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What’s got us talking

Eresource update: Historical newspaper archives

The contrasting style and scope of The Telegraph Historical Archive (1855-2000) and the Daily Mail Historical Archive (1896-2004) form a great comparison for researching topics like politics, women’s studies and social history.

Multiple Daily Mail newspapers

Robot reader speaks your language

Adaptive technology Readit Air is available now in the Governor Marie Bashir Reading Room.

Mari-Paz Ovidi using the Readit Air in the Governor Marie Bashir Reading Room

Has Sydney always been called Sydney?

Melissa Jackson from Indigenous Services Branch discusses place names and identities of Aboriginal Sydney.

Photo of woman talking

As luck would have it

Ailsa Piper examined what it means to be 'lucky' in her 2018 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Address. Read the transcript here.

 Ailsa Piper, delivering the 2018 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Address.

Collection buzz

Recent acquisitions on printing and papermaking

The Library actively collects material relating to the publishing industry, including the history of printing, paper making, book binding, intaglio, lithography and other production techniques.

Coloured pattern containing red, blue and yellow shapes

How we remember

One hundred years after troops landed at Gallipoli, the Library commissioned five professional photographers to document what the people of New South Wales did on 25 April 2015.

Alexander Burnett Hector and his colour music invention

The Library recently acquired thirteen colourful drawings on paper created by Alexander Burnett Hector, a distinctive Sydney individual who some would label as eccentric.

Illustration by Alexander Burnett Hector

Across the curator’s desk: Anarchist newspapers of John Arthur Andrews

Anna Corkhill, Curator in the Library's Research and Discovery team, shares a collection of rare anarchist newspapers from the late 19th century. 

Anarchist publications by John Arthur Andrews

An allegory of the British Empire

Allegoria sull’impero Inglese (An allegory of the English Empire) is a fine example of persuasive cartography that adds to and complements the Library’s extensive map collection.

An allegory of the English Empire

Across the curator’s desk: Nauru album 1920-1953

Senior Curator, Geoff  Barker, shares a rare album of early Nauru photographs compiled by T. H. Cude.

Nauru photographs compiled by T H Cude

A manuscript on vellum

Maggie Patton, Manager of the Library's Research and Discovery team, shares a rare religious text from the first half of the sixteenth century.

A manuscript on vellum

Featured events

Talking Deadly: My Grandmother's Lingo

Wednesday 30 May 2018 - 6pm to 7pm

Join Jake Duczynski for Talking Deadly as he discusses the making of My Grandmother’s Lingo, a Walkley Award-winning animation revitalising Marra language.

Talking Deadly logo

Author Talk: Dr Peter Cochrane - The Making of Martin Sparrow

Wednesday 6 June 2018 - 12:30pm to 1:30pm

One of this country’s leading historians, Peter Cochrane, comes to the Library to talk about his tale of epic adventure of chance and endurance. 

The Making of Martin Sparrow book cover

National Biography Award Lecture: 'Unauthorised' with Tom DC Roberts

Wednesday 6 June 2018 - 6pm to 7pm

In this year’s lecture, Tom DC Roberts explores how his ‘unauthorised’ biography of Sir Keith compares to previous ‘approved’ biographies, and how other subjects who have also had multiple biographers have had very different ‘lives’ created as a result. 

 

Tom DC Roberts head shot

Author Talk: Wild Sea - A History of the Southern Ocean

Saturday 9 June 2018 - 2pm to 3pm

 In Wild Sea, Joy McCann interweaves the fascinating environmental and cultural histories of the Southern Ocean, drawing from sea captains’ journals, scientific reports, ancient beliefs and her own voyage of discovery.

Author Headshot of Joy McCann