Education blog

A treasure trove of information gathered by the National Library of Australia can now be accessed online.

The library’s director-general, Jan Fullerton, said Trove is a tool for anyone with a question about Australia or Australians.

“If you are researching social sciences, literature, local or family history, or need inspiration for a school assignment, then this is for you,” Fullerton said in a statement.

The free search engine features more than 90 million items, including books, diaries, manuscripts, news articles, images, maps and music.

Three years in the making, Trove also includes archived websites and Australian newspapers in full from 1803 to 1954.

The content came from more than 1,000 Australian libraries, cultural and educational institutions.

Some international collections relevant to Australia have also being sourced.

The search engine is also interactive, allowing users to leave comments and suggest ways to better organize or improve the available data.