Events | National Library of Australia (NLA)

Events

Showing 1 - 12 of 17 results
Event banner for National Simultaneous Storytime, with the character Luna Roo featured in the centre
ALIA National Simultaneous Storytime 2026: ‘Luna Roo the Kangaroo Baller’
27 May 2026 | 12:00pm - 12:30pm

Join us in reading 'Luna Roo the Kangaroo Baller' on the 27 May!

Book lovers
High school students
Kids and families
Parents
Teachers and Educators
Online
Storytime
Education/learning
An adult and child reading a book with a dog sitting between them.
Story Dogs on Sunday
31 May 2026 | 11:00am - 12:00pm

Come along on the last Sunday of each month for a paw-sitive reading experience with the Story Dogs program.

Kids and families
Foyer
Storytime
Education/learning
For kids and families
library-card-catalogue
Reconciliation Day: First Nations family history tour
01 Jun 2026 | 11:00am - 1:00pm

The National Library is proud to participate in Reconciliation Day. Join us for an introduction to the First Nations family history resources we offer.

Foyer
First Australians
Guided tours
Places limited
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
An illustration of black pen on green paper of a snake wrapped around a boom box. This is pictured beside an exhibition sign in a gallery.

(L) Kulata Dennis Nelson and Papunya Literature Production Centre, Pijkatj anta rikulta [The snake and the recorder], 1990, nla.obj-3286603500; (R) Wangka Wakanutja exhibition signage at the entrance to the Library's gallery

Reconciliation Day: Wangka Wakanutja exhibition tours
01 Jun 2026 | 11:00am - 2:00pm

The National Library is proud to participate in Reconciliation Day. Join one of our expert curators for a free guided tour of our major exhibition Wangka Wakanutja.

First Australians
Kids and families
Visitors
Exhibition Gallery
First Australians
Guided tours
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Two smiling women examining an open book with books piled high around them
Film Screening: How to Build a Library
06 Jun 2026 | 2:00pm - 3:30pm

This award-winning documentary tells the story of two tenacious Nairobi women who decide to transform what used to be a whites-only library into a vibrant cultural hub. 

Theatre
Film screening
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
A painting depicting a battle between sailing ships at sea

Francis Sartorius (1777–1831), Four frigates capturing Spanish treasure ships, 5 October 1804, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Maritime mayhem in early Botany Bay
11 Jun 2026 | 6:00pm - 7:00pm

A little-known chapter of Australia’s past is that the convict settlement at Port Jackson became the first British port in the Pacific. Following his 2025 lecture at the Library, maritime historian Chris Maxworthy returns to expand on his research.

Academics
Friends of the Library
Petherick Readers
Researchers
Online
Theatre
Talks and ideas
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
A woman with dark hair wearing a pink t-shirt with black text reading She Shapes History
She Shapes History at the National Library - June 2026
13 Jun 2026 | 10:30am - 12:30pm

Where are the women in the story of Australia? Our new partnership with She Shapes History brings an exciting event series exploring the often-under-recognised women’s stories in Australia’s history. 

Adult learners
Researchers
Theatre
Panel discussion
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
A painting of navy ships with blue skies and green hills in the background

William Bradley, Drawings from his journal A Voyage to New South Wales (c. 1802). Source: Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW. Out of copyright.

The artwork and handwritten journals of the first fleeters
16 Jun 2026 | 6:00pm - 7:45pm

ArtsNational Canberra and Paul Brunton OAM present a lecture focusing on the eyewitness accounts of the voyage to Sydney during the First Fleet of 1787 - 1788.

Foyer
Theatre
Talks and ideas
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
A sepia photograph of a man opening a drawer in a caravan

Caravans for the polio immunisation campaign. Health, Australia: photographs collected by the National Library of Australia. Box 57, Health – Polio, nla.cat-vn6185856 

Experiences of polio in 1950s Australia
18 Jun 2026 | 12:30pm - 1:30pm

Prof Catharine Coleborne presents her recent Fellowship research, focusing on her discoveries about the health and illness experiences of poliomyelitis (polio) in regional Australia across the 20th century.

Academics
Online
Theatre
Fellowship talk
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Shelves of books in the National Library's repository are pictured alongside speaker Susannah Fullerton
10 novels that changed the world
18 Jun 2026 | 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Which novels have had a universal impact on our world? Author and leading literary authority Susannah Fullerton delivers this engaging lecture presented by the Friends of the Library.

Book lovers
Friends of the Library
Library professionals
Online
Theatre
Books and authors
Friends of the Library event
Talks and ideas
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
A man and woman wearing dark suits are pictured standing in front of Australia's Parliament House. The cover of their book is shown on the right of the image.
A Funny Thing Happened...with Robbie Swan and Fiona Patten
25 Jun 2026 | 6:00pm - 7:00pm

After decades spent on the fringes of politics, publishing and Australia’s sex industry, Robbie Swan and Fiona Patten finally tell the stories they could never quite leave behind. Join them for the launch of the new book, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sex Party.

Online
Theatre
Author talk
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
A blond-haired woman wearing courtroom robes with blue, yellow and white ribbons on the right shoulder
Winter Tales presents Justice Verity McWilliam
28 Jun 2026 | 2:00pm - 4:00pm

The National Foundation for Australian Women presents Justice Verity McWilliam reflecting on her life and work.

Conference Room
Talks and ideas
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Assistive learning icon Assistive learning icon
Hearing induction loop
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible

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