Special Collections Reading Room
Due to major building activity at the Library you may hear some intermittent construction noise during your visit. We apologise for the inconvenience and we are grateful for your understanding.
Some of our collection is also temporarily unavailable. This means we may not be able to fulfil some requests for deliveries of Library items to the Reading Rooms.
At the moment, this includes the Pictures Collections - Hanging Art Works (until September 2024) and Asian Collections – general books and serials (until June 2025). Please check the catalogue carefully to find out if your selection is impacted.
These collections include photographs, artworks, manuscripts, maps, oral history recordings, sheet music, ephemera and rare printed material from both Australia and overseas.
Normally located on Level 1 of the Library, the Special Collections Reading Room (including the Petherick Reading Room) is in a new temporary location on Lower Ground 1 due to major building activity. For the next 12 months we will be operating with reduced space, which may impact deliveries of large amounts of material and our capacity to accommodate researchers.
Access to all other collection material, including books, journals, magazines, newspapers and microform is made available to readers in the Main Reading Room.
Staff in the Special Collections Reading Room can advise you on:
- use of special collections for your research
- care and handling requirements for various formats of material
- any special permissions required to access or copy special collections for your research or publication
- use of audio equipment to listen to our Oral History and Folklore collections.
To make the most of your research time, read our tips in the guide to using the Special Collections Reading Room. In particular, be aware that:
- Special collection material is delivered to the Special Collections Reading Room three times per weekday only. There are no collection deliveries after 5pm. Check our collection delivery times before you visit.
- Items are kept on reserve for 7 days from date of request. Items with special storage conditions are held for 1 day only.
- The reading room is closed on Sundays. For Special Collection Reading Room opening hours see: Opening hours.
For the security of our special collections, bags cannot be brought into the Special Collections Reading Room. These, as well as coats, umbrellas and other large objects can be stored in our free self-service lockers on Lower Ground 1.
Food and drink is not allowed, including bottled water. This is in line with our policy on food and drink in public areas.
The Petherick Reading Room is co-located within the Special Collections Reading Room and provides a dedicated space for registered advanced researchers.
