The City of Adelaide is a local government area of South Australia covering the original Adelaide settlement. Established in 1840, the Adelaide City Council is the oldest municipal authority in Australia. At its time of establishment Adelaide's (and Australia's) first mayor, James Hurtle Fisher, was elected. From 1919 onwards, the City has had a Lord Mayor, the current being Lord Mayor Michael Harbison. In its local administrative capacity, the City of Adelaide has responsibility for two areas analogous to suburbs: Adelaide (city centre) (also known as South Adelaide, the city, the CBD, or the square mile) and North Adelaide. The city council is also responsible for the Adelaide Parklands which surrounds North Adelaide and the city centre. Apart from providing the usual services like rubbish collection and controlling local development, the City of Adelaide owns and operates a number of city services and amenities, including:
A network of 4 local libraries from which local residents can borrow books, music, videos and computer programs, and gain access to computers and the internet.