The South Australian Institute (SAI) had its origins in the South Australian Literary and Scientific Association (1834) and the Adelaide Mechanics Institute (1838). After various institutional amalgamations, a government bill was passed to establish the SAI in 1856. The Institute building opened in 1861. The Institute library was a public library in the sense that there was a reference section and reading room open to the general public, but borrowing rights were conferred by subscription. Reference books, state papers, and bound newspapers did not circulate except on special application.
Printed by Andrews, Thomas, & Clark, this 1869 catalogue is divided into 20 classes. Like the earlier 1861 catalogue, its 1863 reissue, and the 1863 supplementary catalogue, the books in each class are primarily arranged alphabetically according to author name. The only exceptions are Biography (arranged according to name of subject) and Works of Reference (sub-divided into groups according to type and/or subject). The catalogue includes cross-references between classes and sub-classes. Unlike the earlier catalogues, volume size, publisher, and place and date of publication are given for each title where possible, except for the Novel class, which provides only size and date of publication. The numbers on the extreme right of the catalogue indicate the place occupied by the books on the library shelves. Indexes are available for the classes of History; Geography, Travels, &c; Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, &c; Arts and Manufactures, &c; and General Literature, Collected Works, Essays, &c. Prefaced to the catalogue is a list of titles donated by Queen Victoria, as well as list of newspapers and periodicals, arranged by place of publication for newspapers and alphabetically by title for periodicals. A more complete list of newspapers held is available in the Reference section of the catalogue. Some brief annotations can be found in the Novel and General Literature sections.
Not including duplicates or alternative editions of the same title, the collection holds approximately 6,506 titles, indicating an increase of around 2,452 titles from 1861, including: moral philosophy (189); jurisprudence and political economy (140); history (436); biography (458); geography and travels (886); geology (67); chemistry (62); zoology (176); botany (81); anatomy and medicine (76); mathematics and natural philosophy (233); arts and manufactures (140); novels and prose works of fiction (1,524); poetry and drama (208); general literature (1,033); Latin and Greek literature (9); German literature (63); French and other modern languages (93); bound periodicals (91); and encyclopedias and works of reference (541). In the Reference section, maps and patents have not been assigned a place on the shelves and have therefore not been included in the above number of titles. State Papers for New Zealand and the Australian colonies, on the other hand, are included in the above list of titles. While novels still amount to the largest category in the collection, this class experiences the slowest rate of growth from 1861, with an increase of only (approx.) 167 titles. The categories of General Literature and Reference, on the other hand, increase by 415 titles and 311 titles, respectively, between 1861 and 1869, reflecting the library’s increasing desire to act as a public reference library rather than as a circulating library. The relatively large number of German-language titles reflects the SAI’s stated desire to cater for its German colonists.
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