View source for National Library of Australia

{{Short description|National reference library in Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2011}}
{{Infobox library
| name = National Library of Australia
| logo = [[File:National Library of Australia logo.svg|250px|class=skin-invert]]
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| image = National Library of Australia-East side with reflection.jpg
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| type = [[Reference library]]
| scope = [[Commonwealth of Australia]]
| established = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1961|March|23}}
| ref_legal_mandate = ''National Library Act 1960''
| location = [[Canberra]], [[Australian Capital Territory]]
| coordinates = {{coord|35|17|47|S|149|07|46|E|region:AU-ACT_type:landmark|display=title,inline}}
| num_branches = 
| items_collected = {{hlist|Books|magazines|pictures|photographs|maps|sheet music|manuscripts|websites}}
| collection_size = {{Format price|6928238}} items
| criteria = Publications made available to the Australian public
| legal_deposit = Digital and hard-copy Australian published materials
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| pop_served = 
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| budget = {{Currency|{{Format price|100000000}}|AUD}} (2025–26) <ref>{{Cite web| title=Entity resources and planned performance | url=https://www.library.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2025-04/nla-portfolio-budget-statements-2025-26.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250414192348/https://www.library.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2025-04/nla-portfolio-budget-statements-2025-26.pdf | archive-date=2025-04-14}}</ref>
| director = [[Marie-Louise Ayres]]
| num_employees = 400 (2016)
| website = {{official URL}} ({{wikidata|qualifier|P1552|P1932}} = {{wikidata|qualifier|P1552|P5022}})
| references = <ref name="act notes">{{cite web|title=NATIONAL LIBRARY ACT 1960 – NOTES|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/nla1960177/notes.html|website=www.austlii.edu.au|access-date=31 July 2017}}</ref><ref name="annualreport-15-16">{{cite web |url=https://www.nla.gov.au/sites/default/files/annual_report_2015-2016.pdf |title=NLA Annual Report 2015-2016 &#124; National Library of Australia |publisher=nla.gov.au |access-date=25 July 2017}}</ref><ref name=stats2019/><ref name="how we collect">{{cite web |title=CDP – How we collect |url=https://www.nla.gov.au/collection-development-policy/how-we-collect |website=National Library of Australia |access-date=31 July 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=AHD>{{cite AHD|105470|National Library of Australia and Surrounds, Parkes Pl, Parkes, ACT, Australia|access-date=22 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nla.gov.au/about-us/our-building |title=Our Building |website=nla.gov.au |publisher=National Library of Australia |access-date=25 July 2018}}</ref>
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| address             = Parkes Place and King Edward Terrace, {{ACTcity|Parkes}}, [[Canberra]], [[Australian Capital Territory]]
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{{designation list
| embed        = yes
| designation1 = Commonwealth Heritage List
| designation1_offname = National Library of Australia and Surrounds, Parkes Pl, Parkes, ACT, Australia
| designation1_type = Listed place
| designation1_criteria = [[Commonwealth Heritage List#Criteria|A., D., E., F., G., H.]]
| designation1_date = 22 June 2004
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[[File:National Library building, Kings Avenue.jpg|thumb|Original National Library building (1934), demolished 1968]]
The '''National Library of Australia''' ('''NLA'''), formerly the '''Commonwealth National Library''' and '''Commonwealth Parliament Library''', is the largest [[reference library]] in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to [[Australia]] and the [[Australians|Australian people]]", thus functioning as a [[national library]]. It is located in [[Parkes, Australian Capital Territory|Parkes]], Canberra, [[Australian Capital Territory|ACT]].

Created in 1960 by the ''National Library Act'', by the end of June 2019 its collection contained 7,717,579 items, with its manuscript material occupying {{convert|17,950|m}} of shelf space. The NLA also hosts and manages the [[Trove]] cultural heritage discovery service, which includes access to the [[Australian Web Archive]] and [[National edeposit]] (NED), a large collection of [[digitisation|digitised]] newspapers, official documents, manuscripts and images, as well as [[born-digital]] material.

==History and foundation==
In 1901 the [[Parliamentary Library of Australia|Commonwealth Parliament Library]]<ref name=libaus>{{cite web | title=Commonwealth National Library (Australia) – Full record view | website=Libraries Australia Search | url=https://librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au/search/display?dbid=auth&id=36531066 | access-date=2 May 2020 | archive-date=2 May 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502033744/https://librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au/search/display?dbid=auth&id=36531066 | url-status=dead }}</ref> was established to serve the [[Federation of Australia|newly formed Federal Parliament of Australia]]. From its inception the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library was driven to development of a truly national collection. In 1907 the Joint Parliamentary Library Committee under the Chairmanship of the Speaker, Sir [[Frederick William Holder]] defined the objective of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library in the following words:<ref name=burmester>{{Cite web|title=History of the National Library collections until 1980 (extract from Burmester) {{!}} National Library of Australia|url=https://www.nla.gov.au/history-of-the-collections/burmester-extract|website=nla.gov.au|access-date=2020-05-02}}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

