Research and Collections

Explore the rich resources of your Library

Research and Collections

Crop of Wendy Sharpes painting of the Mitchell Library

Try the new catalogue

A powerful single search tool to discover material from the Library's collections.

Start exploring

Other places to find what you are looking for

Eresources

Find full-text articles, newspapers and images.

 

Ebooks

Go directly to a list of ebooks in the Catalogue.

 

Old catalogue

Access previously saved searches and bookmarks.

 

Provisional Manuscripts, Oral History and Pictures

Search includes collection hierarchies and image thumbnails.

 

Accessing the collection

Getting started at the Library

Get a Library card

With a Library card you can request books and other collection material to use in the Library, access eresources and book a study room.

Using the Library

Find out how to use the Library and access our collection. 

Research guides

Guides to help you find key resources from the collection.

 

Ask a Librarian

Need help with your research or finding the right resource? Have a question that you can’t find the answer to? Ask a Librarian!

About our collections The collection is large, diverse and surprising! Learn about the distinct collections that we nurture for current and future generations.

David Scott Mitchell Library

The David Scott Mitchell Library is home to a vast and unique collection of Australian and Pacific artefacts

Mitchell Library stamp

Sir William Dixson Collection

The Dixson collection is one of world's most extensive Australiana collections, made up of books, relics and fascinating curios

State Reference Library collection

An extensive and growing collection of Australian and international books and materials.

Illustration of books advertising the Sydney public Library

Eresources collection

Access online over 300 resources including databases, ejournals and ebooks.

People at desk with laptop from above

Significant collections These are unique and highly valued specific collections.

Richardson Collection

This is a unique collection of early bibles, medieval manuscripts and early printed works

Illustration of Christ and saints

Donald MacPherson Collection of Art and Literature

The Library’s Donald MacPherson collection contains books on pure literature and fine art.

Three books piled ontop of each other

World War I collection

The Library began collecting the personal diaries and correspondence of men and women who served in the First World War soon after the Armistice was declared in November 1918.

Photograph of leather bound journals and diaries

First Fleet Collection

The First Fleet Collection includes journals, letters, drawings, maps and charts created by those who travelled with the First Fleet of British ships to Australia. It is one of the Library’s most significant and valuable collections.

Gather: connecting Aboriginal communities with collections and stories

An innovative space for Aboriginal communities to connect with their cultural heritage.

Indigenous Languages Collection

The State Library of NSW holds significant language documentation related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

TAL & Dai-ichi Life (Earl of Derby) Collection

The Earl of Derby collection is six volumes of stunning natural history watercolours of Australian flora and fauna.

Sir Joseph Banks Papers, 1767-1822

The Joseph Banks collection includes journals, correspondence, letters received, reports, invoices and accounts, and some maps, charts and watercolours.

A portrait of the young Joseph Banks in cloak

Angus & Robertson Collection

The Angus & Robertson collections chart the development of Australian literature, providing extensive and valuable resources for the study of Australian writing and publishing.

Robbins Magic Collection

This rare collection gives an insight into the golden age of magic and conjurery

Shakespeare Folios

The four Shakespeare Folios are one of the most important collections in the Library. These are the earliest texts of William Shakespeare's work, published in the 17th century.

Subdivision plans

The Library has a large collection of real estate or subdivision plans dating from the 1860s to the 1950s. These plans show the expansion of suburbs in Sydney and regional New South Wales as large tracts of land were divided into smaller plots.

Advertisement for sale of railway bridge Como

George Morrison Collection

A comprehensive collection of the personal papers of a remarkable Australian also known as 'Morrison of Peking'.

Illustration of soldiers shooting peasants in red caps

Holtermann Collection

The Holtermann Collection of 3,500 glass plate negatives from the 1870s has been recognised in the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World register.

