New Zealand. General Assembly Library

New Zealand. General Assembly Library was the former name of what is now the New Zealand Parliamentary Library, the research library serving Parliament. It was established in the mid-19th century to support Members of Parliament, and over time its collections grew far beyond a small working library into a major storehouse of books, newspapers, and government material.

For many years, the institution also played a wider cultural role in New Zealand life. Sources on its history describe it as, by the late 19th century, something close to the country’s leading library, with a purpose-built Gothic library building completed in Wellington in 1899. That building is especially well remembered because it survived the 1907 fire that destroyed much of the neighboring parliamentary complex.

The name appears on book pages because the library issued official publications such as annual reports by the chief librarian. In 1965 it became part of the newly created National Library of New Zealand, and in 1985 the parliamentary service separated again under the name Parliamentary Library. Since this is an institution rather than an individual author, there is no suitable portrait to use as a personal profile image.