<blockquote>The Library Committee is keeping before it the ideal of building up, for the time when Parliament shall be established in the Federal Capital, a great Public Library on the lines of the world-famed [[Library of Congress]] at Washington; such a library, indeed, as shall be worthy of the Australian Nation; the home of the literature, not of a State, or of a period, but of the world, and of all time.
</blockquote>

From 1923, two forms of name were used concurrently: Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, to designate the national and parliamentary collections respectively.<ref name=libaus/>

In 1957 the Paton Committee recommended a National Library as an independent [[statutory body]].<ref name=henderson/>

In 1960 the National Library of Australia was created<ref name=libaus/> by the ''National Library Act 1960'',<ref>{{cite web | title=National Library Act 1960 | website=Federal Register of Legislation | date=29 April 2011 | url=https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2011C00245 | access-date=2 May 2020}}</ref> and each library became a separate entity.<ref name=libaus/>

==Building==
[[File:John Gorton opening the National Library.jpg|thumb|Prime Minister [[John Gorton]] officially opening the National Library on 15 August 1968]]
The original National Library building on [[Kings Avenue, Canberra]] was designed by [[Edwin Hubert Henderson]]<!--- currently a self-referring redirect - needs an article ---> (1885–1939), who was Chief Architect of the Commonwealth of Australia from 1929 to 1939, and built in 1934. Originally intended to be several wings, only one wing was completed, partly because of the advent of World War II. The 1957 Paton Committee reported that the accommodation was inadequate for a National Library. The building was used for the headquarters of the Canberra Public Library Service until its demolition in 1968, when it became the site of the [[Edmund Barton Building]].<ref name=henderson>{{cite web | title=The first National Library in Canberra | website=Edwin Hubert Henderson Architect | date=27 May 2021 | url=https://ehhendersonarchitect.com/2021/05/27/the-first-national-library-in-canberra/ | access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref>

In 1963, prime minister [[Robert Menzies]] announced the near-completion of working plans for a new National Library building.<ref name=henderson/> The present library building was opened on 15 August 1968 by Prime Minister [[John Gorton]].<ref>{{Citation | author1=Reid, David | author2=National Library of Australia | title=Prime Minister John Gorton addressing officials and dignitaries at the opening of the National Library of Australia, Canberra, 15 August 1968 | publication-date=1968 | publisher=National Library of Australia | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/37987007 | access-date=13 August 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | author1=National Library of Australia | author2=White, Harold Leslie  | title=Publications relating to the opening of the National Library of Australia, 15th August, 1968 | publication-date=1968 | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/10631207 | access-date=13 August 2018 }}</ref> The building, situated in [[Parkes, Australian Capital Territory|Parkes]], was designed by the architectural firm of [[Bunning and Madden]] in the [[Australian non-residential architectural styles#Stripped Classical|Late Twentieth Century Stripped Classical]] style. The foyer is decorated in marble, with stained-glass windows by [[Leonard French]] and three tapestries by [[Mathieu Matégot]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dN028gHIng4C&pg=PA319 |page=319 |title=The Many Lives of Kenneth Myer |author=Sue Ebury |publisher=The Miegunyah Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-522-85546-3}}</ref> A [[Tom Bass (sculptor)|Tom Bass]] sculpture called ''Lintel Sculpture'' is installed over the entrance to the library.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-03-08 |title=Sculptor changed face of public art |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/sculptor-changed-face-of-public-art-20100308-pska.html |access-date=2022-04-03 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref>

The building was listed on the Australian [[Commonwealth Heritage List]] on 22 June 2004.<ref name=AHD/>

In 2004 the book ''A different view : the National Library of Australia and its building art'' was published which talked about the NLA building.<ref>{{Cite book |title=A different view : the National Library of Australia and its building art. |date=2004 |publisher=National Library of Australia |isbn=0-642-10763-7 |location=Canberra, ACT, Australia |oclc=56876884}}</ref>

===Reading rooms===
The large National Library building is home to various reading rooms and collections. Usage of the reading rooms include speaking to expert staff, browsing the library's reference collection and electronic journals, ebooks, indexes, and databases. The reading rooms also provide free internet and computer use, scanning, photocopying and printing, and the request and access of collection items.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reading Rooms |url=https://www.nla.gov.au/reading-rooms |access-date=13 July 2024 |website=National Library of Australia}}</ref> On the ground floor is the Main Reading Room — this is where the bulk of the Library's Internet access terminals are located, and where wireless internet access is available. Services are also delivered on-site from the Newspaper & Family History zone on the ground floor, the Special Collections Reading Room and the [[Edward Petherick|Petherick]] Reading Room on the first floor.

==Collections==

===Australian and general collection ===
The library collects material produced by Australians, for Australians or about the Australian experience in all formats—not just printed works—books, serials, newspapers, maps, posters, music and printed [[ephemera]]—but also online publications and unpublished material such as [[manuscript]]s, pictures, and [[oral history|oral histories]].{{cn|date=December 2025}} The library's [[Australiana]] collections are the nation's most important resource of materials recording Australia's cultural heritage.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Murray |first=Stuart |title=The Library: An Illustrated History |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing |year=2009 |pages=273}}</ref> The library has particular collection strengths in the [[performing art]]s, including dance.

