Services available

  • Copies Direct is a digital reproduction service for material from the National Library of Australia's collections.
  • Orders may be placed 24 hours a day however will be filled in order of receipt during NLA business hours. These hours are subject to public holidays as advised on the National Library of Australia website.
  • Delivery timeframes vary depending on format, where the item is held, if the original item requires recapture and does not include the time taken for copyright/cultural and other rights clearances.

National Library collections

Books, journals and serials, magazines, music, newspapers

  • Routine requests will be processed in approximately 15 business days.
  • Priority requests will be processed in approximately 3 business days. Priority service may not be available for complex orders or offsite collections. We will contact you if we cannot fulfil your priority timeframe.
  • Delivery timeframes do not include the time taken for copyright, cultural and/or other clearances to be completed.

Maps, manuscripts, oral history recordings and transcripts, pictures, photographs

  • Routine requests will be processed in approximately 30 days.
  • Priority requests are not available for these formats.
  • Delivery timeframes do not include the time taken for copyright, cultural and/or other clearances to be completed.

Material requested from another library (interlibrary loan/copy requests) on your behalf

Australian libraries

  • Routine requests will be processed in approximately 10 business days.
  • Priority requests will be processed in approximately 5 business days.
  • Request processing does not include delivery to the National Library. 

International libraries

  • Request processing does not include delivery to the National Library. Delivery times may be longer than usual due to the impact of Covid-19 restrictions and increased demand for postal services.

How do I check on progress with my order? 

If you do not receive the reproduction or loan you ordered in the timeframe you selected, please email us. To ensure that we are focused on supplying Copies Direct orders, we may limit the number of responses we provide to repeated requests for status updates. We are not able to provide notice before orders are charged, please make sure your account has sufficient funds.

Processing refers to the time it takes us to action your request. It does not include the time taken for your request to reach us or for copyright, cultural and/or other clearances to be completed. If you have placed a Copies Direct order and received a confirmation email, your order is in the queue and will be processed as soon as possible. For large or complex copying requests delivery times will vary. In these instances you will be contacted and we will advise accordingly. If you need to change or cancel your order, please email Digitisation on Demand with your request number.

The National Library of Australia acknowledges Australia’s First Nations Peoples – the First Australians – as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of this land and gives respect to the Elders – past and present – and through them to all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Cultural Notification

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this website contains a range of material which may be considered culturally sensitive including the records of people who have passed away.

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