Libraries are Great Sport

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Text on Button LIBRARIES ARE GREAT SPORT
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Illustration of two characters riding bikes while reading books with black text underneath on an orange background

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PATRICK BROS MELBOURNE

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In 1976, the Australian government appointed librarian Allan Horton to chair a committee of inquiry into the country's public libraries. In his landmark report published that year, Libraries Are Great Mate! But They Could Be Greater, he recommended that libraries could be improved to become community hubs. The Australian Library Promotion Council drew on Horton's report to commission several posters from cartoonist Ken Maynard with catchy slogans. Maynard was a former police officer whose cartoons ran in the Australasian Post newspaper. His most famous cartoons were about an Aussie bar, Ettomagah Pub, and its regulars. This "Libraries are great sport" cartoon and slogan were featured on a poster in 1982.

Sources

Collection of posters on Australian books [picture]. (n.d.) Catalogue [Catalog record]. National Library of Australia. https://www.catalogue. nla.gov.au/catalog/3960617

Rockhampton Regional Libraries [Queensland, Australia]. (2023, October 2). Personal communication.

Baker, N. & Docherty, S. (2022, February 22). From clay tablets to the digital age: The remarkable history of public libraries. Saturday Extra. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-23/the-remarkable-history-of-our-pu…

Rockhampton Regional Libraries. (2021, June 8). Blast from the library past! Libraries are great mate. See you at the library. This cracking poster was produced by [Image attached] [Status update]. Facebook. https://wwwfacebook.com/LivelyLibraries/photos/blast-from-the-library-p…

Visual Humor [Blog]. (2012, April 30). Ken Maynard. https://www.visualhumor.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/228/

Catalog ID CA0426