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What’s got us talking

A quiet space to create

Andrew, who describes himself as ‘living displaced’, has always loved libraries – even as a child. 

We Are What We Steal

A DX Lab Digital Drop-In experiment looking at some of the changes in NSW from 1860 to 1900 through the crimes recorded in the NSW Police Gazette. 

Reflecting on Kamay

Capturing the contested landscape for our exhibition Eight Days in Kamay was eye-opening for a Library photographer.

Beautiful detail of bracken fern, Kamay National Park

SL Magazine

Read fascinating articles about new acquisitions, research discoveries and upcoming exhibitions.

Collection buzz

What's old is new again

The Library has recently acquired a highly detailed world map, published in London in 1798. 

Evocative scenes of everyday life

The Library has recently acquired a unique oil painting by Australian artist Herbert Badham.

'The Town Band' by Herbert Badham

Limited edition photographic artists’ books

Three artists’ books — Signs & wonders by Stephen Dupont and Jacques Menasche, Farewell Angelina by Anna D’Addario and Duende by Peter Lyssiotis — were recently added to the Library’s collection.

An open book.

Cook commemoration sparks 1970 protest

On 29 April 1970 protestors marched through Sydney's CBD before making their way to La Perouse. 

Tribune negatives including meeting of FCAATSI leaders at Sydney Town Hall and protestors at Day of Mourning memorial gathering and procession in Sydney, 28 April 1970-29 April 1970

The making of Slater’s Field Guide to Australian Birds

The Library has recently acquired the extraordinary archive of  Peter Slater, one of Australia’s best-known ornithologists.

Featured events

Scholar Talk: Visiting Mother: Australian soldiers in London during World War I 

Scholar Talks
Tuesday
Tuesday 4 August 2020 - 11am to 12pm
Free
Talk

The State Library of New South Wales holds a significant collection of WWI diaries and letters. These personal voices reveal the horror, the loneliness and the adventure of war.

Online

Family History Month webinar — Ancestry Library Edition

Lifelong learning
Family History Month
Wednesday
Wednesday 5 August 2020 - 10:30am to 11am
Free
Talk

Join us for an introduction to Ancestry Library Edition, an important research tool for family historians.

your library at home State Library webpage

History Matters: Crime Histories and the Australian Story

Wednesday
Wednesday 5 August 2020 - 5:30pm to 6:30pm
Free
Talk

Public history shapes our communities’ understandings of the past. This series will explore the issues that stimulate and bedevil the work of public historians.

Online

Author talk: Glimpses of Utopia

Author Talks
Thursday
Thursday 6 August 2020 - 7pm to 8pm
Free
Talk

Join Jess and Benjamin Law as they discuss how we can work together to reimagine the way we live, work and play. Warning — this talk may require optimism and an open mind! 

Glimpses of Utopia book cover
Online