Accessibility
Access to our research and information services and the Library building. We also have information about website accessibility.
Please check our COVID-Safe visit information before you visit us at the Library.
Entrances
You can access the Library foyer, Main Reading Room and exhibition galleries through automatic doors. All other areas on the Ground Floor, including the Bookshop and Bookplate café, are accessible through open doorways.
There are 15 stone steps leading to the front entrance. The steps have hand rails that are lit at night. Eight accessible car spaces are available in the carpark off Parkes Place on the south side of the building. Signage and road markers will show these areas.
Artwork in the Main Reading Room
The National Library of Australia s Main Reading Room houses a collection of sculptures and paintings inspired by Indigenous stories of the Australian landscape.
Australian Landscapes I–IV
Australian Landscapes I–IV 2000 ca.1998 ; 4 machine-embroidered tapestries, Main Reading Room
Since 2001, four machine-embroidered panels by British textile artist Alice Kettle have been displayed in the Main Reading Room. Kettle estimates she used 5 million stitches over a period of 18 months to create the panels. Many of the fine threads are made from synthetic rayon and cotton. They ‘capture the luminescence of the shifting light and the brilliance of the landscape’.
The
Lintel Sculpture is spread in monumental proportions above the exterior of the Library’s front doors. Comprising over 3 tonnes of copper, the sculpture was transported in 3 trucks to the Library, where the pieces were welded together on site.
The work is based on allegorical symbols based on ancient Sumerian and Akkadian seals dating back to 3000 BC. At the centre is the winged sun, symbolising enlightenment and inspired truth. On the right are spear-like tree branches representing the source root and continuous growth of knowledge. On the left is the curved ark of knowledge, referring to the Library’s place in collective memory and preservation of intellectual endeavour.
Description of the collection
The Library actively collects new publications from Timor Leste, including books, journals, newspapers and government publications. There are good historical collections on Portuguese Timor and a substantial collection relating to the Indonesian province of Timor Timur. These materials include Indonesian government publications, statistics and reports.
Use of the East Timor collection
The East Timor collection is housed the Library’s main collection and can be requested for use in the Main Reading Room. Remote users may request material on interlibrary loan through their own library, or request photocopies of items through the Copies Direct service.
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Policy statement
The National Library of Australia is the country s largest reference library. Our role is to ensure that documentary resources of national significance relating to Australia and the Australian people, as well as significant non-Australian library materials, are collected, preserved and made accessible either through the Library itself or through collaborative arrangements with other libraries and information providers.
The Library’s exhibiting role is mandated by the National Library Act 1960 Section 6 which requires the Library:
(b) to make library material in the national collection available to such persons and institutions, and in such manner and subject to such conditions, as the Council determines with a view to the most advantageous use of that collection in the national interest;