Nov 21, 2008

Using the Launceston Library's Reference Collections


Opening hours:

Monday - Thursday
9.30am - 6.00pm

Friday
9.30am - 7.00pm

Saturday
9.30am - 2.00pm

Librarians are on hand to answer your queries and guide your search for information.

Catalogue

To find items held by the State Library consult the on-line catalogue TALIS

Reference and Information

Enquiries for ready reference information are dealt with on the spot. Enquiries needing a longer search are recorded, and answered as quickly as possible.
Reservations can be made for reference books from the State Reference Library and other city libraries.

Referral

To answer queries, staff make use of many sources, both within and beyond the State Library. Enquirers may also be referred to outside information sources.

Inter-Library Loan

Material not held by the State Library is accessible through lending arrangements with libraries interstate and overseas. Such material may be consulted at the reference library, or photocopies of articles, etc. can be obtained for a standard charge.  More information on charges.

Copying

While items from the collection may not be borrowed, there are photocopying facilities at the library. Bound newspapers may not be photocopied, but photographic prints are available on request. Prints can be made from microfilm and microfiche. There are standard charges for these services.  More information on charges.

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Resource Collection

The library's resources are continually updated to meet the needs of the whole community, as well as special interest users such as business people, students and researchers.

Resources include:

General Information
  • Books, magazines and newsletters;  
  • Tasmanian and interstate newspapers;
  • encyclopedias and dictionaries;
  • maps and atlases;
  • CD ROMs;
  • State Library internet terminals;
  • free access to journals and databases online; 
       - and much more.
Government Information
  • Parliamentary and government publications;
  • Australian Bureau of Statistics publications;
  • Tasmanian electoral rolls.  
Historical and Genealogical Information
  • Convict, census and immigration records;
  • birth, death and marriage indexes for Tasmania and all other States;
  • church records;
  • newspaper indexes
  • free online access to ancestry databases. 

For more information see our publications page.
All family and local history guides are available for purchase.

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The Local Studies Collection

This collection specialises in all kinds of Tasmanian information - both historical and contemporary.

  • Its resources include:
  • A collection of nineteenth and twentieth century Tasmanian books, newspapers and periodicals, maps and government reports
  • A manuscripts collection, which includes personal and business papers of many prominent people and organisations
  • A pictures collection, with more than 16,000 photographs of people and places in Launceston and northern Tasmania
  • An ephemera collection, which holds items such as programmes for concerts, plays and sporting events.

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The Victorian and Edwardian Collection

This collection contains books and periodicals published in the period 1800-1914. Fiction and non-fiction are included, and there is an interesting collection of children's literature.  The V & E Popular Fiction section is now catalogued and can be browsed by author's name.