Around 6,000 books, mostly in Portuguese, mostly relating to literature, history and religion among many other topics.

Records for much of the Rare Books Collection are in our catalogue, but if you do not find the item you are looking for, please ask for help: the item may not yet be catalogued, or an alternative version may be available

About 10,000 stereoscopic view cards produced by both commercial and amateur photographers in all parts of the world and a significant collection of photographic equipment and some books and journals on photography.

About 600 books with particular strength in anthropology, sociology and linguistics and largely related to Indonesia, and most are in Dutch, Indonesian, German or English. Some writings by Tobing, himself.

About 260 books and pamphlets on American history, as well as papers of the Woodriff family and Tilghman, including about 380 of Tilghman's photographs of the Northern Territory 1925–1927 and Queensland 1931–1933.

Robert Macklin with Dr John Gray

Explore some of the speculative fiction reads in the collection and how they can help future generations understand society in the time they were written.

431 books, mostly Russian works published in countries other than the Soviet Union, including China, the United States, and Australia, in the years after 1917.

About 3,000 books and pamphlets, mostly published in Britain, the majority on astronomy but also some works on geology, physics and chemistry, as well as a small group of Tanock's personal papers.

Dr Caren Florance presented a lecture on her 2024 National Library Fellowship research into artists' books (books made by artists as art).

Papers of Christina Stead including diaries, manuscripts of her works, correspondence, personal documents, cuttings and photographs as well as papers of her biographers.

The microfilm collection includes 78 manuscripts copied by the South Pacific Commission, created by missionaries, anthropologists, and linguists between 1900 and 1956.