National Bird Week: Some of our birds
On the eve of the Aussie Bird Count, explore some of the birds in our collections.
Ask a librarian
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow: ‘a lost masterpiece’
Ask a librarian, Victorian history:
Last year marked the 75th anniversary of the publication in Melbourne of a novel compared by some to Leo Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’, and described as ‘a lost masterpiece’. The novel in question, ‘Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow’, was by M. Barnard Eldershaw, the pseudonym adopted by Marjorie Barnard (1897-1987) and Flora Eldershaw (1897-1956) in a remarkable literary partnership that produced novels, short stories, literary criticism, essays and lectures.
Marcus Clarke: Literary Librarian
Ask a librarian, Victorian history:
Marcus Clarke, author of the great convict novel, ‘For the Term of His Natural Life’, witty and provocative journalist, bohemian, and Librarian at our Library fitted much into his eventful but short life.
Victoria’s Intercolonial exhibition, 1866
Social life & customs, Such was life, Victorian history:
The nineteenth century was the great age of exhibitions as industrialisation, colonialism and nationhood led to national and international display and celebration. In 1866 the Great Exhibition Hall was built behind Ian Potter Queen’s Hall to host the Intercolonial Exhibition.
Australian football: from rectangles to ovals
As we enter AFL Grand Final week it is a good opportunity to look at a key moment in the game’s development. Beginnings Football began being played in Melbourne in… Read More ›
Isabella Fraser, a library pioneer
Our stories, People & professions, Victorian history:
For many decades, Victorian legislation discriminated against women who wanted to work at the library. Isabella Fraser was State Library Victoria’s first female staff member in 1908, and paved the way for the many women who have followed in her footsteps.
Fred Lowen, Dunera boy.
Arts & literature, Collection spotlights, Such was life, Uncategorized, Visual arts, War:
The Dunera internees – the Dunera Boys – made a significant contribution to Australian cultural life – Fred Lowen was one of these men, read on to learn some of his story, and see his evocative artworks.
Image: The potato peelers, H91.350/8
Online Collection Spotlight: Science, Technology and Medicine, 1780-1925
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Our stories:
Find out about the evolution of scientific knowledge with Gale’s Science Technology and Medicine database.
‘Will she wear a wig?’
Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:
On 1 August 1905, an unusually large crowd, including “ladies in bright dresses”, descended on Melbourne’s Supreme Court building to see Ms Grata Flos Matilda Greig become the first woman to be admitted to legal practice in Australia.
The dais in the Dome
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.
