The National Library opened on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin in 1968. It has since been growing its collections and services and has become a prestigious establishment for event hire in Canberra.  

A grandness comes over you when you walk through the main entrance, to your left you’ll find a bookshop with that comforting new book smell; on your right the eye-catching mosaics which window the award-winning Bookplate café; and directly ahead the doors which unlock years of history.

Throughout the day an office crowd with laptops fills the room looking for somewhere inspiring to get work done away from the office. Come 3pm you’ll see a shift in audience with students flooding the halls eager to take advantage of the resources and research tools.  

Offering more than a vast catalogue of books, pictures, manuscripts, oral histories, maps and other treasures, the Library also hosts exhibitions, galleries, events, offers free tours and is home to Bookplate café and the Bookshop.