Quick tips

Personal and family archives

two old books open and displaying handwritten text

The Library is unable to provide specialist advice about how to care for personal or family archives, but there are a number of resources which can help.

Information article

sepia photo of a room with lots of old objects

Charles H. Kerry, (1894), Art Gallery, Sydney, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138638474

Valuing old items

The Library does not provide a valuation service for any type of item, nor can we provide valuation details for items held in the Library's collections.

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Ornate gold brooch shaped like native Australian flora, featuring detailed leaves, flowers, and textures against a black background.

Flavelle Bros. & Co. Australian design brooch, 185- , nla.gov.au/nla.obj-139417188

Private researchers and valuers

If you have an item you want valued, or you require ongoing or extensive genealogical or historical research beyond what the Library can offer, here is a list of associations you could contact.

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black and white photo of a man searching through a library card catalogue

Wolfgang Sievers, Card catalogue at Baillieu Library, University of Melbourne, Victoria, 1961, architect John Scarborough, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-161541984

Cataloguing your own collection of books, music, etc.

While the National Library is unable to provide specialist advice on cataloguing, there are a number of online resources you can use.

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Researching

boys sitting at desks in a school classroom

J. A. Mulligan, Students in a classroom at the Marist Brother's Marcellin College, Randwick, 19 July, 1962, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-145135293

Researching school assignments

While we can't research for you or provide answers to school or university assignments, we can offer you some handy tips.

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Two men, one on a ladder, looking at books on large bookshelf at the State Library of Victoria

Mark Strizic, Searching for books at the State Library of Victoria, January 1967, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-140508667

How to find out of print books

To find an out of print book you can start by getting in contact with a second hand/antiquarian bookseller.

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Four boys sitting on a stone wall and reading books

Fairfax Corporation. (1930). Four young boys reading books on top of a stone wall during health week at school, New South Wales, ca. 1930, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-162139840

How to find organisations that donate books

The Library is unable to provide specialist advice about how to care for personal or family archives, but there are a number of resources which can help.

Information article