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What’s got us talking

Culture Up Late extended

Get your culture fix at the Library with the NSW Government’s Culture Up Late initiative extended until the end of June 2021.

exterior of the Mitchell building of the state library of NSW at sunset

World Book Day

An impassioned exploration of the books that get our hearts pumping and our blood boiling. Watch it online.

Cassie McCullagh (co-host of Radio National’s The Bookshelf & ABC Radio Sydney presenter)

Coming out in the 70s

This exhibition pays tribute to the people and events that paved the way for pride as we know it today. See it onsite and online.

Free lockers for Library card holders.

Lockers are now free for all Library cards holders, following a recent upgrade. Learn more about our new locker system.

Woman with her back to the camera putting her belongings into a Library locker.

Collection buzz

War diaries of George Gittoes

A selection of visual diaries of Australian artist George Gittoes, covering the period between 2001 and 2014, have been recently digitised by the Library.

Detail from Image 8, Item 24: George Gittoes art diary, ca. April 2009-ca. December 2009

Kathleen’s voyage: A love story

These beautifully illustrated logbooks record a detailed account of the circumnavigation of the world by the deep-sea cruising yacht Kathleen Gillett.

Detail: [The Kathleen Gillet in full sail], oil on card, Kathleen's voyage number 2, Thursday Island to Christmas Island, July-August 1947

Sydney's Bungaree

Bungaree (c 1775–1830) is a remarkable and enigmatic figure in Sydney and Australia’s colonial history.

Bligh’s Bounty logbooks

The logbooks of William Bligh, which document the most notorious mutiny in history, were officially inscribed on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World register.

William Bligh's Logbook

Featured events

History Matters: Queer History

Wednesday
Wednesday 5 May 2021 - 5:30pm to 6:30pm
Free
Talk

In this session, two speakers will discuss recent projects on queer Australian history, each of which has drawn significantly on the collections of the State Library of New South Wales.

Online

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Thursday
Thursday 6 May 2021 - 12pm to 1pm
Free
Workshop

Join us at the Library for calligraphy demonstrations in languages other than English

Desk with quill

Starting Family History Research

Lifelong learning
Wednesday
Wednesday 12 May 2021 - 10:30am to 11:30am
Workshop

Family history can reveal surprising and sometimes moving lost stories.

Online

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Thursday
Thursday 13 May 2021 - 12pm to 1pm
Free
Workshop

Join us at the Library for calligraphy demonstrations in languages other than English

Desk with quill