In this opening talk, Sita Sargeant was joined by Santilla Chingaipe, Jacinta Mackay, and Harini Rangarajan: three women who between them show what becomes possible when you go looking for the version of Australia that never made it into the textbooks.

Topic

How did our national story take shape? In this lesson, students explore how and why Captain James Cook has been portrayed so prominently in Australian history.

The Friends annual 'White Gloves' event offers a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with highlights from the National Library's Collection.

Personal papers of Patrick White, plus letters from White to other Australian writers acquired as part of their papers. Also papers of White's biographer David Marr and those of the artist and theatre designer Desmond Digby who had a long friendship with White.

For many centuries Europeans believed there must be a vast land in the southern hemisphere, variously called ‘Terra Australis Incognita’ from the Latin for ‘Unknown South Land’.

The National Library of Australia announces partnership with She Shapes History.

New Treasures Gallery exhibition answers some of our frequently asked questions.

When you visit us, you might be surprised there aren’t rows of bookshelves. Find out how the Library works.

Discover the Whelan Collection, a remarkable archive of Australian literature with over 1,000 autographed books, manuscripts, and letters from 1892 to 1967. Collected by bibliophile Philip Whelan, it offers a rare glimpse into Australia’s rich storytelling heritage and vibrant literary culture.

Forget the heat this summer and escape to your National Library to discover something new.