Our stories

Make believe and misinformation: a guide for cutting through information overload

Make believe and misinformation: a guide for cutting through information overload

April 15, 2025

Ask a librarian, Research tips:

At a time when trust in news and media reporting in Australia is decreasing, misinformation is probably one of the most pressing issues for librarians today. State Library Victoria’s brand new Misinformation research guide gathers resources held in the Library’s collections, adjacent to the case studies examined in the new Make Believe: Encounters with Misinformation exhibition, as well as tools to help identify misinformation and fake news.

Online Collection Spotlight: The Making of the Modern World

Online Collection Spotlight: The Making of the Modern World

April 11, 2025

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Our stories, Uncategorized:

This post explores another of our Gale databases – The Making of the Modern World – as it charts the spread of Western wealth, trade and colonial takeovers, and of knowledge and ideas.

Reconnecting with ‘The silver brumby’

Reconnecting with ‘The silver brumby’

April 2, 2025

Ask a librarian, Cities & towns, Such was life, Victorian history:

Librarian Daniel Giddens reconnects with one of his favourite children’s stories, ‘The silver brumby’, sharing what makes it so special to him, as well as exploring the background of its author, and the history and significance of its publication.

Online Collection Spotlight: Women’s Voices and Life Writing, 1600-1968

Online Collection Spotlight: Women’s Voices and Life Writing, 1600-1968

March 7, 2025

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights:

What was it like being a debutante on the lookout for a husband in the 1800s? Or serving in the Women’s Land Army in the Second World War? This database provides access to a treasure trove of manuscripts, diaries and oral histories, offering a unique insight into the lives of women, their thoughts, feelings and experiences, told in their own words.

Unique format, unique challenges: pop-up and movable books at State Library Victoria

Unique format, unique challenges: pop-up and movable books at State Library Victoria

February 28, 2025

Collection Care, Conservation, Uncategorized:

At State Library Victoria we have close to 1000 pop-up and movable books, ranging from the mid-1600s to present day. These items represent one of few three-dimensional, interactive mediums in history that has enduring appeal. However, with great ingenuity come considerable conservation challenges. Learn about the factors that make pop-up and movable books so captivating, yet uniquely susceptible to physical wear and tear.

Online Collection Spotlight: 1980s Culture and Society

Online Collection Spotlight: 1980s Culture and Society

February 21, 2025

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights:

From consumer culture and conservatism to subculture and socialism, the AM 1980s Culture and Society database paints a vivid portrait of life in this dynamic decade.

Courting in the colony: finding a partner in 19th-century Australia

Courting in the colony: finding a partner in 19th-century Australia

February 13, 2025

Social life & customs, Victorian history:

The course of true love never did run smooth, but what was it like finding love in early colonial Australia?

Redmond Barry statue in front of the State Library Victoria

Happy birthday to us: Redmond Barry and the Library

February 11, 2025

Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:

On 11 February our Library celebrates our 169th birthday. While based on the world’s great libraries, our Library was also a radical departure. Ours was a library with unrestricted access to anyone over 14, with every book available to view. The primary driver of the Library was Redmond Barry. While generally remembered as the judge at the Ned Kelly trial, Redmond Barry’s pioneering contribution to Melbourne’s cultural and educational heritage is unsurpassed

‘Shooting the chute’ at Princes Court

‘Shooting the chute’ at Princes Court

January 24, 2025

Ask a librarian, Victorian history:

What could be considered Australia’s first major amusement park – Princes Court – opened in 1904 on the banks of Melbourne’s Yarra River. Visitors had a range of amusements to choose from, including the 70-foot-high water chute ride, toboggan tracks and a Japanese tea house.

Online Collection Spotlight: Life at sea

Online Collection Spotlight: Life at sea

January 17, 2025

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights:

Where can I learn about the American whaling industry? What would a ship’s master have in his chest? What would the dying words of a pirate be? And can anyone help me to tell the flags of the Union and Orient shipping lines apart? Find out all of this and more in the AM Digital database Life at Sea: Seafaring in the Anglo-American Maritime World, 1600-1900.

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