The National Library of Australia maintains a small but significant collection of Khmer language materials; it consists of publications mainly from Cambodia, plus some from the Cambodian - Australian community in Australia. The collection is growing steadily with new titles including magazines, newspapers, books and multimedia.
These materials are mainly purchased from overseas suppliers, plus others donated to the National Library of Australia by individuals and organisations. The National Library has also worked in partnership with the Internet Archive to select, collect and archive websites related to the 2008 Cambodian election.
In addition, the National Library has a large collection of English and other European language works relating to Cambodia and the Cambodian people. Microfilm and microfiche collections, some of them dealing with Cambodia's recent history add to the depth of the Library’s resources on Cambodia and Indochina.
The Library has some materials from the period of the French administration providing resources for historical studies. These include a Kraus Reprint edition of the Cambodian Journal officiel du Cambodge, several publications from the Institut National de la Statistique et de Recherches Economiques, and from the Sangkum Reastr Niyum, the Bilan presente au Congres National, the records of Congress 1962-1965. The Library also holds copies of the Accords et conventions signes a l'issue de la Conference Quadripartite de Paris in 1954. The Library's Coedes Collection is also rich in French publications on the former territories of Indochina, including Cambodia. The Coedes Collection also includes a Khmer Tripitaka, the rarest edition of the Buddhist scriptures held by the National Library.
Though the Library does not have staff with language expertise to assist regarding reference enquiries; readers can search online catalogue and make inter library loans request, or visit our collection.
