National Library of Australia

Overview

The National Library of Australia is the country's largest reference library, established under the National Library Act 1960 to maintain and develop a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection relating to Australia and the Australian people.

History

The Library traces its origins to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, founded in 1901 following Australian Federation and initially based in Melbourne before moving to Canberra in 1927. It became an independent national institution governed by its own Council in 1960; its archives function was subsequently separated into what became the National Archives of Australia. The Library's current building at Parkes Place, designed in a late-twentieth-century stripped-classical style, opened to the public in 1968.

Collections, Holdings, and Publications

The Library's holdings total roughly 6.93 million items, including books, pictures, photographs, maps, sheet music, manuscripts, and websites, gathered under Australia's legal deposit provisions for both digital and hard-copy publications. Its manuscript collection alone comprises about 26 million individual items, including James Cook's journal from the Endeavour and the diaries of the explorers Burke and Wills. The Library also maintains an extensive oral history and folklore collection.

Access and Usage

The Library is located at Parkes Place, Canberra, and is open to the public and researchers, with a dedicated Special Collections Reading Room for manuscripts and other primary source material.