Independents Day: Collecting the 2022 Federal Election on the Web

Independents Day: Collecting the 2022 Federal Election on the Web

July 24, 2022

Collection spotlights, Federal election, Our stories, Politics, Web Archiving:

When a Federal election approaches, PANDORA web archiving prepares for a massive collection. Each election collection on the web has it’s own character. 2022’s made history.

The A to Z of World of the book 2022

The A to Z of World of the book 2022

July 21, 2022

Exhibitions, Rare Books & Arts:

A is for Alhambra On display for the very first time is a magnificent work by English designer Owen Jones and French architect Jules Goury about one of the world’s… Read More ›

Winter illuminations: snow and shadows

Winter illuminations: snow and shadows

July 14, 2022

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, People & professions, Such was life:

With winter well upon us, these images from our photographic collections evoke some of the seasonal experience of snow, ice, and shadows; as senses are sharpened by a chill in the air, the brightness and contrast of snow and subject, or the blanketing fogs.

The woman behind London’s first daily newspaper

The woman behind London’s first daily newspaper

July 11, 2022

People & professions, Such was life:

Printer Elizabeth Mallet has her place in the ‘hall of fame’ of women who tried something new and changed the world; women who had a vision and went for it!

Vale Frank Moorhouse

Vale Frank Moorhouse

July 7, 2022

Announcements, News, Updates:

State Library Victoria was saddened to learn this week of the death of prominent Australian writer Frank Moorhouse. Des Cowley and Maxine McKew reflect on his life and works.

Magic in the night sky

Magic in the night sky

July 2, 2022

Ask a librarian, Victorian history:

Moomba, the Royal Melbourne Show, New Years Eve…Victorians love to celebrate major events with fireworks. While we might have an idea of what a typical firework display looks like (such as the regular ones held each New Years Eve), the displays of the nineteenth century were completely unlike like what we see today.

A trick of the light: a personal response to several paintings in the Cowen Gallery

A trick of the light: a personal response to several paintings in the Cowen Gallery

June 14, 2022

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Our stories, Victorian history:

The Library’s Cowen Gallery features some magnificent paintings by Australian artists, whose work sheds light on how the Australian Impressionist movement inspired Australian painters around the turn of the century.

Sufficiently educated

Sufficiently educated

June 11, 2022

Social life & customs, Such was life:

Maybe you received a Victorian Certificate of Education? Or a Higher School Certificate? A School Tertiary Certificate? Leaving? School graduation requirements have come a long way from having to be ‘sufficiently educated’, as was the case in the 1870s.

The Damian Smith Archive

The Damian Smith Archive

June 9, 2022

Rare Books & Arts:

A healthy art community relies on figures that move quickly between commissions, code-switch through high and colloquial cultures, and translate between foreign lands. The record of Damian Smith’s career is the archive of one such figure.

Online Collection Spotlight: Archives Unbound

Online Collection Spotlight: Archives Unbound

June 9, 2022

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights:

It’s International Archives Day and what better way to celebrate than to check out our database Archives Unbound! Explore women’s history, LGBTIQ+ activism and even Shakespeare’s plays. You’ll discover a renewed appreciation for archives and their role in history.

Such was life

Feasts of Christmas past

Feasts of Christmas past

December 15, 2025 0 comments

What are your favourite festive food memories? Have you ever enjoyed Christmas Day lunch on the beach, up a mountain or aboard a ship? Do you remember pineapple glazed ham? Would you like the 100-year-old recipe for walnut stuffing? The State Library’s historic menus, cookbooks, photos and magazines trace Christmas foods from early colonial tables to the festive flavours celebrated by our diverse migrant communities. Dive in and rediscover your favourite Christmas dishes — or find inspiration for this year’s feast.

Arts

Portraits of Melbourne artists in their studios

Portraits of Melbourne artists in their studios

December 8, 2025 0 comments

John Hinds, an artist, photographer and active ROAR member from 1986 to 1992 spent time capturing artists he personally knew and the spaces that they used to create their works. His photographs captured a unique and often unseen time and place, creating an invaluable insight into the art scene in Melbourne.