Use the Library
Researchers
Start your research at the Alexander Turnbull Library
Librarians
Use Te Puna and National Library services
Publishers & Authors
Get an ISBN, a record, and advice about Legal Deposit
Schools
Support for school libraries and learning
Business
The information you need, quickly and easily
Image search
Browse and search half a million digital images
Papers Past
Millions of pages of historic NZ newspapers
Subscription e-resources
Search electronic resources from around the world
PublicationsNZ
Search everything published in New Zealand
Donate to the collections
Donate items to the Library collections
Borrowing for an exhibition
You can borrow items to use in public exhibitions.
Upcoming events
Saturday 26 2019
New Zealand Cartoonist and Comics Artist Wikipedia Edit-a-thon
Thursday 31 2019
What Wikipedia means for libraries and archives
Wednesday 06 2019
Waitangi Day — Poetry with Brownies
Wednesday 06 2019
Waitangi Day — Tākarokaro Kid’s Event
Wednesday 06 2019
Waitangi Day – He Tohu guided experience
See events
Flickr Commons
Free to download and use
Download high-res collection images and use them however you want.
Get advice
Become an oral historian
Oral history advice and workshops to get you started, or hone your skills.
Summer hours
Our summer hours are effective until 23 February.
The Reading Rooms on the first floor will be closed on Saturdays.
The National Library, including the net.work space and Home café will be open from 9am to 1pm Saturdays.
More about our summer hours
Lilies
Performed by Irene Ainsley, New Zealand contralto, with piano.
A recently digitised gem from New Zealand’s musical past.
Music collections
Tiakiwai Conference Centre
Talk to us about your event
Bring people together in a conference centre cloaked in history, knowledge and cultural significance.
Preservation advice
Look after special items
Learn how to take care of your precious photographs, books, and digital documents with advice from the National Preservation Office.
Interloan
Our books in your hands
Get National Library materials sent to your local library by making an interloan request.
Our strategic directions
Turning knowledge into value: this is the National Library's strategic direction to 2030.
See how we're aiming for big changes in taonga, knowledge, and reading.
Read the strategy
T is for Tumblr
Turnbull Ephemera
Beautiful and unique posters, prints, and other materials from daily life.
Turnbull Rare Books
Gorgeous manuscripts, intricate fine printing, and other wonderful objects.
Open data
Build new things
Data sets and API access to metadata for millions of records. Grab it and see what you can make!
