John Howard Reading Room now open

Want to check out what John Howard thought on a particular topic at some stage in his long political career?

That opportunity is available with the opening of the John Howard Reading Room, at the University of NSW Canberra campus at the Australian Defence Force Academy.

This is intended to support viewing and research of special collections of personal papers held by the UNSW Canberra library, including those of John Howard, military figures such as Major General William Throsby Bridges and literary figures such as Frank Hardy.

The Howard collection is substantial, containing personal papers and Commonwealth records dating back to when he entered federal politics in 1974 and covering his period as Australia's second longest serving PM.

Not everything will be available at once.

From this month, UNSW will progressively receive the Howard papers as they enter the National Archives of Australia open access period. The first tranche, covering 1974-96 contains more than 10,000 items.

Documents from his first period as prime minister won't be available until 2019 with the full set available by 2028.