In the first full month after its launch in April 2008, 'ergo' received an impressive 18,768 visits and attracted over 11,000 unique visitors. In addition, a large number of visitors are being referred from blogs, school intranets and websites for teachers, indicating that the site is reaching its target audience of secondary school students and teachers.

'ergo' content producer Linda Angeloni has been demonstrating the site at schools, libraries and conferences since May, and says that the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

'Teachers are excited about how "ergo" combines skills and SLV's wonderful resources all in the same place. And they can't believe how much has been digitised and that it's there for them to use!'

The website offers secondary students practical guides to research, essay writing and study skills, plus access to over 500 primary documents and images from the Library's collections. It also provides teachers with a range of exercises and activities to help develop students' critical thinking skills.

Explore the 'ergo' website >

Showcasing original photographs, documents, artwork and relics, Sport and War tells the stories of Australian sporting personalities whose lives were affected by war. Highlights include a football jersey worn on the Western Front, a 'Melbourne Cup' made by prisoners of war in Borneo, and Donald Bradman's war medals.

This inspiring exhibition is complemented by a program of talks, tours and events, the first of which is the panel discussion 'Sport in a Time of War', on 15 July. Featuring guest speakers including writer and broadcaster Tony Wilson and cricket writer Gideon Haigh, it promises to be a lively event.

Find out more about the exhibition >

Book now for the panel discussion >

'Flashpoint: New Writing for Theatre' will feature excerpts from plays by Kit Lazaroo, Tom Holloway, and Jianguo Wu and John Ashton, read by outstanding Australian actors including Grant Cartwright, Georgina Capper, David Whitely, Sarah Sutherland, Gareth Yuen and Jessie Wei.

The readings will be followed by Q&A with the playwrights and artists, facilitated by Kristy Edmunds, Artistic Director of the Melbourne International Arts Festival.

The RE Ross Trust Playwrights' Script Development Awards allow Australian writers to develop an original script with a theatre group or workshop.

Book now for this event >

Find out more about the RE Ross Trust Playwrights' Script Development Awards >

The scholarship, worth $30,000, is awarded biennially, alternating with the Barrett Reid scholarship. Both scholarships provide a public library staff member with funding for a broad range of activities to further their career development.

Applications for the 2008 Margery C Ramsay Scholarship are open until 4pm Friday 29 August. The official scholarship awards will take place later in the year.

Find out more or apply for the Margery C Ramsay Scholarship >

Learn about the Library's range of Research Programs >

In this lecture, Trinh will discuss how she uses digital tools to generate ideas for her artwork, and the significance of this process in a time of technological change.

Trinh is a lecturer in Multimedia and Digital Arts at Monash University, and the recipient of the inaugural (2007) Georges Mora Foundation Fellowship. The Georges Mora Foundation Fellowship supports artists in exploring new thinking and researching new ideas.

Book now for this event >

Find out more about the Georges Mora Foundation Fellowship >

The panel discussion is the first event associated with the Library's new exhibition Sport and War, and will feature Australian personalities such as writer/broadcaster Tony Wilson and cricket writer Gideon Haigh. Panellists will explore the stories, language and ideals of sport and war in Australia.

Sport and War will be at the Library from 11 July to 26 October, and is complemented by a range of talks, tours and activities for the whole family.

Book now for this event >

Find out more about the exhibition >

The Bedside Books Club is a great opportunity to share your opinions on the best and worst your bedside collection has to offer, and find out what other people are reading.

The July meeting will feature guest speakers including author Dorothy Porter, reading advocate Andrew Webster and book-trend guru Mary Dalmau, from Reader's Feast Bookstores. It promises to be a lively event.

Find out more or book now for this event >

The exhibition draws on original photographs, documents, artworks and relics to tell stories of courage, loyalty and achievement, and illustrate the significance of sport during wartime.

Featuring items such as a 'Melbourne Cup' made by prisoners of war, and cricketer Donald Bradman's war medals, Sport and War promises to be an inspiring event.

Find out more about this new exhibition >

Research for the series began in 2005 and included every public library in Victoria. 'Connecting with the Community' focuses on five community groups that may not fully utilise the services offered by public libraries, and examines how libraries can better attract and engage these target groups.

'Connecting with the Community', along with the previous reports in the Libraries Building Communities series, can now be downloaded from the State Library website.

Read the new report >

The exhibition is the gallery's first online offering, and features animated self-portraits by 14 Australian artists, including Oscar-nominated animator Anthony Lucas. Artists Troy Innocent, Adam Nash and Tim Devine (via video phone), will join Gillian to discuss the joys and challenges of creating art in the online space.

Animated [external link] will run until 31 August 2008.

Find out more or book a place for this event >

Kids can listen to Bernard Caleo tell stories of the Trojan War, make their own digital story book or stop-motion animation, see Ned Kelly's real suit of armour and more. There's also plenty of exhibitions, talks and tours to keep adults entertained.

Visit the Library for some holiday fun, from Sunday 29 June to Sunday 13 July.

Find out more about school holidays at the Library >

CEO and State Librarian Anne-Marie Schwirtlich is delighted by the exhibition's enormous success. 'The Medieval Imagination has been hugely popular,' she said. 'It is unique and beautiful...I do encourage you to see these remarkable books before the exhibition closes as it will not be shown anywhere else in the world.'

If you can't get in to the Library, a range of interactive extras are now available online. You can also listen to recordings of lectures by John Armstrong and Clare Monagle, as part of the 'Life in the Middle Ages' series.

Listen to the lectures online >

Find out more about the exhibition >

Seven Creative Fellowships were awarded, each worth between $12,500 and $25,000. Three Honorary Fellowships were also awarded, with children's author Morris Gleitzman among the recipients.

