Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Our stories:
Explore the Library’s latest trial databases, which include early published works from the British Isles and Europe, and primary resources from the Second World War.
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights:
Interested in exploring the music of the Baroque era but don’t know where to start? Looking for a curated playlist to listen to while you study or work? Hoping to understand more about a key piece of classical music? Naxos Music Library is a music streaming database that features much more than just audio.
In 1867 Australia hosted our first Royal visitor. Prince Alfred toured the country, and toured our Library! It was a tumultuous time. Sectarian murders, riots, tragedy and finally an attempted assassination punctuated the Prince’s journey. His resilience in the face of these events won him great respect across the Australian colonies.
Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:
With the dominance of air travel in the twenty-first century, it’s easy to forget what a massive role ships, ports and piers played in the development and history of Melbourne. We look at the historic evolution of piers at the Port of Melbourne.
Ask a librarian, Victorian history:
Horseracing is an industry strongly associated with Melbourne, but it took almost three years after colonial settlement for the first horse race to be held. Like many of today’s horse racing carnivals, the reporting was more focused on what happened off the racetrack than on it.
Collection Care, Preservation, Preventive conservation:
Baron Ferdinand von Mueller served as Government Botanist and Director of the Botanical Gardens in the mid-1800s. He compiled and published ‘The Educational Collections of Australian Plants’ (1873-1876), motivated by a desire to bring botany to the masses. The Library’s edition was recently rehoused by our Preservation team.
‘The Queen’s Reading Room’ opened on 24 May 1859 when the south wing of the Library was completed. Restoration works began in 2017 and in 2019, the space was re-opened to the public as the Ian Potter Queen’s Hall.
The Sun News-Pictorial captured so many Victorian stories. Its extensive coverage of local events, showing familiar places and faces, resonated with Victorians. After 100 years, it’s time to make these stories accessible to all by digitising the daily paper.
Ask a librarian, New to the collection:
There have been a few new additions to our online eresources lately. These can be explored from outside the Library if you are a Victorian-resident Library member – log in with your Library member number, or sign up for membership online to begin. Let’s take a look at what’s available.
International Nurses Day is celebrated on Friday 12 May – the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. In today’s blog we explore the history of nursing in Victoria and take a glimpse at the nurses featured in our collection.
A recent donation to the Library gives us insight into the last wills and testaments of Victorians of the 19th and 20th Century, from what they were bequeathing to who they held dear.
Agatha Christie was a leading author of the golden age of detective fiction whose books continue to excite, delight and intrigue readers. To celebrate her outstanding legacy, State Library Victoria recently acquired first editions of some of Christie’s most popular titles.
