The Library’s virtual volunteers
Some of the Library’s volunteers have been correcting the text of digitised historical Victorian newspapers, and in so doing, revealing more about our past.
Our stories
When Spanish Flu came to Victoria
Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:
Spanish flu arrived in Australia in January 1919. With masks, closures, quarantine, inter-governmental squabbles and death, the events of a century ago resonate very keenly today.
Online Collection Spotlight: Britannica Kids
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights:
What do frogs and salamanders have in common? What’s the largest coral reef on Earth? And who wrote the picture book, ‘Possum Magic’? The Britannica Kids online encyclopaedia doesn’t just offer answers to these questions.
Online Collection Spotlight: World’s Fairs
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights:
What do Paris’s Eiffel Tower, Seattle’s Space Needle and Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building all have in common? Read on to find out!
Victoria through the ages: the boom years
In the 1880s, Victoria experienced an unprecedented property bubble. When it eventually burst, it left the economy in tatters.
Journey through the collection: swinging ‘60s Melbourne through the lens of Henry Talbot
Collection spotlights, Photography, Visual arts:
Muse over the iconic, mid-century photographs of Henry Talbot. Featuring the fashion and advertising world of 1950s and 60s Melbourne.
Journey through the collection: Rick Amor
Collection spotlights, Painting:
These works by Rick Amor depict a quiet Port Phillip Bay, where constructions stand among nature, bearing the stains of passing time.
Bat-Man unmasks fears of moral corruption
Comic books, Our stories, Rare Books & Arts:
In the early hours of Monday the 26th of May 1952, a conspicuous-looking sedan is found patrolling Melbourne’s Bourke Street. To the front and rear of the car, two long aerials are poised ready to intercept any incoming police chatter. The radiator holds a makeshift flag… Read More ›
Read all about it!
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Our stories, Victorian history:
From as far back as the 1850s, newsboys were a common sight on the streets of Melbourne. Most were poor and many were illiterate. But they were not without their friends and allies…
Trim, the Aussie cat
Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:
Adventurous, fearless, bundles of joy, cats have always accompanied their humans on their endeavours and kept their spirits high. This is such a story – Trim, the fearless Aussie cat!
