The J.S. Battye Library of West Australian History came into being on 14 December 1956.

The main categories of Western Australian publications collected are books, newspapers and serials. In general, only material published in Western Australia is collected, although books published outside the State are purchased if written by a Western Australian or contain substantial information relating to Western Australia.

Other material collected includes maps, ephemera, private archives, photographs, music scores and recordings, oral history and films, videos and DVDs.

If you are a novice family historian just starting out tracing your family tree or an experienced genealogy researcher looking for whatever happened to the elusive great uncle. Dead Reckoning, produced by the State Library of Western Australia, is your handbook for family history research in Western Australia.