In 1860, the Launceston Mechanics Institute was opened and held a library of 2400 books. As time went on, the building was enlarged and renovated to accommodate its growing library.

However, by the mid-1960s, the building was no longer suited to modern library service. After flooding, the state government promised a new library would be built and so the development of the Launceston Library began.

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When all items were transferred and the Launceston Library was opened in Civic Square by Lord Casey on October 8, 1971, the old Mechanics was knocked down.

A bottle originally buried in 1857 when the foundation stone of Launceston's first public library was laid was dug up in when the building was demolished. It contained copies of The Examiner and the Cornwall Courier.

Staff have come and gone over the last 50 years, but several staff members have been there for more than half of the library's lifespan.

Information services coordinator Louise Foley will have been with the library for 40 years this December.

"What [the staff] are doing is putting together information to share with our clients and that hasn't changed and will never change," she said.

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Ms Foley shared just how different the library used to look with the ground floor not having a cafe, three attendants at the entrance, and a community information centre which used to keep a record of everything happening in Launceston.

Library services officer Derek Binns has been with the library for 35 years and said the technology at the library had also changed over time, with much of the library archives now digitised for the public to have free access to.

Mr Binns grew up in a family who would read to him and who nurtured his love of books. It was only natural when he decided he wanted to work in a library.

"It's never the same type of work day after day," he said.

Hanna Glowacka, another library services officer, agreed technology had changed the library vastly.

"I think it has changed very much so in the area of technology and the resources and the services we can offer," she said.

"Though the core of the services is the same, it's just a different way of delivering the service."

Ms Glowacka joined the library 30 years ago when she came to Australia from Poland, and followed in her mother's footsteps.

"This is like a family tradition because my mum always worked in libraries and I inherited that from her," she said.

"It's been quite a long time [at this library] when I think back. More than half of my life."

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Ms Glowacka said providing someone with excellent service was the most pleasurable part of her job.

"The location is central, people can come and enjoy the company, get information and knowledge, have a coffee, it's a very social place," she said.

Ms Foley said one of her favourite memories of the library was the staff discovering something for someone and sharing the answer with them.

"It might be identifying a photograph location, finding the history of a house, or difficult to find birth, or what they've learned about recently digitised information. Always exciting and often unexpected," she said.

As Mr Binns said when he quoted author Neil Gaiman, "Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one".

The library will hold a birthday event on October 8 which will include cake, music, a plaque unveiling, and exhibitions showcasing photographs, newspaper articles, old membership cards, architectural drawings, and other objects.

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