State Reference Library

The State Reference Library provides reference library services to the Tasmanian community and visitors. Internet and email access are available, and there is a study area and a magazine browsing area. The collection consists of over 200,000 books, many local and international newspapers, maps, electronic resources, magazines, journals and newsletters. The Reference Library also holds family history resources and many government publications, including Tasmanian and Commonwealth legislation, parliamentary papers and gazettes.

Dictionaries, encyclopaedias, biographical indexes, business and trade directories, telephone directories and workshop service manuals are some of the many other items available.  If the State Library does not hold a copy of the item you are after, we may be able to obtain it from an interstate or overseas library through the Document Delivery service.

The State Reference Library provides access to current information and selectively retains information of enduring value. The collections provide future historians with valuable social history and cultural information.

Many of our books, serials and other materials are housed away from the Reference Library in a separate area known as the Stack. You can identify Stack, Pamphlet and serial items by looking them up in the Library's catalogue, TALIS. If your item is located in one of these collections you simply need to fill in a Stack Request Form and our staff will fetch it for you within thirty minutes.

To avoid this wait, you may use our retrieval form . All we need is one hour's notice and we will have your stack request waiting for you when you arrive.

The State Reference Library is situated on the 2nd floor of the State Library of Tasmania building at 91 Murray Street, Hobart and is accessible by public and private transport. A small car park is located underneath the library for short-term visitors. There is a public car park opposite the library in Bathurst Street, which is accessed from Melville Street.

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Contact information