Established in 1957, St Mark’s Library is one of Australia’s most significant theological libraries, holding over 100,000 items across theology, biblical studies, church history, missiology, the ancient world, and more.
The Library houses several notable special collections, including rare biblical manuscripts and one of the most important Australian church history collections in the sector.
The collection is open to students, researchers, and anyone interested in exploring theology – with borrowing available through membership.
If you need help with our online catalogue, please see the library orientation video by clicking on the button below.
St Mark’s campus is open Tuesday to Friday, 9:00am – 4:30pm. You are welcome to visit and browse during these hours.
Library staff are currently available at the following times (these times are temporary as we do not have a full-time librarian at this time):
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:
Sunday:
Closed
9am – 1pm
2pm – 6pm
9am – 1pm
10am – 3pm
Closed
Closed
If you visit outside staffed hours, please note that library assistance will not be available.
For enquiries, please use the library contact form and a member of the team will respond as soon as possible.
Phone: (02) 6272 6257
Library staff are often assisting visitors on the floor and may not always be able to answer calls. For the most reliable response, please use the contact form and a member of the team will be in touch as soon as possible.
We have several kinds of memberships available, including individual and concessional memberships, as well as memberships for clergy, schools, churches, and their affiliates.
If you have any questions about using the library, including parking, late fees, borrowing, etc., please visit our FAQ’s page.
St Mark’s National Memorial Library was founded in 1957 by Bishop Ernest Burgmann, who envisioned something like Westminster Abbey in the heart of Canberra – a place where students, clergy, and thinkers could study together, draw on deep intellectual traditions, and help shape a distinctively Australian voice in theology. From the beginning, the Library was intended not simply as a storehouse for books, but as a place where serious scholarship and living faith could meet.
Rooted in the religious history of the ACT and southern NSW, the Library exists to resource serious theological thinking: for students in formation, researchers pushing the field forward, clergy engaging faith with the world around them, and anyone seeking to understand and live their faith more deeply.
St Mark’s Library houses several special collections available to view by appointment only. Appointments can be made via our Special Collections Access Request Form. Our special collections include:
The Bible Society Collection of Australia’s complete collection is held at St Mark’s under custodial agreement. The collection includes bibles printed before 1500 A.D., rare editions, first translations, a wide variety of translation tools, and many bibles of great historical importance – both nationally and globally.
This collection comprises archive boxes of papers, pamphlets, correspondence, photographs, reel film, and slides, as well as newspaper articles and magazines documenting Burgmann’s tenure as Bishop of the Canberra Goulburn Diocese.
Methodist minister and missionary, anthropologist and missiologist of international repute, Dr Alan R. Tippett presented his library and manuscript collection to St Mark’s in 1984. The collection reflects his extraordinary range, from Pacific missiology to linguistics, and remains a significant research resource for scholars worldwide.
More information coming soon.
More information coming soon.