The library contains a considerable collection of general overseas and [[rare book]] materials, as well as world-class Asian and Pacific collections which augment the Australiana collections. The print collections are further supported by extensive [[microform]] holdings. The library also maintains the National Reserve [[Braille]] Collection.

As a national library, the NLA is required by [[legal deposit]] provisions enshrined in the ''[[Copyright Act 1968]]'' to collect a copy of every Australian publication in the country, which publishers must submit upon publication of the material.<ref name=what>{{cite web | title=What is legal deposit? | website=National Library of Australia | date=17 February 2016 | url=https://www.nla.gov.au/legal-deposit/what-is-legal-deposit | access-date=3 May 2020 | archive-date=5 March 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305174816/https://www.nla.gov.au/legal-deposit/what-is-legal-deposit | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=nsla>{{cite web | title=Legal deposit in Australia | website=National and State Libraries Australia | date=1 June 2019 | url=https://www.nsla.org.au/legal-deposit-australasia | access-date=3 May 2020 | archive-date=21 March 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321031338/https://www.nsla.org.au/legal-deposit-australasia | url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Hazel de Berg]] began recording Australian writers, artists, musicians and others in the arts community in 1957, conducting nearly 1300 interviews. Together with the library over 27 years, she was a pioneer in the field in Australia.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Artists' Portraits: selected and introduced by Geoffrey Dutton|publisher=National Library of Australia|year=1992|isbn=0642105790|location=Canberra, Australian Capitol Territory|pages=1}}</ref>

A core Australiana collection is that of [[John Alexander Ferguson|John A. Ferguson]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nla.gov.au/selected-library-collections/ferguson-collection|title=Ferguson Collection {{!}} National Library of Australia|website=nla.gov.au|language=en|access-date=2 February 2017|archive-date=13 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613054018/https://www.nla.gov.au/selected-library-collections/ferguson-collection|url-status=dead}}</ref>   

At the end of the [[Australian financial year]] of 2018–19, the National Library collection comprised 7,717,579 items, and an additional {{convert|17,950|m}} of manuscript material.<ref name=stats2019>{{cite web | title=Collection statistics | website=National Library of Australia | url=https://www.nla.gov.au/collections/statistics | access-date=5 May 2020 | archive-date=21 April 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421201853/https://www.nla.gov.au/collections/statistics | url-status=dead }}</ref> The library's collections of Australiana have developed into the nation's single most important resource of materials recording the Australian cultural heritage. [[:Category:Australian writers|Australian writers]], [[:Category:Australian editors|editors]] and [[:Category:Australian illustrators|illustrators]] are actively sought and well represented, whether published in Australia or overseas.

The library's collection includes all formats of material, from books, journals, websites and manuscripts to pictures, photographs, maps, music, oral history recordings, manuscript papers and ephemera.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nla.gov.au/our-collections |title=National Library of Australia – Our Collections |publisher=nla.gov.au |access-date=3 August 2012 |archive-date=17 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121217015833/http://www.nla.gov.au/our-collections |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

Approximately 94.1% of the library's collection had been catalogued by July 2019, a total of 5,453,888 items<ref name=stats2019/> and these are discoverable through the online catalogue.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/ |title=Catalogue Home &#124; National Library of Australia |publisher=nla.gov.au |access-date=12 November 2013}}</ref>

====Digital collections====
The library is a world leader in [[digital preservation]] techniques,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nla.gov.au/padi |title=NLA.gov.au |publisher=NLA.gov.au |access-date=30 May 2012|archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20110824015945/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/10691/20110824-1153/www.nla.gov.au/padi/index.html|archive-date=24 August 2011}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> and has maintained an Internet-accessible archive of selected Australian websites called the [[Pandora Archive]] since 1996. The [[Australian Web Archive]], released in March 2019, combines records from PANDORA, the [[Australian Government Web Archive]] (AGWA), and other websites published in Australia. In the 2019 federal budget, the government allocated {{AUD|10}} million to the library, intended to be spread over four years to set up a digitisation fund.<ref name=phone>{{cite web | title=Check Out Australia's Web Archive | website=Southern Phone| date=11 April 2019 | url=https://www.southernphone.com.au/Blog/2019/April/australias-web-archive | access-date=8 May 2020}}</ref>

{{as of|June 2019}}, the library had [[Digitizing|digitised]] a total of 5,508,008 images.<ref>{{cite web | title=Digitisation of Library collections | website=National Library of Australia | date=30 June 2019 | url=https://www.nla.gov.au/digitisation | access-date=5 May 2020 | archive-date=28 March 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328092247/https://www.nla.gov.au/digitisation | url-status=dead }}</ref> Where possible, these are delivered directly across the Internet.

