Visitor guide

Building floor map

Building map (PDF, 101KB)

^{(updated December 2024)}

Plan

Man and woman in casual wear holding hands and laughing as they walk up the stairs towards the National Library entrance

Opening hours

Find opening hours for the building, cafes, shop, reading rooms and more.

Library services

View of the Library building, carparks and nearby buildings and roads seen from a drone

Getting here

The Library is located on Parkes Place in the central Canberra suburb of Parkes in the Parliamentary Triangle.

Information article

Man and woman smiling as they are being greeted and having questions answered at the front information desk in the Library foyer

Start researching

Before you begin your research at the National Library it is important to be prepared.

People in the Main Reading Room at the Library

Facilities for visitors

Facilities and access

Library services

Explore the building

Main Reading Room

Special Collections Reading Room

Orange, brown and white painting hung in the main reading room

Minnie Lumai (b. 1940), Yab-yab-gnerni-gnim (Sugarbag Dreaming), 2009, natural ochre on canvas ; 130 x 125 cm, Main Reading Room.

Artworks in and around the building

Bookshop

Bookplate cafe

Cafes

Three colourful tapestries hanging above the main entrance doors

Accessibility

Information for families

Read

Share the joy of reading with children. We have a small selection of children’s books in the Main Reading Room—our friendly reading room staff can point you in the right direction. If you’re looking for books to take home, our bookshop has a range of books for everyone.

Discover

Our exhibitions often include family labels to help children enjoy their visit. Here are some tips:

Let children take the lead
If they're interested in something, ask questions! How does it make them feel? How do they think it was created? What can we learn from it?
If children are still struggling, try playing i-spy.

Learn

Our onsite and online programs offer lifelong learning opportunities, from Library tours to using specific resources and discovering our collection. Our Australian curriculum–based school programs use exhibitions, collections and reading rooms as a springboard for students to find out more about Australian history and culture. Delve into our online Digital Classroom to find resources by year level.

Kid's corner

Family-friendly spaces

Digital Classroom

Things to know

A hand holding a National Library of Australia library card featuring an image of yellow wattle flowers. The card is held in focus with a blurred background of the library's reading room, showing desks, chairs, and computer terminals.

Join the Library

Volunteer Library tour guide smiling and greeting a tour group, made up of people of various ages, in the foyer.

Library tours

People reading and talking in a large, sunny room at tables, desks and computer stations

Main Reading Room

Code of conduct for readers and visitors

Three young people sitting on couches in the Library's Lower Ground Floor

Food and drink in public areas

A person in a bright pink top and beige pants walks through an aisle in the Main Reading Room at the Library. People are sitting at wooden desks working on computers, and there are shelves filled with books and a large globe around the edges of the room. To the right, another person stands near a bookshelf, reading a book.

Visitor access to and use of, medications and other personal medical equipment in the Library

Four framed pictures hanging on a wall that has an image of an island on it.

Mabo v Queensland (No. 2): 30th Anniversary

Daily

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Mabo decision, the Library invited Gail Mabo, Eddie’s daughter, to select material for display to mark this landmark moment in Australian legal history.

Exhibition

First Australians

Treasures Gallery