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What can we help you find?

Not sure where to start or need help? Ask a Librarian

Latest news

A photograph of Christina Stead, a cover of the book 'For Love Alone', a handwritten manuscript page, a photograph of The Bushwackers and Mary Gilmore, a photograph of Judith Wright, a cover of the book 'A Human Pattern: Selected Poems', arranged left-to-right.

2026 Appeal: Australian Women Writers

08 May 2026

This year, we seek your support for an ambitious project to bring the voices and stories of over twenty Australian women writers to Trove for the very first time.

News

Rima Febriani sitting on an armchair in the Main Reading Room

Rima Febriani, 2025 National Library of Australia Asia Study Grant Scholar

The archive of desires: Tracing sexual knowledge in Indonesia

18 Jun 2026

Learn about National Library of Australia Asia Study Grant Scholar Rima Febriani’s research exploring how ideas about sexuality developed in postcolonial Indonesia.

Blog

A woman with red hair and glasses holding a book with the fold out pages

Caitlin Hughes, 2025 National Library of Australia Scholar

Regional identity and contemporary expression in Eastern Indonesian arts

15 Jun 2026

Learn about 2025 National Library of Australia Scholar Caitlin Hughes’ research into interdisciplinary art in Indonesia.

Blog

A watercolour painting showing a view of bushland through a gap in a rock wall

Watercolour painting by Eirene Mort

How a photograph inspired a biography

03 Jun 2026

Sylvia Martin has spent decades writing about women who lived in the early part of the 20th century. Find out how a photograph sparked the inspiration for the subject of her latest biography Double Act.

Blog

A man in a blue shirt leaning over a desk with papers and books

Dr Matthew Lamb, 2026 National Library of Australia Fellow

A ramble through the mind of an adolescent

28 May 2026

Learn about National Library of Australia Fellow Dr Matthew Lamb’s research into the life and juvenilia of legendary Australian writer Frank Moorhouse.

Blog

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Discover our collections

A group of women marches down a city street, holding various protest signs. Signs include messages like "Sexism is alive & living in Australia" and "Dress for comfort, not for style." A large sculpture is visible in the background.

John McKinnon, Women on the march wave their placards at the International Women's Day march, Melbourne, March 8, 1975, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-137045864

Feminism and women leaders

A family dressed for a wedding laughs as they sit together on a couch

Conor Ashleigh, Bridal couple Achol and Marial and their bridal party, Sydney, December, 2013, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-506867692

Family history and genealogy

People watch lion dances in Chinatown Plaza in Adelaide

Jiayuan Liang, Chung Yee Tong Lion Dance Team performing lion dances, Chinese New Year, Chinatown, Adelaide, 2022, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3125334254

Asia

Illustration of a tree branch with leaves. Some of it it coloured in and some left white

William T. Cooper, Corymbia confertiflora (Kippist) K.D.Hill & L.A.S.Johnson, family Myrtaceae, Chillagoe, Queensland, February 2003, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1728333879

Visual arts

Vincent Lingiari and two other men seated

Michael Jensen, Vincent Lingiari at Wattie Creek [(Daguragu), Northern Territory] when they had water on tap, 1977, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-137086604

First Australians

Large wall of bookshelves with hundreds of colourful books

Literature and writing

Black and white sketch of costume for the Princess-Mother in Swan Lake, with swatches of fabrics around the edges

Kristian Fredrikson, Costume and set sketches, Swan Lake (New Zealand) Act 1, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3160686825

Performing arts

A streetscape of Bourke street, Melbourne.

Tom Roberts, Bourke Street, Melbourne, 1885, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-134285521

Local history

Black and white photo of a man in a suit holding a large old camera

Harold Cazneaux holding a camera, Sydney, ca. 1905, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-144119446

Photography

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What's on

Red text reading 'Wangka Wakanutja' on a yellow background

Wangka Wakaṉutja: The Story of the Papunya Literature Production Centre

04 Apr 2026 - 31 Jan 2027

Explore the decades-long, remarkable efforts of the Papunya community to record language and culture and keep it alive.

Exhibition

Exhibition Gallery

Assistance animals welcome

Quiet hours 9:00am - 11:00am

Wheelchair accessible

Young girl and older woman browsing at the Bookshop

2026 National Library Bookshop sale

18 - 20 Jun 2026

Celebrate the end of the financial year with great savings on Australian literature and unique gifts with discounts up to 50%*.

Event

Books and authors

Bookshop event

A man and woman wearing dark suits are pictured standing in front of Australia's Parliament House. The cover of their book is shown on the right of the image.

A Funny Thing Happened...with Robbie Swan and Fiona Patten

25 Jun 2026

After decades spent on the fringes of politics, publishing and Australia’s sex industry, Robbie Swan and Fiona Patten finally tell the stories they could never quite leave behind. Join them for the launch of the new book, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sex Party.

Event

Author talk

Assistance animals welcome