Since a 2016 amendment to the ''Copyright Act'', all [[born-digital]] content must also be deposited in the library (with varying provisions for state libraries as well). The NLA has since May 2019 hosted and managed the [[National edeposit]] (NED) service. [[Libraries ACT]], [[Libraries Tasmania]], [[Northern Territory Library]], [[State Library of New South Wales]], [[State Library of Queensland]], [[State Library of South Australia]], [[State Library Victoria]] and the [[State Library of Western Australia]] are the member organisations of the collaboration.<ref name=ned>{{cite web | title=What is National edeposit (NED)?| website=NED | url=https://ned.gov.au/resources/about.html | access-date=3 May 2020}}</ref><ref name=nlaar2.5>{{cite web | title=National Library of Australia Annual Report 2018–2019: 2.5 Strategic Priority Three: Collaborate | website=Australian Government. Transparency Portal | date=30 October 2019 | url=https://www.transparency.gov.au/annual-reports/national-library-australia/reporting-year/2018-2019-20 | access-date=5 May 2020}}</ref>

===Asian collections===
The library houses the largest and most actively developing research resource on Asia in Australia, and the largest Asian language collections in the Southern hemisphere, with over half a million volumes in the collection, as well as extensive online and electronic resources. The library collects resources about all Asian countries in Western languages extensively, and resources in the following Asian languages: [[Burmese language|Burmese]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]], [[Khmer language|Khmer]], [[Korean language|Korean]], [[Lao language|Lao]], [[Manchu]], [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]], [[Thai language|Thai]], [[Languages of East Timor|Timor]]ese, and [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]].

The library has acquired a number of important Western and Asian language scholarly collections from researchers and bibliophiles. These collections include:

{{div col}}
* Australian Buddhist Library Collection
* [[Jose Maria Braga|Braga]] Collection (Portuguese in Asia)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nla.gov.au/asian/form/braga.html |title=NLA.gov.au |publisher=NLA.gov.au |date=12 December 1984 |access-date=30 May 2012 |archive-date=5 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605235853/http://www.nla.gov.au/asian/form/braga.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Manfred Claasz|Claasz]] Collection (Sri Lanka)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nla.gov.au/asian/form/claasz.html |title=NLA.gov.au |publisher=NLA.gov.au |access-date=30 May 2012}}</ref>
* [[George Coedès|Coedes]] Collection (Indo-China)<ref>[http://www.nla.gov.au/selected-library-collections/georges-coedes-collection Coedès Collection], National Library of Australia</ref>
* [[London Missionary Society]] Collection (China)
* [[H. G. Luce|Luce]] Collection (Burma)
* [[Jessie McLaren|McLaren]]-[[Rachel Human|Human]] Collection (Korea)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nla.gov.au/asian/form/documents/McLarenguide-final17-10-wholedoc.pdf |title=NLA.gov.au |access-date=30 May 2012}}</ref>
* [[Otley Beyer]] Collection (Philippines)
* [[Shozo Sakakibara|Sakakibara]] Collection (Japan)
* [[Sang Ye]] Collection (China)
* [[Walter Simon (sinologist)|Simon]] Collection (East Asia)
* [[Harold S. Williams]] Collection (Japan)
{{div col end}}

The Asian Collections are searchable via the National library's catalogue.<ref>[http://www.nla.gov.au/what-we-collect/asian Asian collections], National Library of Australia</ref>

===Pictures and manuscripts===
[[File:Preserving Archipelagus Orientalis.ogv|thumb|Discussion of the acquisition and preservation process of [[Joan Blaeu]]'s ''Archipelagus Orientalis'' (1663) by the National Library (2013)]]
The National Library holds an extensive collection of pictures and manuscripts. The manuscript collection contains about 26 million separate items, covering in excess of 10,492 metres of shelf space (ACA Australian Archival Statistics, 1998). The collection relates predominantly to Australia, but there are also important holdings relating to [[Papua New Guinea]], [[New Zealand]] and the [[Pacific Northwest|Pacific]]. The collection also holds a number of European and Asian manuscript collections or single items have been received as part of formed book collections.

The Australian manuscript collections date from the period of maritime exploration and settlement in the 18th century until the present, with the greatest area of strength dating from the 1890s onwards. The collection includes a large number of outstanding single items, such as the 14th century [[Chertsey]] [[Cartulary]], the journal of [[James Cook]] on [[HM Bark Endeavour]], inscribed on the Memory of the World<ref>{{cite web |url=http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=21308&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804195038/http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=21308&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 August 2009 |title=Portal.unesco.org |publisher=Portal.unesco.org |access-date=30 May 2012 }}</ref> Register in 2001, the diaries of [[Robert O'Hara Burke]] and [[William John Wills]] from the [[Burke and Wills expedition]], and [[Charles Kingsford Smith]]'s and [[Charles Ulm]]'s log of the Southern Cross.

