The Ashurbanipal Library, Sydney is an initiative of the Assyrian Australian Association (AAA). The Library is home to thousands of items relating to Assyrians or created by Assyrians in any language or format, including books, journals, videos, photographs, objects and more.

The Library is named in honour of the legendary Assyrian King Ashurbanipal, known for amassing a significant collection of cuneiform tables in his royal palace at Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.

The Library has been revived for the community and is located in the AAA’s premises, 673-683 Smithfield Road, Edensor Park NSW 2176.

 

Our History

The Library was first established in 1992 by the AAA with the help of a group of Assyrian volunteers who wanted to collect and preserve as many important Assyrian texts as possible and provide a lending collection to the community. However, due to the significant time and resources required to run the Library, keeping the Library open became unsustainable.

In 2022, the AAA revived the Library as a reference collection, with access provided via scheduled appointments. This initiative was supported by the committee, which gave the Library a home in the AAA building.

The Library has since expanded to include thousands of publications either about Assyrians or by Assyrian authors, including the entire collection of the late Benjamin Gundelove.