News:
State Library Victoria is pleased to announce the acquisition of the East India Company Database, a unique collection of digitized India Office Records from the British Library in London. This… Read More ›
Nikola Tesla was an electrical genius. He was a visionary who captured the imagination of engineers, entrepreneurs and the public with his futuristic concepts and vivid demonstrations of the power of electricity.
There’s more to books about food than just recipes. They can touch on the histories of culture, travel and more from around the world. Our collections reflect this diversity.
News:
In June the Library reached a milestone: we purchased our 10,000th eBook. We purchase new titles almost every day, so the real number is now around 10,411. The library has… Read More ›
People & professions, Such was life:
Melbourne in the 1850s had a small but ambitious scientific community. One particularly idiosyncratic member of that community was William Blandowski, a man often at odds with the scientific establishment. He found himself embroiled in controversy with his choice of names for newly described Murray River fish.
Charles Pratt was born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1891 and was cadet with the First Wellington Rifle Company. When war broke out he quickly enlisted and saw action in… Read More ›
Australian history is rich with refugee stories. Our shores have long been a destination for those fleeing war and persecution: from Prussia, 179 years ago; from post-World War Two Europe; and from early 1980s Vietnam. Throughout it all, we’ve seen policies that encourage and restrict immigration.
News:
State Library Victoria supports books, ideas and the written word. And what better way to do so than by celebrating the 2017 shortlist for the Miles Franklin Literary Award?
This year marks 70 years since the publication of Anne Frank’s diary. It was first published in Dutch as Het Achterhuis (The Annex), and later appeared in English as The Diary of a young girl. It went on to sell more than 30 million copies, and has been translated into nearly 70 million languages.
News:
Penguins took over the Library’s courtyard recently and they brought a lot of families with them.
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.
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.
