Australian Manuscripts

Visited by appointment only, this is where the Australian Manuscripts Collection is accessioned, catalogued and sent elsewhere to be stored.

Where is Australian Manuscripts?

To visit Australian Manuscripts, you must first make your way to the Redmond Barry Reading Room then, as you enter, head for the double glass doors on the left. Ring the bell and a member of staff will let you in. The exact location of this room is clearly identified on the Library floor plan.

What's in this room?

Built originally as a picture gallery, this elegantly proportioned room houses a range of collection reference material, hand-written catalogues, provenance files and descriptions of items in the collection.

While most items ordered from the Australian Manuscripts Collection are viewed in the Heritage Collections Reading Room, if you have specific research needs some material may be retrieved from storage and delivered to the Australian Manuscripts room.

Reception desk and public consultation area

The reception desk separates the administrative section of the room from the public consultation area where there is a large reading table and a card catalogue of items that are unavailable online. This area has been set aside for visitors who want to use the collection-specific resources in the room or consult with a specialist member of staff.

When is this room open?

Australian Manuscripts has set opening hours when members of the public can make an appointment to talk to one of our specialist librarians or consult material in the room.