This report discusses the importance of state libraries to the system of Australian library resources and outlines the relevance of state library resources to the present and future information needs of the Australian community. The nature and function of state libraries are reviewed and placed in a historical context. An outline of the challenges facing Australian state libraries as they attempt to define and adapt to their future during the 1980s is followed by discussions of state libraries as resource centers for primary historial materials, as depository centers for state publications, as providers of support services to smaller libraries, as information resources for government officials, as information for the statewide community, and as centers for statewide library networks. The role of the state library in statewide planning is described and the present needs of state libraries with respect to the purchase of materials, the maintenance of professional staff, and physical accommodations are reviewed. A brief analysis of the role of state libraries in conserving the materials they house is also included. (JL)