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What's on

Explore our events, exhibitions, workshops and talks.

In the spotlight

Cover of the book The Truck Cat by Deborah Frenkel and Danny Snell. A man is crouched down patting a cat. There is a bowl in front of the cat, a bush with flowers in the foreground, and trees behind a white pole fence and a truck cabin in the background.
ALIA National Simultaneous Storytime 2025: 'The Truck Cat'
21 May 2025

We read 'The Truck Cat' for National Simultaneous Storytime 2025.

Event
Video
Books and authors
Storytime
Education/learning
For kids and families
Past event
Photos of Adam Ford, Jilda Andrews, Lucy Hannan, Phyllis Williams and Rebecca Bateman

Adam Ford, Jilda Andrews, Lucy Hannan, Phyllis Williams and Rebecca Bateman

Lunchtime yarn: ICIP across the National Cultural sector
27 May 2025

Join staff from across Canberra’s National Cultural Institutions as they share their experiences working with Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP) rights.

Event
First Australians
Workshops and seminars
Grey background with white text reading 'Fit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Archive' and a black and white photo of two men working on a large ship propeller
Fit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Photo Archive selected by Mike Bowers
27 Feb - 20 Jul 2025

Explore the art of photojournalism with highlights from the Fairfax Photo Archive.

Exhibition
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible

Exhibitions

Grey background with white text reading 'Fit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Archive' and a black and white photo of two men working on a large ship propeller
Fit to Print: Defining Moments from the Fairfax Photo Archive selected by Mike Bowers
27 Feb - 20 Jul 2025

Explore the art of photojournalism with highlights from the Fairfax Photo Archive.

Exhibition
Exhibition Gallery
Online
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Title page of a landscape oriented printed book: ornate engraving featuring musical performers. Scene is framed by theatre curtains.

James Hook, Guida di Musica: Being a Complete Book of Instructions for Beginners on the Harpsichord or Piano Forte, nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn8650184

The Excellencies of Musick: Highlights from the Jamie and Michael Kassler Collection
03 Dec 2024 - 17 Aug 2025

Enter the musical world of seventeenth and early nineteenth century Britain with rare prints, books and manuscripts.

Exhibition
Treasures Gallery
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
Parents and child smiling and talking in the Library's Treasures Gallery
Treasures Gallery
Daily

The Treasures Gallery showcases the extraordinary holdings of the National Library of Australia.

Exhibition
Treasures Gallery
Assistance animals icon Assistance animals icon
Assistance animals welcome
Wheelchair icon Wheelchair icon
Wheelchair accessible
View all exhibitions

Events

An adult and child reading a book with a dog sitting between them.
Story Dogs on Sunday - May 2025
25 May 2025

Join us for a paw-sitive reading experience with the  Story Dogs program.

Event
Books and authors
Storytime
For kids and families
Photos of Adam Ford, Jilda Andrews, Lucy Hannan, Phyllis Williams and Rebecca Bateman

Adam Ford, Jilda Andrews, Lucy Hannan, Phyllis Williams and Rebecca Bateman

Lunchtime yarn: ICIP across the National Cultural sector
27 May 2025

Join staff from across Canberra’s National Cultural Institutions as they share their experiences working with Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP) rights.

Event
First Australians
Workshops and seminars
Grey background with white text reading 'Fit to Print' and individual photos of photographers Mike Bowers, Rick Stevens and Lorie Graham
Life behind the lens
27 May 2025

Join veteran photojournalist Mike Bowers in conversation with two of Australia’s greatest photographers: Lorrie Graham, and Rick Stevens.

Event
Talks and ideas
View all events

Explore more

Volunteer Library tour guide smiling and greeting a tour group, made up of people of various ages, in the foyer.
Library tours
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
Two young women having morning tea at the Bookplate cafe

Bookplate cafe

Cafes
Woman browsing books on display at the Library's Bookshop
Bookshop
People reading and talking in a large, sunny room at tables, desks and computer stations

Main Reading Room

Reading rooms

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