Articles by: Caitlyn Grant

Elevated view of Domed Reading Room, State Library of Victoria, 1984, H84.376/2

The dais in the Dome

July 17, 2023

Buildings & streets, Our stories, People & professions, Such was life, Victorian history:

Once upon a time a staff member sat in the Dais in the La Trobe Reading Room, watching over any chattering public. We asked two long term SLV librarians how this used to work.

Rennie Ellis, 1987. H2011.130 1563

Online Collection Spotlight: Access Australia by NewsBank

July 8, 2023

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Research tips & tricks, Tips and tricks:

Are you looking for an article from the Coburg Leader in 2010? Want the week’s top stories read out to you while you prep dinner? How can you search for articles about affordable housing across many trusted Australian news sources all at once? For all these answers and more, read on to today’s online collection spotlight.

Trove: a treasure chest of family history gems

Trove: a treasure chest of family history gems

March 30, 2023

Family matters, Research tips & tricks:

If you’re a family history researcher in Australia, chances are you’ve stumbled upon Trove. The Trove digitised newspapers and gazettes collection is an invaluable resource for family historians, and allows for free, remote access to over 1000 historic Australian newspapers and gazettes, no matter where you are in the country. Let’s see what family history treasures we can unbox in Trove!

Pro abortion march, May 1979, 1979. Photo by Lyn McLeavy. This work is in copyright; H2012.7/6

Online Collection Spotlight: Women’s studies archive

March 6, 2023

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights:

Where can I find first-hand accounts of bush nurses working during the 1956 Murray River floods? Who was the first lesbian rights organisation in the US and where can I find their newsletter? And does anyone have a good recipe for sheeps’ head pie anymore? If any of these questions have sparked your interest, the Women’s Studies Archive has got you covered!

Six Ft Hick live at The Tote, 2016. Photograph by Zo Damage. This work is in copyright. H2022.177/1-560.

40+ years of the Tote

December 23, 2022

Ask a librarian, Music, Our stories, Popular music, rock, Victorian history:

Music, protests and sticky carpet; as the Tote Hotel celebrates 40 years of live music, we look back on the long history of this iconic Melbourne pub.

Modern dance individualism: the art of Sonia Revid

Modern dance individualism: the art of Sonia Revid

November 22, 2022

Arts & literature, Ask a librarian, Dance, Such was life, Victorian history:

In 1932 Latvian born Sonia Revid brought expressionist dance to Melbourne. In Berlin in 1921 Sonia had studied under Mary Wigman, but developed her own unique style. Her performances included spoken word and introduced Melbournians to modern interpretive dance. She opened a dance school and was a notable figure in the local art scene of the 1930s. Unfortunately she died in 1947 at age 45.

Wedding ceremony and guests, [197-?]. Photo by Maggie Diaz. This work is in copyright. H2013.261/547

Researching births, deaths and marriages in Victoria

July 31, 2022

Branching Out, Family matters, Research tips & tricks:

Welcome to National Family History Month! Each week of August we will publish a new family history blog to help you with your research. In this week’s blog, we explore birth, death and marriage records in Victoria.

William Shakespeare, 1860, Sadd, H.S. (Henry Samuel), H88.46/1

Online Collection Spotlight: New Oxford Shakespeare

May 15, 2022

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights:

What exactly is ‘the wat’ry star’? What does ‘verily’ mean? And who really wrote the ‘Fly Scene’ in Titus Andronicus? Read on and discover the answers using the New Oxford Shakespeare database!