We hold one of Australia’s largest collections of performing arts materials.

80 oral history interviews with musicians, dancers and others, and recordings of songs and performances, as well as sheet music, imprints and personal papers.

Learn about our rich collections related to the Picnic at Hanging Rock film and to Joan Lindsay's 1967 book of the same name.

2780 music scores for songs and vocal and piano selections from American, British and Australian musicals, music theatre, films and television shows produced from about 1920 to 1990.

2121 books, pamphlets, programs, periodicals and plays published between 1755 and 1972. 

See how Yvette Grant used the Library’s collections to revive the memory of four women in the story of Australian ballet.

A summary of copyright and rights in the Music Collection.

40 recordings of folk music, folklore and reminiscences from people in rural New South Wales recorded from 1983 to 1988.

Recordings of folk songs and dance music from Queensland and also stories, legends and recollections of customs and immigrant settlement, particularly German and Scandinavian in rural Queensland.

Recordings of folk music, dance music, folklore and oral history from New South Wales and Queensland recorded during the period 1955 to 1990.

Personal papers, manuscript scores, literary manuscripts, sound recordings and family photographs of Peter Sculthorpe, plus videos of films for which he wrote the music and television interviews.

Celebrate William Shakespeare's birthday with Shakespearean gems from the National Library's rare books collections.