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.
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.
Coming soon – the 1921 England and Wales census
Family matters, Research tips & tricks, Websites:
Great news for family historians. On the 6th January, the 1921 Census for England and Wales will be published online through FindMyPast, in partnership with the National Archives UK. The… Read More ›
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.
Celebrating 30,000 maps and plans digitised at the Library
In recognition of a recent significant milestone, we’re exploring some highlights of our substantial Maps Collection.
Such was life
Mary Fortune: pioneer of Australian detective stories
Mary Fortune was the author of the longest running 19th-century crime fiction series published in a periodical and one of the earliest female crime writers in the world.
Arts
‘It really belongs to you people anyway…’: The story of Ken Pound
To celebrate the Children’s Book Council of Australia Week, we pay tribute to the life of children’s literature collector, Ken Pound, and the collection he has left for us all.
