About 600 books and 66 serials mainly relating to entomology and the natural sciences. The strength is works on British entomology but also includes Europe, North and South America. About one-third were published in the 18th and 19th centuries.

715 Chinese and Japanese books. Most date from the period 1911-1940, but there are some much earlier works. The main subject areas are Chinese art, epigraphy, archaeology and early history of the Chinese script. Other subjects include classical writings, Buddhism and Taoism, myths and legends.

27 recordings of traditional music, recitations, folklore and oral histories made in New South Wales between 1968 and 1995.

12,569 music scores which were used in Australian cinemas in the silent film era.

About 10,000 stereoscopic view cards produced by both commercial and amateur photographers in all parts of the world and a significant collection of photographic equipment and some books and journals on photography.

Around 6,000 books, mostly in Portuguese, mostly relating to literature, history and religion among many other topics.

1277 charts and maps dating from the 16th to the late 19th centuries, including maps of the Pacific and New Zealand as well as Australia.

About 600 books with particular strength in anthropology, sociology and linguistics and largely related to Indonesia, and most are in Dutch, Indonesian, German or English.

About 3000 books and pamphlets, mostly published in Britain, the majority on astronomy but also some works on geology, physics and chemistry, as well as a small group of Tanock's personal papers.

108 oral history interviews recorded by Sturgess between 1976 and 1986 while writing his two books and working on various ABC productions.