What we collect
Overseas books
See also: General collections
Although the acquisition of Australian books is the Library's highest priority we also acquire a significant number of overseas books designed to provide an understanding of world events and issues. Overseas collecting is primarily directed toward Europe and North America, although there are notable strengths for the Asia-Pacific region. The Library's Collection Development Policy explains the direction of its current collecting efforts. During the last few years, the Library has increasingly sought to provide access to electronic resources.
The overseas book collection has had a consistently strong emphasis on the social sciences: economics, law, politics and government. The National Library also is a depository library for the publications of a wide range of international organisations, international governments and inter-governmental organisations. The monograph collection is predominantly in English, but there is also an impressive range of other languages represented.
