Apart from numerous secondary schools in and around Wellington, the city's needs for higher education are catered for by the Victoria University of Wellington which was established as Victoria University College by Act of Parliament in 1897 in commemoration of the sixtieth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. In 1961 it became an autonomous university by the Victoria University of Wellington Act of that year. The roll, numbering 155 students in 1899, is now 4,500 students (1965). The University has four faculties: those of arts, science, commerce, and law. It also offers special courses in Social Science and Public Administration. The 22 departments have an academic staff of 220 who teach over 150 classes. The city is well endowed with libraries: the public library with nine branches and a mobile service; those of the University and the General Assembly and various Government Departments; the Alexander Turnbull Library, which specialises in the Pacific countries, New Zealand, and English literature; and the country-wide National Library Service. The New Zealand Ballet Co., Opera Co., and the NZBC Symphony Orchestra, as well as many local drama and musical societies, have their headquarters in the city.