest

For the first time a complete series of sculptures by the renowned Australian artist John Dowie will be displayed as a permanent feature of the expanded Sir Eric Neal Library. Entitled The Art of Learning, the 72 sculptured mullions are a feature of the external façade of the original library and have been made a centrepiece in the foyer of the new building

About Blueprint

In 2000 the University of South Australia announced a bold plan to revitalise facilities for staff and students. In addition to major capital works, the plan included a strategic reshaping of program offerings at five of the University’s campuses. The capital works program was dubbed Blueprint 2005 and became a core part of the University’s evolution as a modern and diverse institution, providing high quality education for students at home and abroad. Today the $100 million investment in that blueprint has delivered landmark buildings at UniSA’s two city campuses and in the north at Mawson Lakes campus.

Sir Eric Neal Library launch

When: Monday May 2, 10am.
Where: Sir Eric Neal Library, University Boulevard, Mawson Lakes
Please note: Journalists are welcome to attend the launch but can also call to arrange another time.

Fact sheets

Sir Eric Neal Library (Word doc)

Media contact

top^