A wide range of individuals and families are represented in the collection, with special strength in the fields of politics, public administration, diplomacy, theatre, art, literature, the pastoral industry and religion. Examples are the papers of [[Alfred Deakin]], Sir [[John Latham (judge)|John Latham]], Sir [[Keith Murdoch]], Sir [[Hans Heysen]], Sir [[John Monash]], [[Vance Palmer]] and [[Nettie Palmer]], [[A.D. Hope]], [[Manning Clark]], [[David Williamson]], [[Billy Hughes|W.M. Hughes]], Sir [[Robert Menzies]], Sir [[William McMahon]], [[Lord Casey]], [[Geoffrey Dutton]], [[Peter Sculthorpe]], [[Daisy Bates (Australia)|Daisy Bates]], [[Jessie Street]], and [[Eddie Mabo]] and [[James Cook]] both of whose papers were inscribed on [[UNESCO|UNESCO's]] [[Memory of the World Programme]] Register in 2001.<ref name=mowmabo>{{cite web |title=The Mabo Case Manuscripts |url=http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=21311&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919181415/http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=21311&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 September 2008 |date=16 May 2008 |publisher=UNESCO Memory of the World Programme |access-date=11 December 2009 }}</ref><ref name=mowcook>{{cite web |title=The Endeavour Journal of James Cook |url=http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=21308&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804195038/http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=21308&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 August 2009 |date=16 May 2008 |publisher=UNESCO Memory of the World Programme |access-date=11 December 2009 }}</ref> The [[Ray Mathew]] bequest provides for the Ray Mathew Lecture.<ref>{{cite web | title=Ray Mathew Lecture | website=National Library of Australia (NLA) | date=24 February 2023 | url=https://www.library.gov.au/flagship-lectures/ray-mathew-lecture | access-date=3 December 2025}}</ref>

The library has also acquired the records of many national non-governmental organisations. They include the records of the Federal Secretariats of the Liberal party, the [[Australian Labor Party|A.L.P]], the Democrats, the [[Returned and Services League of Australia|R.S.L.]], the [[Australian Inland Mission]], the [[Australian Union of Students]], The [[Australian Ballet]], the [[Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust]], the [[Australian Institute of Urban Studies]], [[Australian Industries Protection League]], the [[Australian Conservation Foundation]], and the [[Australian Council of National Trusts]]. Finally, the library holds about 37,000 reels of [[microfilm]] of manuscripts and archival records, mostly acquired overseas and predominantly of Australian and Pacific interest.

The National Library's Pictures collection focuses on Australian people, places and events, from European exploration of the South Pacific to contemporary events. Art works and photographs are acquired primarily for their informational value, and for their importance as historical documents.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nla.gov.au/collection-development-policy/pictures |title=National Library of Australia – Pictures Collection Development Policy |publisher=nla.gov.au |access-date=3 August 2012}}</ref>

Media represented in the collection include photographs, drawings, watercolours, oils, lithographs, engravings, etchings and sculpture/busts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nla.gov.au/what-we-collect/pictures |title=National Library of Australia – Pictures |publisher=nla.gov.au |access-date=3 August 2012}}</ref>

===Ephemera===
<!---redirects from PROMPT target this section--->
The library contains a large amount of printed [[ephemera]], collected since the early 1960s and also including older materials. These include minor publications, pamphlets, leaflets, invitations, cards, menus, [[advertising mail|junk mail]], as well as larger publications, such as [[theatre programme]]s or retail trade catalogues. They are selected based on certain key criteria, such as information content, design elements, period representation, and [[portraiture]]. They are divided into various types or topics.<ref name=ephemera/>

This group includes the Performing arts ephemera collection (PROMPT).<ref name=ephemera>{{cite web | title=Printed ephemera | website=National Library of Australia | url=https://www.nla.gov.au/collections/what-we-collect/printed-ephemera | access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref> Within the PROMPT collection, there are further divisions by person or topic, for instance the [[J. C. Williamson's|J.C. Williamson collection]] of theatre ephemera, and performers such as [[Dame Nellie Melba]] and [[Kylie Minogue]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Performing arts ephemera collection (PROMPT) | website=National Library of Australia | date=11 April 2019 | url=https://www.nla.gov.au/research-guides/performing-arts/prompt | access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref> Since around 2017, a team of volunteers has been using the PROMPT collection to add content to the [[AusStage]] database.<ref name=daniels2022>{{cite web | last=Daniels | first=Yole | title=The twists and turns of AusStage | website=National Library of Australia | date=13 September 2022 | url=https://www.nla.gov.au/stories/blog/twists-and-turns-ausstage | access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref> The J.C. Williamson Distributed Collection is held across six organisations: the NLA; [[Australian Performing Arts Collection]] in [[Melbourne]]; [[Mitchell Library (Australia)|Mitchell Library]] in Sydney; [[Queensland Performing Arts Centre]] Museum; Scenic Studios Australia Pty Ltd; and [[Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation]] Archives and Library collection.<ref>{{cite web | title=The J.C. Williamson Distributed Collection | website=Australian Memory of the World | url=http://www.amw.org.au/register/listings/jc-williamson-distributed-collection | access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref> Both AusStage and the J.C. Williamson Distributed Collection were added to the UNESCO Australian [[Memory of the World Register]] in 2021.<ref name=daniels2022/><ref>{{cite web | title=Australian Live Performance Database (AusStage) | website=Australian Memory of the World | url=http://www.amw.org.au/register/listings/australian-live-performance-database-ausstage | access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref>

