University director of library services Leeanne Pitman said the rare and valuable collection had been in the university’s possession since 2011, but the books had only just finished being catalogued and shelved. 

“It doubled the collection in this room,” Ms Pitman said. 

The Creedy Collection was donated by Professor John Creedy through the Australian Government's Cultural Gift program. 

“It’s sitting alongside his former colleague Professor Geoffrey Blainey’s collection.

“They worked alongside each other at the University of Melbourne for a long time. 

“Professor Blainey was the first chancellor when the University of Ballarat was formed.”

University economics associate professor Alex Millmow said there were only three economists at the university, “but we can now all draw upon this wealth of knowledge given to us through this collection”.

“It’s one of the most compact, comprehensive collections, with rare and valuable books including first editions, and famous authors,” Dr Millmow said.