Alexander Turnbull Library collections
New Zealand’s national documentary heritage collections, including both published and unpublished items, are held in the Alexander Turnbull Library.
Archive of New Zealand Music
The Archive of New Zealand Music contains unpublished music scores and recordings, correspondence and manuscripts relating to New Zealand music, its musicians, composers and organisations.
Cartographic Collection
The Cartographic Collection has over 60,000 historical and current maps, charts and atlases plus map-related DVDs, CDs, books and serials. It concentrates on New Zealand, the Pacific and Antarctica.
Client-Held Collection
The Client-Held Collection is made up of items requested by researchers that can be safely stored and accessed during the redevelopment.
Dorothy Neal White Collection
The Dorothy Neal White Collection comprises children’s books published before 1940. Books are mostly from New Zealand, Australia, Britain and the United States.
Drawings, Paintings and Prints
The Drawings, Paintings and Prints collection holds drawings, prints, paintings, cartoons and architectural plans relating to New Zealand and the Pacific from 1642 to the present.
Family History Collection
The Family History Collection provides resources for researching family history and genealogy. The collection includes birth, death and marriage indexes, cemetery indexes and shipping passenger lists.
Fiction Collection
The Library collected overseas published fiction until 1992. The Fiction Collection includes about 59,000 English language books written for adults. Items include popular fiction, crime, romance and detective stories.
General Lending Collection
The General Lending Collection supports the current information needs of all New Zealanders. It has a strong New Zealand and Pacific focus.
General Reference Collection
The General Reference Collection includes a large range of resources to support our reference services. It includes print and electronic resources covering all subjects.
General Serials Collection
The General Serials Collection includes print, online and microform journals, magazines and newspapers. The collection is focused on resources from New Zealand and the Pacific.
Lesbian and Gay Archives of New Zealand
The Lesbian and Gay Archives of New Zealand (LAGANZ) focuses on lesbian and gay histories, organisations, communities, and cultures in New Zealand.
Manuscripts Collection
The Manuscripts Collection is New Zealand’s major collection of non-government manuscripts. Manuscripts are the unpublished records of individuals and organisations, preserved for their research value.
Māori Reference Collection
The Māori Reference Collection contains published items relating to Māori. The collection focuses on iwi, whakapapa and land information resources.
Motor Manuals Collection
The Motor Manuals Collection includes car and motorbike manuals dating back to the early 1900s. The collection hasn’t been added to since 1992, but you can still borrow items.
Music Collection
The Music Collection includes music from New Zealand and other countries. It contains scores, books, magazines, cassettes, CDs, LPs, 78rpm recordings, cylinders, videos, DVDs, and choral and orchestral sets.
National Children’s Collection
The National Children’s Collection contains books written for children and young people. Our collection of over 100,000 books includes New Zealand and Pacific titles, award-winning and controversial children’s books.
National Library General Collections
The General Collections cover all subjects to meet the current information needs of New Zealanders. The collections support the reference services we provide to individuals, schools and libraries.
National Library Schools Collection
The Schools Collection contains fiction and non-fiction books, videos and DVDs. The collection provides resources to support teaching of the New Zealand school curriculum and learning goals.
National Newspaper Collection
The National Newspaper Collection contains newspapers from New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific. It is the country’s most comprehensive collection of historical New Zealand newspapers.
New Zealand Cartoon Archive
The New Zealand Cartoon Archive includes about 25,000 cartoons reflecting New Zealand society and politics. It contains cartoons and caricatures from the 19th century to the present.
New Zealand Music, Sound, Audio-visual collection
The New Zealand Music, Sound, Audio-visual collection contains published music and audio-visual materials relating to New Zealand and the Pacific. It includes sound recordings, music scores, videos, CDs and DVDs.
New Zealand and Pacific Collection
The New Zealand and Pacific Collection includes New Zealand reference materials and New Zealand and Pacific books covering all subjects.
New Zealand and Pacific Book Collection
The New Zealand and Pacific Book Collection contains more than 300,000 books relating to New Zealand, the Pacific and Antarctica. It is the most comprehensive collection of New Zealand books in the country.
New Zealand Serials Collection
The New Zealand Serials Collection contains periodicals and magazines from New Zealand, the Pacific, Australia and Great Britain. It is the country’s most comprehensive collection of historical New Zealand periodicals.
New Zealand Web Archive
The New Zealand Web Archive contains copies of New Zealand websites and other websites relating to the Pacific and Antarctica, which are preserved for their historical and research value.