[[File:National Library of Australia, ACT - perspective controlled.jpg|thumb]]

==Services==
The National Library of Australia provides a national leadership role in developing and managing collaborative online services with the Australian library community, making it easier for users to find and access information resources at the national level. It provides services to libraries, publishers and the general public, with membership available to residents of Australia providing access to additional services.<ref name=services>{{cite web | title=Services | website=National Library of Australia | date=23 March 2020 | url=https://www.nla.gov.au/our-services | access-date=10 May 2020 | archive-date=2 May 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502181446/https://www.nla.gov.au/our-services | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=using>{{cite web | title=Using the library | website=National Library of Australia | date=23 March 2020 | url=https://www.nla.gov.au/using-the-library | access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref>

Some of the components of the services are:<ref name=services/>
*For publishers:
**Prepublication Data Service,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nla.gov.au/content/prepublication-data-service|title=Prepublication Data Service &#124; National Library of Australia|website=www.nla.gov.au|access-date=9 August 2019}}</ref> [[ISSN]]s and [[ISMN]]s for Australian publishers.
**[[National edeposit]] (NED), to fulfill [[legal deposit]] obligations.<ref>{{cite web | title=Legal deposit | website=National Library of Australia | date=23 March 2020 | url=https://www.nla.gov.au/legal-deposit | access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref> NLA hosts and manages the service, whereby all [[born-digital]] content published in Australia, as required by legal deposit legislation under the ''Copyright Act 1968'', is deposited remotely by the publisher, stored and made accessible to member libraries and the public.<ref name=nlaar2.5/><ref name=nlsawork>{{cite web | title=Our work | website=National and State Libraries Australia | url=https://www.nsla.org.au/projects | access-date=3 May 2020 | archive-date=10 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610102729/https://www.nsla.org.au/projects | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=nlsaned>{{cite web | title=National edeposit (NED) | website=National and State Libraries Australia | date=30 May 2019 | url=https://www.nsla.org.au/ned | access-date=3 May 2020}}</ref><ref name=ned/>
*For librarians:
**The [[Australian National Bibliographic Database]] (ANBD)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nla.gov.au/librariesaustralia/databases.html#nbd |title=NLA.gov.au |publisher=NLA.gov.au |date=1 October 2007 |access-date=30 May 2012}}</ref> and offers free access through the Libraries Australia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au/ |title=NLA.gov.au |publisher=Libraries Australia |access-date=30 May 2012}}</ref> subscription-based service. It is used for reference, collection development, cataloguing and interlibrary lending.
**National Libraries Gateway.
*Online, for the general public:
**The [[Australian Web Archive]], which now incorporates [[PANDORA]] (established 1996), the Australian Government Web Archive (AWA) and the ".au" domain archive. 
** National Library of Australia Catalogue, a catalogue of resources in NLA which are available to the general public.<ref>{{cite web |title=Services |url=http://www.nla.gov.au/our-services |website=National Library of Australia |publisher=NLA.gov.au |access-date=1 February 2016}}</ref>
** Ask a Librarian for users in need of research assistance or general information about the National Library of Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ask a Librarian |url=https://www.nla.gov.au/using-library/getting-started/ask-librarian |access-date=13 July 2024 |website=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

===Trove===
[[File:Trove (NLA website) logo.svg|thumbnail|The Trove logo]]
{{main|Trove}}
The online services mentioned above, and more, are accessible via the Trove service, which was launched in 2009. Trove is an online library database aggregator, a centralised national service built with the collaboration of major libraries of Australia.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/28/2885063.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501162546/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/28/2885063.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 May 2010 |title=National Library unveils web-based treasure Trove |date=28 April 2010 |newspaper=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]}}</ref> Trove's most well known feature is the digitised collection of Australian newspapers. Most NLA resource discovery services are now fully integrated with Trove. The service is able to locate resources about Australia and Australians, which reaches many locations otherwise unavailable to external search engines.<ref name=stainforth>{{cite web | last=Stainforth | first=Liz|publisher=University of Melbourne | title=Treasuring Trove: Why Australia's digital heritage platform is so special | website=Pursuit | date=26 October 2018 | url=https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/treasuring-trove-why-australia-s-digital-heritage-platform-is-so-special | access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref>

=== Publishing ===
[[File:Autumn on Lake Burley Griffin.jpg|thumb|right|The library seen from Lake Burley Griffin in autumn.]]

The library produces non-fiction and children's books which explore the collections. These cover subjects including History, [[Natural history|Natural History]] and Art.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nla.gov.au/national-library-publishing|title=National Library of Australia Publishing|access-date=2021-05-31|website=nla.gov.au|language=en}}</ref> NLA Publishing has been a recipient of several [[Children's Book of the Year Award: Eve Pownall Award for Information Books|Eve Pownall Award for Information Books.]]