Cervantes Collection

The Cervantes collection was gathered over 30 years by Dr Ben Haneman. The collection includes over 1100 editions of Don Quixote, and hundreds of additional works on Cervantes

Front page of book La Mancha

Fairfax Business Archive

The recently acquired Fairfax Media business archive tells the history of an iconic Australian Company. 

The main library of John Fairfax & Sons in Hunter Street, Sydney, cir. 1930

Social Media Archive

Collecting digital material to provide a documentary record of life in New South Wales

Social media archive- emotion flower

Red Cross Archive

Red Cross nurses

Sir William Dixson numismatic collection

Over the course of his lifetime the wealthy Sydney businessman Sir William Dixson (1870–1952) amassed one of the finest numismatic collections in Australia.

LGBTQI+ collections

Explore highlights from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex collections. 

Item 22: Parade participants with 'Respect', 'Love' and 'Diversity' signs, 4 March 2006 / photograph by Geoff Friend

Building our collections What we collect and how we care for and share the Library's collections.

What the Library collects

The Library collects material that documents life in New South Wales, from the earliest times to the present day. 

Books on shelf with bookmarks behind plastic

Acquisitions and donations

The Library is constantly expanding its collections and considers offers of material.

Old books and parchments

Suggestion for purchase

The Library welcomes your suggestions for purchase for the Library collection.

Contemporary collecting priorities

The Library adds thousands of items to the collection every year. Some of the most valued additions are acquired from members of the community. 

Item 22: Parade participants with 'Respect', 'Love' and 'Diversity' signs, 4 March 2006 / photograph by Geoff Friend

Caring for the collections

The Collections Care branch carries out vital work in preserving, restoring and maintaining the Library's rich collections.

Hands picking at strands of paper on map

Digitising the Library’s collections

Digitising its most iconic collections and renewing the Library’s underlying infrastructure and systems.

Digital Excellence Digitising

Legal deposit

All NSW publishers are required to deposit their publications with the Library.

books

The Diary Files

The Diary Files collects vignettes from the everyday lives of the people of NSW and beyond. 

The Diary Files

Research & Engagement We actively foster the use, scholarship, and significance of the collections.

Scholar Talks

Scholar Talks  is a series of events that gives a forum for researchers to exchange ideas and learn about some of the many other research projects being pursued at the Library

Search a selection of transcripts

Search  the transcripts of the World War 1 diaries, James Cook's diaries, Joseph Banks papers, Macarthur Family papers. 

Handwritten letters on two pages yellowed manuscript

Digital volunteering

By participating in one of our digital projects you will be contributing to the improvement and  enrichment of our collections.

Group of musicians gathered in Nimbin

Open data: create with the collections

The Library would love to hear from creative digital thinkers with great and innovative ideas that use our collections.

Group of people in conference room using laptops

Critics’ Picks

There are over 2,000 new books to browse and read in our Critics’ Picks section onsite.

Explore your Library at home.

Hand holding up book titled 'Fun at Home' with book shelves in the background

Specialist websites

Resources of interest for specific communities.

Find Legal Answers

A free legal information service for the New South Wales community. This service is co-ordinated by staff of the Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC).

Young woman looking at a collection of books

Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary is a website about the history of Sydney, created in collaboration with hundreds of historians, local librarians, specialists and institutions.

Gather: connecting Aboriginal communities with collections and stories

An innovative space for Aboriginal communities to connect with their cultural heritage.

Drug Info

Find up-to-date information about alcohol and drugs. The website is regularly updated by specialist staff at the State Library of New South Wales in consultation with experts in the field.

Drug Info Poster White version image

Rediscovering Indigenous Languages

The Rediscovering Indigenous Languages project aims to make accessible the rich archival collections of the State Library of New South Wales. The site features historic word lists, records and other documents relating to Indigenous Australian languages.

Painting by numbers: the works of Ferdinand Bauer

Explore the work of Bauer (1760 – 1826), an Austrian botanical illustrator, held to be the greatest natural history painter of all time – and certainly the greatest to have worked in Australia.