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The Library is open over the October long weekend, with reduced hours on Monday 2 October 2023. View the long weekend opening hours here.

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

Accessing the collection

Getting started at the Library

Multilingual information and services

Magazines, newspapers, dictionaries and websites to read in various languages.

Researching from home

Access a large range of online resources including databases, specialist websites and research guides.

Researching your family history

Explore your family history using the Library's diverse and extensive collections and get help from the Library's specialist staff.

Special Collections

Requesting original material and rare printed material from the Library's special collections. 

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

Significant collections These are unique and highly valued specific collections.

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

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

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.