===Membership===
Free registration with the library is allowed for all Australian residents, with cards sent to a physical address before use is allowed. Membership confers some extra benefits for users of the library, such as requesting items for use onsite in the reading rooms, and access to a select range of licensed electronic resources from offsite, such as the full text of ''[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]]''.<ref>{{cite web | title=Get a library card | website=National Library of Australia | url=https://www.nla.gov.au/getalibrarycard/ | access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref> Electronic copies of some items are able to be ordered, and for members who can visit the library in person, [[inter-library loan]]s may be obtained to use in the [[Reference library|reading rooms]].<ref name="National Library of Australia 2020">{{cite web | title=Copies and interlibrary loans for individuals | website=National Library of Australia | date=23 March 2020 | url=https://www.nla.gov.au/our-services/copies-direct | access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref>

==Directors-General==
The following individuals have been appointed as Director-General or any precedent titles:
{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" 
|+Directors-General of the National Library of Australia
|-
! scope="col" | Ordinal
! scope="col" | Officeholder
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Term begin
! scope="col" | Term end
! scope="col" | Time in office
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|align=center|{{nts|1}} || [[Arthur Wadsworth]]|| Interim Commonwealth Parliamentary Librarian ||align=center|1901 ||align=center|1927 ||align=right|'''{{age in years|1901|1927}} years''' ||
|-
|align=center|{{nts|2}} || [[Kenneth Binns (Librarian)|Kenneth Binns]] {{post-nominals|country=AUS|CBE}} || Commonwealth Parliamentary Librarian ||align=center|1927 ||align=center|1947 ||align=right|{{age in years|1927|1947}} years ||
|-
|align=center|{{nts|3}} || [[Harold Leslie White]] {{post-nominals|country=AUS|CBE}} ||rowspan=2| National Librarian ||align=center|1947 ||align=center|1970 ||align=right|{{age in years|1947|1970}} years ||
|-
|align=center|{{nts|4}} || [[Allan Percy Fleming]] {{post-nominals|country=AUS|CBE}} ||align=center|1970 ||align=center|1974 ||align=right|{{age in years|1970|1974}} years ||
|-
|align=center|{{nts|5}} || [[George Chandler (librarian)|George Chandler]]|| rowspan="6" | Director-General ||align=center|1974 ||align=center|1980 ||align=right|{{age in years|1974|1980}} years ||
|-
|align=center|{{nts|6}} || [[Harrison Bryan]] {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AO}} ||align=center|1980 ||align=center|1985 ||align=right|{{age in years|1980|1985}} years ||
|-
|align=center|{{nts|7}} || [[Warren Horton]] {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}} ||align=center|1985 ||align=center|1999 ||align=right|{{age in years|1985|1999}} years ||
|-
|align=center|{{nts|8}} || [[Jan Fullerton]] {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AO}} ||align=center|1999 ||align=center|2010 ||align=right|{{age in years|1999|2010}} years || <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nla.gov.au/history-of-the-library |title=HISTORY OF THE LIBRARY |access-date=1 April 2015 |website=National Library of Australia |archive-date=1 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701043938/https://www.nla.gov.au/history-of-the-library |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nla.gov.au/events/showevent.html?q=56599 |title=Friends Farewell Jan Fullerton |date=15 September 2010 |publisher=National Library of Australia |access-date=29 September 2010}}</ref>
|-
|align=center|{{nts|9}} || [[Anne-Marie Schwirtlich]] ||align=center|2011 ||align=center|2017 ||align=right|{{age in years|2011|2017}} years || <ref>[http://www.nla.gov.au/library-council/schwirtlich Library Council Director-General and Executive Member Anne-Marie Schwirtlich], National Library of Australia  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327220612/http://www.nla.gov.au/library-council/schwirtlich |date=27 March 2012 }} [https://web.archive.org/web/20120327220612/http://www.nla.gov.au/library-council/schwirtlich Archived]</ref>
|-
|align=center|{{nts|10}} || [[Marie-Louise Ayres]] ||align=center|2017 ||align=center|''present'' ||align=right|{{age in years|2017-03-02}} years || <ref>[http://www.nla.gov.au/library-council/mayres Director-General and Executive Member Dr Marie-Louise Ayres], National Library of Australia</ref>
|}

==Funding problems==
In 2016, with threatened [[Trove#Budget cuts|funding cuts to Trove]], a public campaign led to a government commitment of {{AUD|16.4}} million in December 2016, spread over four years.<ref name=stainforth/><ref>{{cite web | last=Villiers | first=Annelie de | title=#FundTROVE | website=Identity & Archives | date=23 February 2016 | url=https://anneliedevilliers.com/2016/02/23/fundtrove/ | access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref>

By early 2020, with the surge in demand for all types of digital services, the National Library was having to cope with increasingly dwindling staff resources to develop services on Trove and National edeposit, and undertook a restructure of its staffing and operations.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rollins |first=Adrian |date=28 February 2020 |title=Job cuts a 'live possibility' in National Library of Australia restructure |url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6653043/job-cuts-a-live-possibility-in-national-library-restructure/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240531041842/https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6653043/job-cuts-a-live-possibility-in-national-library-restructure/ |archive-date=31 May 2024 |access-date=9 May 2020 |website=The Canberra Times}}</ref>

== Web accessibility ==
On September 2025, the website of the {{Label}} was tested for conformance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), in its version {{wikidata|qualifier|P1552|P5009}}, using {{cite Q|Q136356968}} as evaluation platform, which, in turn, uses {{cite Q|Q136357132}} as automated web accessibility evaluation tool (AWAET).

