1. Purpose
To define which State Library physical collection materials may be loaned directly by State Library members for personal use.
2. Scope
This policy applies to all physical State Library collections.
The loan of physical collection materials to other cultural institutions for exhibition is covered in the State Library’s Lending for Exhibitions Policy.
The download (borrowing) of online materials including ebooks, eaudiobooks, emagazines, enewspapers and streaming content is covered in the State Library’s Terms and Conditions of Membership.
The inter library loan of State Library physical collections is covered in the Australian Interlibrary Resource Sharing (ILRS) Code.
3. Context
The State Library seeks to balance its commitment to preserving and protecting its collections and to providing services that are in keeping with the needs of the community it serves.
To support the information and recreation needs of the Western Australian community, the State Library makes available for borrowing direct to members:
general printed reference collections,
printed music scores;
Story Place collection; and
the Read WA collection of printed Western Australian fiction and non-fiction.
Other libraries intrastate, interstate and overseas may request to borrow State Library collections via inter library loans. These requests are assessed on an individual basis and it may be a condition of the loan that the material is only accessed within the premises of the requesting library.
The primary collecting purpose of the State Library is to acquire Western Australian documentary heritage materials and make them accessible for future generations. To ensure these materials are preserved for the long term, they are not made available for loan directly to State Library members. The State Library may make digital copies of this material available online
4. Policy Statement
It is the policy of the Library Board of Western Australia that:
The State Library will make general printed reference collections, music scores and the Story Place and Read WA collections available for borrowing by members of the State Library.
State Library collections may be borrowed by other libraries via the inter library loans service at the discretion of the State Library.
The loan of an item is at the discretion of the State Library.
Whenever original or fragile materials cannot be borrowed, a copy may be created and made available at the discretion of the State Library.
5. Responsibilities
Manager Collection Services (content and implementation)
6. References
Library Board (State Library) Regulations 1956
Library Board (Registered Public Libraries) Regulations 1985
Loan policies of other Australia state libraries
Legal Deposit Act 2012
Lending for Exhibitions Policy
Terms and Conditions of Membership
Australian Interlibrary Resource Sharing (ILRS) Code
Approved, Library Board, 6 November 2025