Oral History Centre
The Oral History Centre collection contains oral history interviews and other unpublished recordings. It covers many aspects of New Zealand life.
Photographic Archive
The Photographic Archive holds images of New Zealand and the Pacific from the 1850s to the present. It includes around 5 million prints, negatives, transparencies and other photographic formats.
Print Disabilities Collection
Audio books are held in the Print Disabilities Collection. The collection includes fiction and non-fiction titles for people with print disabilities.
Printed Ephemera Collection
The Printed Ephemera Collection contains published programmes, posters, menus, advertising, pamphlets, and other material relating to New Zealand, the Pacific, and New Zealanders overseas.
Rare Books and Fine Printing
The Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection contains about 20,000 rare books and other printed items dating from 1469 onwards. It also includes early manuscripts dating from the Medieval period.
Susan Price Collection
Susan Price gifted her private collection of children’s books to the Library in 1991. It includes Susan’s pick of the best English language children’s books published from 1930 to today.
Turnbull Formed Collections
The Turnbull Formed Collections are the personal libraries of collectors that have been donated to us. There are about 30 formed collections covering many subjects.
Turnbull General Collection
The Turnbull General Collection contains 40,000 books related to areas outside New Zealand and the Pacific. It includes works on Milton, and the history of the book.
Turnbull Library Pictures
Turnbull Library Pictures holds photographic copies of original images from the Alexander Turnbull Library collections. It includes copies of photographs, paintings, drawings and prints, cartoons, maps, posters, and illustrations.
Arthur Nelson Field Collection
This collection of right-wing and fascist material was donated to the Alexander Turnbull Library in 1963. The Field Collection is held in the Turnbull Formed Collections.
Bible Society in New Zealand Collection
This collection within the Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection consists of early bibles in a range of languages, and additional related material.
Corelli Collection
This collection contains 28 works by the occult novelist Marie Corelli. The Corelli collection is held in the Turnbull Formed Collections.
Rare English Collection
This collection within the Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection consists of rare English books from the 16th to the 20th century.
Fine and trade bindings
The Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection contains examples of bindings from the 15th century to the present day.
Fine Printing Collection
This collection within the Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection consists of fine printing from New Zealand and international private presses.
Fletcher Broadside Collection
This collection within the Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection consists largely of political material published between 1641 and 1714.
General Assembly Library of New Zealand Rare Book Collection
This collection within the Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection consists of rare books originally held in the collection of the General Assembly Library. They range from a 15th-century incunable to fine print works of the 20th century.
Incunabula Collection
Incunabula are the earliest printed books, printed between 1450 and 1501. The Turnbull Library’s Incunabula Collection is part of the Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection.
Milton Collection
This collection within the Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection contains editions of works by John Milton (1608-1674), and includes books from and about Milton and his times.
Montfort Trimble Collection
The Montfort Trimble Collection comprises over 200 works printed between 1518 and 1925, dealing with European politics from the 14th to the 17th centuries. It is held in the Turnbull Formed Collections.
Robert and Mary Hogg Bequest
This collection of Scottish literature, history and topography was donated to the Library in 1941. The Robert and Mary Hogg Bequest is held in the Alexander Turnbull Library Formed Collections.
Robert G. Barr Collection of Amateur Journalism
This collection consists largely of the work of amateur journalists and printers. The Barr collection is held in the Turnbull Formed Collections.
Robert Trimble Collection
The Robert Trimble collection contains 1200 volumes including Irish literature and Trimble's published works on slavery. It is held in the Turnbull Formed Collections.
Sir Arthur Howard Bible Collection
This collection within the Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection consists of 55 bibles and liturgical texts, most from the 16th century. They illustrate the development of the English ecclesiastical tradition during that time.
Society of Mary and Archdiocese of Wellington Rare Book Collection
This collection within the Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection consists of rare books originally held in Catholic libraries, archives and convents around New Zealand.
Ramsay Collection
The Ramsay Collection of church and school histories is a part of the Turnbull Formed Collections.
Resources in the Family History Collection
An overview of resources available in the Family History Collection for genealogy and whakapapa research.
Rare Music Collection
These rare scores, published mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries, are held within the Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection.
Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts
This collection within the Rare Books and Fine Printing Collection consists of early manuscript books and fragments from the Medieval and Renaissance periods.
Shetland Islands Collection
This collection contains 72 titles on the Shetland Islands. It is held in the Turnbull Formed Collections.
