Library Tours

State Library of NSW

These tours are booked directly with the library. Please register using the links below.
Note: All tours involve significant walking.

• 9am – Reading room services at the State Library 
• 10am – 200 years of collecting
• 11am – Preservation and conservation
• 12pm – Reading room services at the State Library
• 2pm – 200 years of collecting

Parramatta City Library at PHive

Times: 9:30am and 11:30am

We would like to invite you to visit Parramatta’s bold new community, cultural and civic hub: new state-of-the-art City of Parramatta’s Library sits on levels one and two of PHIVE. Parramatta Library at Phive has won many awards.

Parramatta Library is a community hub, place to connect, and meet. It’s a place of belonging for the community, students and visitor.

Located in the heart of Parramatta’s CBD at 5 Parramatta Square, PHIVE (pronounced five) is Parramatta’s State of the Art Library, community, cultural and civic hub that opened on Saturday 23 September 2022 by then Lord Mayor Donna Davis.

Designed by award-winning French architect Manuelle Gautrand, in partnership with Australian architecture firms Lacoste + Stevenson and DesignInc. This bold architectural icon was inspired by Australian flora – a eucalyptus green or banksia orange reminiscence of the waratah, the NSW state flower. A smart building, with sustainability credentials allowing it to be net zero carbon from day one. Parramatta Library was the winner of the ALIA Library Design Award for the Public Library (large) Category in 2024

Seamlessly connecting with the original heritage-listed Parramatta Town Hall, PHIVE boasts the striking design and state-of-the-art facilities of a world-class library, community hub, while drawing in the area’s rich history.

Western Sydney University

Time: 9:30am

• WSU Parramatta South Library
  Tour the Whitlam Library at Parramatta South, the busiest of the seven Western Sydney University libraries.  You’ll hear about the way the building currently works, how we’ve been changing our approach to the physical collection on site, and the plans for a complete internal refurbishment at the end of 2026.
• WSU Parramatta City Campus Library
  Visit Western Sydney University’s first vertical campus and the library within this hub of student activity. Located on level 1, you’ll be taken on the journey from the initial closed and secured library space through to the recently opened Library Learning Hub and the way we work in an open, shared floor to deliver support to students.
• WSU Penrith Library
  Opened in 2015 and winner of the inaugural ALIA Library Design award, Penrith Library at Kingswood is Western Sydney University’s biggest library.  Explore multiple floors of student and collection space, the adjacent and connected café, and the centralised Collections, Research, Systems and Communications teams located on level 5.

Powerhouse Research Library and Archives

Time: 10:00am
Note: stairs required

The Powerhouse Research Library and Archives tour offers a snapshot of the museum’s rich library collections and archives, dating back to 1880.

The Research Library is an information resource for the Museum’s staff, artistic associates, creative residents and research scholars. The Research Library supports object research and the development of the Museum’s exhibitions, publications and programs. The library collection is eclectic, and researchers and visitors are welcome by appointment.

The Archives comprise Acquired and Institutional Archives. The Acquired Archives reflect the museum’s diverse collecting areas, while the Institutional Archives preserve its history and institutional memory. Go behind the scenes in the Archives workroom and explore a selection of material currently undergoing arrangement and description.