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
Monday 25 2019
Building a responsive collection for your school library
Monday 25 2019
Developing digital literacy in your school
Wednesday 06 2019
Ocean: tales of voyaging and encounter that defined New Zealand
Tuesday 12 2019
Life as a novel: a biography of Maurice Shadbolt
Wednesday 13 2019
Disability Rights: Historic and contemporary views
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.
Change to our hours
We are changing our hours from
2 March 2019.
The National Library including the Reading Rooms will be open on Saturday, 9am to 1pm.
Researchers, plan your visit and order items you want to use on Saturday by 4pm Friday.
Haere mai
More about our change of 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. And more.
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!
