National Library of Australia
Australia has gained a special place in the heart of many travelers. Australia as a whole has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in whole of the world. It is a land stuffed with beauty. There are many beautiful places in Australia; some are natural while some are made by man himself. These places are proud of the country. One such place is the National Library of Australia.
The library is magnificent. This is the largest reference library in Australia. In the year 2012–2013, the National Library of Australia’s collection flaunted 6,496,772 items and 15,506 metres of manuscript material.
Location of National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia is located on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, the capital city of Australia.
History of National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia is working as a National Library and not as a Parliamentary Library. The library started after the National Library Act 1960 was passed. The magnificent building of this library was designed by Bunning and Madden’s architectural firm. The building was opened in the year 1968.
Attributes
The library comprises the biggest collection of books related to the country Australia and the people related to Australia. The vast collection of this library consists of various formats of materials, like books, websites, journals, manuscripts, pictures, maps, photographs, oral history recordings, music, manuscript papers, ephemera and what not.
Around 92.1% of the collection of this library has been cataloged and it can be discovered by the online catalog. As much as 174,000 items of this library have been digitized.
The library has an enormous collection of material about the Australians, by Australians and for Australians. The collection is in forms of books, newspapers, serials, music, posters, ephemera and online publications. It also contains the un-printed manuscripts, oral history and pictures.
The library also features a rare book collection from overseas. There is also an amazing Pacific and Asian collection. The library also has the National Reserve Braille Collection.
The Australian National Library also flaunts the biggest developing research resource on Asia in this country as well as the largest collection of the Asian languages like- Burmese, Chinese, Indonesian, Persian, Japanese, Korean, Khmer, Lao, Mongolian, Manchu, Thai, Vietnamese and Timorese.
Things To Do
If you are in the library, make it a point to see the Exhibition Gallery, where you will get to see a range of exhibitions featuring beautiful items from both, the collection of the library and from other parts of the world. The reading rooms are large for reading and research.
The library also hosts many vibrant programs like behind-the-scenes tours, musical performances, film screenings as well as author talks especially for the visitors. The visitors of any age will have a great time in this library.
If you feel hungry going around the library, you can relish the culinary delights on offer at the cafés bookplate and paper plate.
The library is magnificent and has an unbelievably huge collection. It is not meant for just for adults but, the readers from any age can have a great time in this library.
Have you ever gone to National Library located on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra? It has biggest collection of books related to culture, history etc. of Australia. Please share your experience and fun you had here or leave a comment below.
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