Outback Letterbox Library

FETCH ROVER

Everyone deserves access to a library, no matter where you live. The Outback Letterbox Library operates out of Broken Hill City Library, where staff hand-pick and deliver books to isolated community members. Operating since 1977, this unique service covers a huge area of roughly 238,000 square kilometres, reaching South Australian, Victorian and Queensland borders.

All Outback Letterbox Library members have full Broken Hill City Library membership, where they are able to receive items delivered in big green bags by various freight services for FREE! Members also have full access to 24/7 digital library collections.

This film was produced by Jason King, Jeanette Thompson and the Broken Hill City Library, to showcase the free service offered by the Outback Letterbox Library to isolated residents of the remote Central West and Far West of New South Wales, aiming to engage current and potential new members.

The video project is funded by the Library Council of NSW, The State Library of New South Wales and hosted by Broken Hill City Council.  

The Outback Letterbox Library is funded by the Library Council of NSW with the State Library of NSW.

Service

Outback Letterbox Library Service offers free delivery, including return, of library materials. It covers an area approximately 238,000 square kilometres, reaching South Australian, Victorian and Queensland borders.

 Membership

You can join online or in person.

Join

Borrowing

The borrowing period is six weeks, you can renew items twice if no one else has requested the item. Membership includes all online resources such as eBooks and research databases.

All Outback Letterbox Library members are welcome to visit the library to select their own items and participate in all programs.

In a 2017 ABC article one member said -

"Having a bag of books is like Christmas every six weeks!"

Outback Letterbox Library timeline

1. Your selected books are packaged and delivered by post in our specially designed green sturdy bags.
2. You have them for a period of 6 weeks. Included in the pack is a selection form for the next items you want to borrow.
3. To return the items, flip the address tag to display the library's address and simply put it back in the post, we take care of the rest.
4. Upon arrival, your books are quarantined for the recommended amount of time, before being put back into circulation. After that, we check the selection enquiry from your package and prepare your next shipment.

Selections

Complete the below selection request or return a paper copy via mail.

Contact us for more information