The National Library houses the largest and most actively developing research resource on Asia in Australia, with holdings of over half a million volumes.

Learn about the items collected during the Indian Diaspora in Australia collecting project from curator Cherie Carter and material donor Dr Lariane Fonseca.

We asked Australians with Indian heritage to help us build our collection and these materials are now online. 

Find out how to access over 60,000 passes issued to Indian people who came to Fiji as indentured labourers.

The National Library's Indonesian collection is the largest collection of Indonesian language material in Australia and one of largest contemporary collections in the world.

Learn about how 2025 Asia Study Grant recipient Michael Raditya used the Library's collection grow his research on the Indonesian music genre dangdut.

Module

Examine Japan under the Shoguns (794-1867), focusing on the feudal system and its societal impacts.

The Japanese collection is a rich source of information on the history, culture and current affairs of Japan.

Hear from Dr Tets Kimura about his research, his time at the Library and what he’s doing next.

950 books on bibliography, history, law, religion, ethnography, archaeology and fine arts of Indonesia, 629 books relating to the languages of Austronesia and some manuscripts, including transcripts of a collection of Sudanese manuscripts.

The Library's Korean language collection of is the largest and most significant Korean collection in Australia.

The Library maintains a small but significant collection of Lao language materials.