New Sights & Sounds including Stones, Sinbad and Satchmo.
Film, Music, Rare Books & Arts:
Some great new arrivals in popular music, film soundtracks, musical theatre, jazz, rock, classical, and even marching music for those so inclined.
August 2015 National Family History Month with guest blogger Shauna Hicks
Family history events, Family matters:
Special welcome to our August guest blogger Shauna Hicks, coordinator of National Family History Month in Australia.
Sonya Hartnett on the power of the manuscript
As a child, celebrated Australian author Sonya Hartnett, submitted her handmade manuscripts to publishers. In this speech she reflects on how much has changed since then.
Bohemian Melbourne honoured at Museum Awards
News:
Our acclaimed 2014-15 summer exhibition, Bohemian Melbourne, received a Highly Commended honour at the Museums Australia (Victoria) Awards ceremony last night.
Slums of Melbourne
Social life & customs, Such was life:
As far back as the 1850s, slums existed in inner city Melbourne. In the 1930s, Frederick Barnett began taking photos of the slums, using them in a push for social reform.
Melbourne International Film Festival; that’s entertainment!
It’s that time of year again when Melbourne’s cinephiles either come to work bleary-eyed and tetchy, or just take a couple of weeks off and disappear into darkened cinemas around town.
Let us enjoy the beauty of the moon
Its been 46 years since astronauts first walked on the moon, but artists the world over have been travelling there for centuries.
ABC Director of News to take the helm of State Library Victoria
News:
The President of the Library Board of Victoria, Mr John Wylie AM, today announced the appointment of Ms Kate Torney as the new Chief Executive Officer of State Library Victoria.
The great flood of 1891
Buildings & streets, Such was life:
In July 1891, non stop rain over a weekend saw the Yarra break its bank and flood surrounding suburbs- leaving thousands homeless.
Mining for treasure, or digging deep for art
Rare Books & Arts, Visual arts:
S.T.Gill is perhaps best known for his iconic visions of everyday life on the goldfields, and a quick search of our catalogue shows that he was not alone in finding a rich vein of inspiration in the more industrial side of life.
Such was life
Early views of Melbourne by Robert Russell
Surveyor and artist Robert Russell published an early survey of Melbourne featuring the Yarra Falls that determined the site for the foundation of the township. He also produced drawings and watercolours of the Yarra Falls from where his cottage was located.
Arts
Collecting Agatha Christie
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.
