The State Library holds the world's premier collection of books relating to Western Australia. Legislation requires that one copy of each book published in the State is lodged with the State Library as the legal deposit copy. Usually a second copy is acquired for public use and the first copy becomes the preservation copy. Items published outside the State containing material relating to Western Australia or by Western Australian authors are also acquired.
There are over 50,000 Western Australian book titles held by the State Library. The book collection includes not only Western Australian history, but the full range of subject fields from computing to geology, biography, politics, cooking, etc. Particular strengths include rare books, biographies and autobiographies, town or local government area histories, literature, agriculture, the environment, Aboriginal/European relations and flora and fauna. Books can be found by searching the State Library Catalogue.
Highlights of the Collection
The breadth of the State Library's Western Australian book collection can be seen from these highlights.