For the next 4 weeks, the Library is one of 20 locations hosting contemporary mixed media artworks as part of the Canberra Art Biennial.

A large collection of glass negatives, papers and photographs dating mostly from 1904 to 1940 depicting many aspects of Australian life and architecture

Ian 'Spike' Farrawell recently donated a set of his Australia Post mailbag card designs to the Library.

Take a look at some of the postcards we hold from the first half of the twentieth century and the messages they were sent with.

The National Library has recently acquired a rare portrait miniature of Sir Thomas Brisbane, the sixth Governor of New South Wales.

While the National Library of Australia is the custodian of millions of books, among its treasures are items that show how books were made.

The National Library has a large collection of sculptures built into and around the building, and beautiful tapestries hanging in our foyer.

The Main Reading Room houses a collection of sculptures and paintings inspired by Indigenous stories of the Australian landscape.

The Special Collections Reading Room houses art relating to Australian history and culture in the post-colonial era, focusing on modern Australian people and places.

Drawings, sketches, plans and photographs of Australian colonial architecture, pencil drawings of ancient buildings from China and Greece, drawings and sketches for a proposed "ideal city" of Kurrajong, drawings and sketches of furniture designs, personal papers.

715 Chinese and Japanese books. Most date from the period 1911-1940, but there are some much earlier works. The main subject areas are Chinese art, epigraphy, archaeology and early history of the Chinese script. Other subjects include classical writings, Buddhism and Taoism, myths and legends.