Courtyard closures
As part of the Library's Vision 2020 redevelopment work, the Family History & Newspapers and Arts reading rooms will be closed from Friday 24 August to Thursday 20 September.
During this time, collection material, equipment and desks in these rooms will be unavailable. In many cases, alternative online or onsite access is available. For full details, see our research guide.
The reading rooms will reopen on Friday 21 September in beautiful new spaces in the Library's redeveloped eastern galleries.
The Library is the perfect place to explore your family history. We offer a wealth of expertise and information for experienced family historians and those just starting out on the journey, including newspapers, letters, diaries and manuscripts, maps, passenger lists and electoral rolls.
As a starting point, some of our most popular resources are listed below, but you should also drop into the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust Family History Reading Room to talk with our expert staff. You'll find all the inspiration and resources you need to research your family's past.
More to explore
- Researching your Victorian ancestors
- Victorian immigration and emigration
- Australians in World War I
- Researching British ancestors
- Researching multicultural ancestors
- Adoption and forgotten Australians
- Finding articles in newspapers
- Read our family history FAQ
- See our family history eresources
- Finding families – start to build your own family tree with the help of our informative workshop
- Watch our Family History Feast 2017 presentations
- Watch our Family History Feast 2016 presentations
- Watch our Family History Feast 2015 presentations
- Hear our Family History Feast 2014 presentations
- Interested in local history? Browse our images of Fitzroy and Castlemaine from the 1970s
