Offer collection material to the Library
The Library welcomes offers of collection material from individuals and organisations. Your offer can help us to fill gaps in our collections, and expand our resources.
What we collect
We are pleased to receive offers of both physical and digital material that build and enhance our Victorian and Australian collections; Arts and Popular Culture collections; History of the Book collections; and World collections, including the following:
- Books: Victorian and Australian
- Books: world
- Manuscripts, diaries, letters and archives
- Pictures, paintings and photographs
- Maps and charts
- Magazines, journals and newspapers
- Architectural drawings
- Objects, ephemera and realia
- Comics, graphic novels and zines
- Printed and recorded music.
Find out more about our collections
During more than 150 years of energetic collecting, we have built a vast and diverse collection on almost every subject you can think of – from children's books to war history; from plants and gardens to sport and games. Explore our collections by theme.
As well as holding one of Australia's largest newspaper collections, we collect photographs, maps, manuscripts and artefacts, and material in digital and multimedia formats. Explore our collections by format.
Make an offer
If you would like to offer collection material to the Library, please complete our online form.
You can check your offer's progress, or amend or cancel it after you've submitted it, by completing our Check existing offer form.
We aim to contact you within ten working days of receiving your offer. Please do not send items to the Library before we have contacted you to discuss your offer.
Assessing offers, including donations & cultural gifts
Offers of material are assessed by our collection specialists according to the principles outlined in our Collections Strategy.
Donations are also assessed according to the guidelines of our Collection policy.
If you donate valuable items, such as unique historical material or rare books, you may be eligible to receive a tax deduction under the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program. Our Collection policy outlines the Library's terms for accepting collection material under this program.
Does the Library accept donations on the spot?
Unfortunately we can’t accept donations that are brought into the Library on the spot. This is because we need time to examine and consider an offer, and make sure it fits in with our current collecting priorities.
Check out our collection offers page for the best way to submit a donation to us.
Please don’t send donations to us until we’ve agreed to accept them, as we’re not able to return them to you.
Legal deposit
By law, publishers must supply the State Library with a copy of new items published in Victoria, including books, CDs, DVDs and brochures. Find out more about legal deposit.