Using the Special Collections Reading Room

The National Library of Australia’s special collections include rare books and journals, artworks, photographs, maps, sheet music, oral history recordings, manuscript papers, ephemera and more. This material can be accessed in the Special Collections Reading Room on Lower Ground 1 of the Library building.

This guide provides information on how you can request, access and use these collections.

To protect the unique collection materials used in the room please note that bags, food and drink are not permitted in the Special Collections Reading Room. These and other large objects such as umbrellas can be stored in our free self-service lockers on Lower Ground 1.

Opening hours and delivery times

The Special Collections Reading Room is open Monday to Thursday 10am-8pm, Friday to Saturday 10am-5pm and is closed on Sundays and public holidays. See our opening hours page for full details.

Collection material is delivered to the Special Collections Reading Room three times each weekday based on a cut off time for submitting a request. See our collection delivery times page for further details.

Due to major building activity at the Library, 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. 

Room facilities

Facilities within the Special Collections Reading Room includes:

• free wifi and computers with internet and Microsoft Office suite
• copying facilities for use with selected collection materials
• equipment to listen to Oral History and Folklore recordings
• a reference book collection curated to support the use of our unique collections
• indexes, finding aids and guides to assist with requesting and using collections

The Petherick Reading Room is co-located within the Special Collections Reading Room and provides a dedicated space for readers undertaking intensive research.