Online Collection Spotlight: Oxford Academic Books

Online Collection Spotlight: Oxford Academic Books

November 13, 2025

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights:

Do you want to do a deep dive into medical folklore? Have you ever wondered why people make fun of Jazz? What were the building blocks of modern horror movies? Have you wondered why Asperger’s syndrome was removed from the DSM? Or thought about the social impact of the human papillomavirus vaccine? Do you need a primer on literary theory? On climate hazards? On planetary systems? And just what did Herman Melville’s short stories reveal about his thoughts on slavery? Oxford Academic has you covered.

On the case: Detective Piggott and the development of forensics

On the case: Detective Piggott and the development of forensics

November 3, 2025

Ask a librarian, People & professions, Such was life, Victorian history:

The early 1900s was an exciting time to be a detective. Innovations in science and technology, combined with the popularity of detective stories shifted crime fighting away from the seedy world of informers, which had influenced the early years of policing, towards the detection of crime using scientific methods and forensic evidence. Find out about how one Victorian detective contributed to the development of police forensics.

Tracing your Victorian Police ancestor

Tracing your Victorian Police ancestor

October 23, 2025

Collections, Family matters, Research tips & tricks:

A common question we receive on desk is how to trace the career of an ancestor who was a police officer. To begin, I would recommend researching their birth, death,… Read More ›

The mystery of the Library lions

The mystery of the Library lions

October 16, 2025

Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:

From 1864 to 1925, two life size lion sculptures stood at the entrance to our Library. From Melbourne to London, Belgium, San Francisco, France and back again, we try trace the origin of these majestic felines.

Online Collection Spotlight: Fairchild Books Library

Online Collection Spotlight: Fairchild Books Library

October 14, 2025

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Fashion:

Fashion! Fascinating, addictive, rejected, embraced. Take a closer look at all the layers that make up this phenomenon in the Fairchild Books Library database.

Joyce McGrath (1925-2025): ‘A fortunate life’

Joyce McGrath (1925-2025): ‘A fortunate life’

October 9, 2025

Ask a librarian, Victorian history:

Joyce McGrath — who died on 13 September, one month short of her 100th birthday — was a determined, visionary figure who developed the State Library’s Art, Music and Performing Arts Library (AMPA) into ‘a circle of sunlight’, as her biographer, Jan Harper, wrote.

Escalators: Moving Melbourne and beyond

Escalators: Moving Melbourne and beyond

October 2, 2025

Ask a librarian, Buildings & streets, Cities & towns, Our stories, Such was life, Victorian history:

In September 1932, hundreds of people congregated in and around a new building on the corner of Collins and Swanston Streets in central Melbourne. These crowds hoped to experience a new phenomenon: the escalator. As the twentieth century progressed, each decade saw more cities in Australia embrace the continuous movement that was possible with the introduction of the moving staircase.

Australian rules football during the Great War

Australian rules football during the Great War

September 23, 2025

Ask a librarian, Our stories:

Amidst the horrors of World War 1, Australian soldiers could escape for a few hours playing games of Australian Rules football. The playing fields were often recent battlefields, pockmarked with shell holes, but the games reminded them of happier times at home.

Online Collection Spotlight: Early English books online

Online Collection Spotlight: Early English books online

September 19, 2025

Arts & literature, Collection spotlights:

Proquest’s Early English Books Online database features page images of almost every work printed in the British Isles and North America, as well as works in English printed elsewhere, from 1470-1700. More than 200 libraries worldwide have contributed to this comprehensive database, which covers literature, art, architecture, philosophy, religion, politics, history and linguistics. The collection has everything from the first book printed in English through to the ages of Spenser, Shakespeare and the English Civil War.

Recently digitised: playbills from the Coppin Collection

Recently digitised: playbills from the Coppin Collection

September 12, 2025

Collection, Digitisation, Performing Arts, Recently digitised, Social life & customs, Theatre:

George Selth Coppin, an indefatigable powerhouse, was responsible for much of the popular culture that entertained theatre going audiences in the second half of the 19th century. State Library Victoria has recently digitised more than 1200 theatre playbills from its comprehensive Coppin Collection – a highly significant archive of theatrical history.

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Such was life

Online Collection Spotlight: Bloomsbury Historic Dress in Detail

Online Collection Spotlight: Bloomsbury Historic Dress in Detail

December 23, 2025 — 0 comments

Watch the wonders of fashion unfold with this informative and visually stunning peak into the history of clothing. This video database, with companion articles, explores historical contexts, materials, and construction methods, enabling you to see how different garments were worn, and the function that each item served.

Arts

Online Collection Spotlight: American Music

Online Collection Spotlight: American Music

February 6, 2026 — 0 comments

From Willie Nelson to Dinah Washington, Muddy Waters to Flaco Jimenez, you can enjoy a journey across the diverse musical roots of America with the Music Online: American Music database. Hosting an astonishing array of talent the collection consists of almost 7000 albums and 120,000 songs.