Mapping the past with Victoria’s historical plans

Mapping the past with Victoria’s historical plans

April 4, 2023

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

The Historical Maps and Plans Collection is a boon for researchers, containing everything from descriptions of what the landscape was like when Europeans arrived, to the locations of early buildings and houses, pastoral runs, and even shipwrecks.

Trove: a treasure chest of family history gems

Trove: a treasure chest of family history gems

March 30, 2023

Family matters, Research tips & tricks:

If you’re a family history researcher in Australia, chances are you’ve stumbled upon Trove. The Trove digitised newspapers and gazettes collection is an invaluable resource for family historians, and allows for free, remote access to over 1000 historic Australian newspapers and gazettes, no matter where you are in the country. Let’s see what family history treasures we can unbox in Trove!

Reconstructing Brockhoff’s Crispette billboard – Part 3: Digitisation

Reconstructing Brockhoff’s Crispette billboard – Part 3: Digitisation

March 28, 2023

Collection Care, Conservation, Digitisation:

In part 3 of this series, which was inspired by the conservation treatment of an enormous biscuit billboard, join our Digital Production team as they share the finer details of this complex digitisation process.

Reconstructing Brockhoff’s Crispette billboard – Part 2: Conservation treatment

Reconstructing Brockhoff’s Crispette billboard – Part 2: Conservation treatment

March 28, 2023

Collection Care, Conservation:

In part 2 of this series, follow along as our paper conservators stabilise an enormous billboard for Brockhoff’s popular Crispette supper cracker.

Reconstructing Brockhoff’s Crispette billboard – Part 1: Brockhoff Biscuits and the perfect supper cracker

Reconstructing Brockhoff’s Crispette billboard – Part 1: Brockhoff Biscuits and the perfect supper cracker

March 28, 2023

Collection Care, Conservation, Digitisation:

In part 1 of this series, which was inspired by the conservation treatment of an enormous biscuit billboard, learn about Melbourne’s own Brockhoff Biscuits and their perfect supper cracker, the Crispette.

Dome to Catacomb

Dome to Catacomb

March 24, 2023

Ask a librarian, Victorian history:

Step behind-the-scenes as we tour the Library from Dome to Catacomb. We invite you to explore the layers of history that make up the Library. 

Have your say: a new State Library Victoria podcast

Have your say: a new State Library Victoria podcast

March 22, 2023

News:

Help us design our next podcast (and win a $100 gift card in the process).

Paris is always a good idea

Paris is always a good idea

March 17, 2023

Ask a librarian, Cities & towns, Photography, Reference desk:

Read about the time Paris lost itself in Melbourne. Good thing we found it and gave it back to the world! Here’s the fascinating story of a collection that everyone believed to be lost.

The treasure that is Trove: why reference librarians love it

The treasure that is Trove: why reference librarians love it

March 15, 2023

Ask a librarian, Reference desk, Research tips:

On any given day here at State Library Victoria you may hear librarians wax lyrical about the wonders of Trove. Yet for many library users it can be a bit of a mystery. So what is Trove, how do librarians at State Library Victoria use it and why should you use it, too? (Hint: it’s free!) 

Jane Austen – new acquisitions

Jane Austen – new acquisitions

March 8, 2023

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights:

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we took a look at a recent acquisition to our collection – a first edition copy of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and Persuasion in a four-volume set.

Such was life

Reminiscences from 1965

Reminiscences from 1965

June 11, 2026 0 comments

In 1965, some older Victorians wrote short essays for a competition, recalling their early lives.

Arts

Photographic portrait by Richard Beck of Ailsa O’Connor (1921-1980), political activist, painter, sculptor, author and teacher.

Ailsa O’Connor: highlights of a life of socialist activism, feminism and art

March 23, 2026 9 comments

Ailsa O’Connor (1921-1980) was a political activist, painter, sculptor, author and teacher. Throughout her art career she was a member of the Communist Party and associated with the Socialist Realist Group.