Melbourne’s first Exhibition Building
Melbourne’s grand glass Exhibition Hall, built for a 1854 Exhibition and inspired by London’s famous Crystal Palace, reflected the ambition and confidence of the fledgling new colony of Victoria.
Our stories
2021 in Eresources
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights:
How did we spend our time online in 2021? We reveal the top 3 most popular Library eresources in 2021 and highlight some hidden gems to explore in 2022. Registered Victorian State Library members can access a treasure trove of full text eresources – many from home.
Glimpses of life in and around Pentridge Stockade
Our stories, Victorian history:
Pentridge Stockade housed men, women and children for nearly 150 years, as the suburb of Coburg developed around the bluestone edifice.
The people’s playground: Eastern Beach, Geelong
Ask a librarian, Victorian history:
Wander down to Geelong’s Eastern Beach on a hot day over summer and you’ll be greeted by a huge crowd of sun seekers.
How to train your Santa
Ask a librarian, Victorian history:
Have you spotted Santa in a department store lately? There’s more to being Santa than you might think! Let’s take a look at the history of department store Santas and explore what they learn at Santa School.
It’s alive! The first illustrated representation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Collection spotlights, New books, Our stories, Rare Books & Arts:
State Library Victoria recently acquired an 1832 printing of the third edition of Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein for its Rare Book Collection.
Collection Discovery
Ask a librarian, Research tips, Tips and tricks:
Introducing Collection Discovery, a new way of exploring curated collections of material digitised by the Library.
Online Collection Spotlight: National Geographic Archive
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights:
Which Australian animal has been described as “an impossible patchwork creature”?
Explore stories and pictures from around the world with our National Geographic archive.
Opening Doors for people with disability
Collection spotlights, Our stories:
Earlier this year, the Library acquired a photographic series which documents people living with disability, posed in their own home environment.
Journey through the collection: Ashton’s 19th century sketchbook
Collection spotlights, Victorian history, Visual arts:
A little sketchbook with a lot of stories. How did the newsworthy events of the 1880s go from pocket sketches to newspaper illustrations?