The website of {{Label}} obtained a score of  {{wikidata|qualifier|P1552|P5022}}  out of 10. This is known as {{wikidata|qualifier|P1552|P1932}} provided by {{wikidata|qualifier|P1552|P138}}, which, in turn, uses {{wikidata|qualifier|P1552|P1547}}. The test was taken on {{wikidata|qualifier|P1552|P585}} as part of a research on web accessibility of national libraries around the world.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/2rpn9vhwct/1|title=Web accessibility evaluation of National Libraries and ISBN Agencies - September 2025|first=Pastor|last=Nso Mangue|chapter=World Wide Web |date=25 September 2025|volume=1|publisher=Mendeley Data |via=data.mendeley.com|doi=10.17632/2rpn9vhwct.1}}</ref>

This result means that the website of {{Label}} can be considered accessible, if the threshold is stabilised as 8 out of 10. However efforts still need to be made to achieve full compliance with web accessibility directives.

This section is added to this page in order to raise awareness about the web accessibility barriers faced by persons with disabilities that limit them to equally enjoying the Web. Web accessibility is considered basic human right by the '''Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-persons-disabilities|title=Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities|website=OHCHR}}</ref> from the [[United Nations]] (UN).

==See also==
{{stack|{{Portal|Australia|Architecture}}}}
* [[List of national and state libraries]]
* [[National and State Libraries Australia]] 
* [[Parliamentary Triangle, Canberra]]
* [[Parliamentary Library of Australia]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

'''Attribution'''
* {{AHD-CC|id=105470|name=National Library of Australia and Surrounds, Parkes Pl, Parkes, ACT, Australia|fileno=8/01/000/0073|year=2004|accessdate=18 May 2020}}

=== Bibliography ===
*{{cite book |editor=Cliff, Paul |title=A different view: the National Library of Australia and its building art |publisher=National Library of Australia |date=2004 }}
*{{cite book |editor=Cochrane, Peter |title=Remarkable occurrences: the National Library of Australia's first 100 years 1901-2001 |publisher=National Library of Australia |date=2001 }}
*{{cite book |author1=Garnett, Rodney |author2=Hyndes, Danielle |title=The Heritage of the Australian Capital Territory |publisher=[[National Trust of Australia]] (ACT) |location=Canberra |year=1992 }} 
*{{cite journal |author1=Rickard, S. |date=1999 |title=A Distinguished Building |journal=National Library of Australia News |publisher=National Library of Australia }} 
*{{cite book |author1=Scarlett, Ken |title=Australian Architecture Since 1960 |publisher=[[Australian Institute of Architects|RAIA]] |year=1990 }} 
*{{cite book |author1=Zimmer, Jenny |title=Stained Glass in Australia |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1984 }}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikidata property |1=P409}}
* [http://www.nla.gov.au/ National Library of Australia]
* [http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/ National Library of Australia Catalogue]
* [https://publishing.nla.gov.au/pages/home.do NLA Publishing]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040603110656/http://scaletext.law.gov.au/html/pasteact/1/761/top.htm National Library Act 1960] 
* [http://www.nla.gov.au/libraries/ Australian Libraries Gateway]
* [http://www.nla.gov.au/ilrs/ Australian Interlibrary Resource Sharing Directory]
* [http://era.nla.gov.au/ Electronic Resources Australia (ERA)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812043604/http://era.nla.gov.au/ |date=12 August 2013 }}
* [http://www.nla.gov.au/policy-and-planning/preservation-policy NLA Preservation Policy ]
* [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ Trove]
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-593564 National Library of Australia] National Library of Australia, ''Trove, People and Organisation'' record for National Library of Australia
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-630998 Commonwealth National Library (Australia)] National Library of Australia, ''Trove, People and Organisation'' record for Commonwealth National Library (Australia)
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-622365 Commonwealth Parliament Library (Australia)] National Library of Australia, ''Trove, People and Organisation'' record for Commonwealth Parliament Library (Australia)

{{Canberra landmarks}}
{{Lake Burley Griffin}}
{{Oceania topic|prefix=National Library of | title=[[National library|National libraries]] of Oceania}}
{{Authority control}}
{{AU-state-libs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Library Of Australia}}
[[Category:National Library of Australia| ]]
[[Category:1960 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Archives in Australia]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia]]
[[Category:Libraries in Canberra]]
[[Category:National libraries|Australia]]
[[Category:Libraries established in 1960]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Canberra]]
[[Category:Deposit libraries]]
[[Category:Sound archives in Australia]]
[[Category:Art museums and galleries in Canberra]]
[[Category:Museums in Canberra]]
[[Category:Music archives]]
[[Category:Music museums in Australia]]
[[Category:Library buildings completed in 1968]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Heritage List places in the Australian Capital Territory]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Research libraries in Australia]]