How is a rare book about swimming connected to an important early European map of Australia and American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin? Find out in this blog.

Personal archives and collections quick tips

Learn about Martie’s Fellowship that will result in a documentary to be screened at the 2023 National Folk Festival.

Hear from Madeline about how she was able to research her Indigenous heritage using the Ancestry Library, Trove and the Special Collections Reading Room.

Kate’s research focused on the role of popular magazines in Australian art history and arts communication in the 1950s and 1960s.

There are numerous guides and bibliographies available to help you navigate the Library's vast collections.

Read about works and manuscripts in our collection that are now in the public domain.

The Friends of the National Library of Australia present an opportunity to question two of Australia’s most eminent and most productive historians.

Explore the Prout Collection, featuring 2 oil paintings, 41 watercolours, and 38 pencil and wash drawings by John Skinner Prout, created between 1841 and 1848. This collection showcases stunning Tasmanian landscapes, including scenes of Hobart, Mount Wellington, and Port Arthur, alongside views of New South Wales and Victoria. Prout, a self-trained artist who emigrated to Australia in 1840, captured the essence of the Australian landscape, leaving a lasting influence on colonial art.

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.