Behind the scenes

Decorated initials — artworks in themselves — have a long history.

What do you do when one of the world’s largest wet-plate glass negatives, weighing over 30 kilos, smashes into hundreds of pieces?

Darug people share a deeper story of Dyarubbin, the Hawkesbury River.

A behind the scenes look at the new podcast series exploring the last great influenza pandemic in 1919.

In 1770 the Gweagal people of Kamay (Botany Bay) discovered James Cook and the Endeavour. The Library’s new exhibition explores the eight days that followed.

The extraordinary events of the past few months are unprecedented in our lifetimes, but the response to the Covid-19 pandemic contains echoes of the 1918–19 influenza outbreak. The Library is one of many institutions following the lead of our forebears.

While the Nazis had conquered Western Europe in 1940 and threatened Britain’s very existence, the State Library had continued on much as it had before the war.

A vital public institution.

A major exhibition opening in July at the Library will celebrate UNESCO’s International Year of Indigenous Languages.

Sifting through the ‘glorious clutter’ of the Thompson family papers offers a sense of early Sydney life and insights into several significant local families.

We’ve almost doubled our gallery space to show more of the Library’s collection and give exhibition visitors a chance to make their own connections.

A compelling portrait of a young colonial woman has been given new life. 

The Library celebrates International Women's Day by honouring the legacy of female Librarians.

For over 50 years, the site next to the New South Wales Parliament on Macquarie Street was occupied by one of the Colony's more unusual pieces of architecture.

Between 1826 and 1869 the Australian Subscription Library was reshaped into a Free Public Library.

Winner of the 2017 Jean Arnot Memorial Fellowship essay by Kristin Twomey on the importance of libraries as information, educational, cultural and social institutions assisting to build local communities. 

In 25 years at the State Library, our Curator of Photographs has seen four people cry.

Discover the fascinating story behind Shakespeare's First Folio and other stories featuring Shakespeare in the Library.

In 2015 the Library began sharing some of its digitised collections on Google’s Cultural Institute. 

Explore the extensive collection of 16th to 20th century maps donated by Sir William Dixson.

A passionate group of benefactors collaborated to support the refurbishment of the ground floor of the Mitchell wing.