Library manager Garry Conroy-Cooper said the open day was held as part of National Family History Month, with Beyond the Family Tree the last event of the day.

People were invited to bring a family heirloom to display and share with the audience.

"Families are incredible storytellers, we have many stories attached to many things. Human history tells us that stories are a fundamental way of us communicating," Mr Conroy-Cooper said.

He went first, sharing his items with the room.

"My object is actually the wedding dress of my great grandmother," he said. "It's from 1919."

The oldest item brought in was a piece of the Colosseum. Other items included the number plate for the tenth car registered in the state, a silver tea service from 1888, and a photograph of the last recorded shooting of a Tasmanian tiger.