The inaugural Dr Joseph Brown AO OBE Fellowship, worth $20,000, was awarded to Rodney James, who will produce a manuscript for an illustrated book of edited letters to and from Alan McCulloch AO.

Geographer Dr Wayne Caldow was the recipient of the second annual La Trobe Society Fellowship. Dr Caldow will examine the way that the Gippsland landscape and environment were perceived by European settlers.

The six-month Redmond Barry Fellowship was awarded to zoologist and science writer Dr Danielle Clode, who will explore major environmental issues affecting Australia, including fire ecology and climate change.

Cyrus Tang received the six-month Georges Mora Fellowship, which promotes contemporary art and artists in Australia. Ms Tang will produce artworks and installations documenting her childhood in Hong Kong.

See the full list of 2008 Fellowship recipients >

Learn more about the Library's Fellowships >

The DVD, Football Stories from Country Victoria, is a compilation of 21 short films that give an insight into the significance of football in rural Victoria, and how the sport has changed over time. Veteran players also provide humorous first-hand accounts of the scandals and mysteries that accompany a sport with such passionate supporters.

The annual Victorian Community History Awards support projects that contribute to the development of history in Victoria and use new and innovative methods to tell the story of Victoria's history.

Find out more about the awards [external link] >

The documentary, 'The Medieval Imagination - a Chronicle Documentary', features interviews with key players behind the exhibition, as well as footage of some of the beautiful manuscripts on display.

Experimedia is offering free screenings of the documentary from Monday 2 June until Sunday 15 June, every half hour during Library hours, except when special events are being held. Don't miss out on your chance to get a glimpse behind the scenes of this major exhibition!

View the documentary trailer >

These beautiful manuscripts have been on display since 28 March, and have attracted record crowds and widespread media attention.

Don't miss out on seeing this spectacular exhibition. The Medieval Imagination is open daily from 10am to 5pm (to 9pm Thursdays). In its final week, the exhibition opening hours will be extended as follows:

• 10am to 5pm Monday 9 June, Tuesday 10 June and Wednesday 11 June
• 10am to 9pm Thursday 12 June
• 10am to 6pm Friday 13 June, Saturday 14 June and Sunday 15 June.

If you can't make it into the Library, experience the beauty of these medieval manuscripts online through our image gallery, audio tours, videos and other interactive extras.

Learn more about the exhibition >

Explore the interactive extras >

Shaun's illustrations have won numerous awards, including the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award, Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year (Honour Book) and Best Artist at the 2007 World Fantasy Convention.

Find out more or make a booking for this event >

Heritage Collections, including Manuscripts, Pictures and Rare Printed collections will be closed, and there will be no same-day deliveries to the Heritage Collections Reading Room.

If you would like to use items from Heritage Collections or items in offsite storage on the Queen’s Birthday holiday, you will need to order them in advance as follows:

• Onsite and offsite Heritage Collections – by 3pm, Friday 6 June
• Offsite newspapers – by 5.30pm, Thursday 5 June
• Offsite books and journals – by 5.30pm, Sunday 8 June.

Mr Tulk cafe will be open from 9am to 4pm and Tulk Junior will be closed.

Find out more about our opening hours >

After launching the book to an audience of invited guests and members of the press, the Prime Minister toured the Library for almost an hour with Library Board President John Cain and CEO and State Librarian Anne-Marie Schwirtlich.

The Prime Minister reminisced about the times he had spent in the Library, and pointed out the chair in which he used to sit in the La Trobe Reading Room.

Currently any bags larger than 26cm x 16cm x 10cm need to be left in lockers. The new size limit will allow Library users to bring in bags that are sized 40cm x 30cm x 10cm. This new size limit will apply to all bags, including handbags and laptop satchels. Bags that are larger than this will need to be stowed in lockers in the Cloakroom.

To assess whether your bags may be brought in or must be left in a locker, compare them to the bag-check signs in the Library's foyer and locker areas.

Read the Baggage policy >

Patti will discuss the ongoing challenges faced by libraries in East Timor, as they attempt to rebuild the knowledge and history of a war-town country.

Patti was the recipient of the 2003 Margery C Ramsay Scholarship, which recognises excellence in Victorian public libraries. The scholarship comprised a study tour of libraries in East Timor, to enable her to better understand the needs of the East Timorese in the Maribyrnong community.

Book now for this free public lecture >

The Library has provided funding for the death mask to be scanned using reverse engineering, a process that electronically records the data of a physical object. Normally used in mechanical engineering and car manufacturing, the super-fast technology can scan the entire surface area of an object with 0.02mm accuracy.

This technology means that the mask can be physically replicated at any size with incredible accuracy. The scans also allow Kelly’s death mask to be viewed from any angle when in its digital format, which presents enormous possibilities for the Library's online offerings.

View the death mask in the Pictures Catalogue >

The keynote address for this conference is a free public lecture entitled ‘Openings’, which will take place from 7-8pm at Storey Hall, RMIT, on Thursday, 29 May. In this lecture, Professor Jeffrey Hamburger from the Sackler Museum, Harvard University, explores how the medieval book lends itself to decoration and illumination, and the possibilities that manuscripts presented over the medieval millennium.

The conference has been enormously popular and is now fully subscribed, but bookings are still available for 'Openings'.

Find out more about the conference >

Book now for this free public event >

A number of television and radio programs featuring coverage of The Medieval Imagination can be accessed online, and offer unique insights into the creation of this exhibition and the manuscripts on display.

Explore the following radio and television programs (a more comprehensive list of media coverage is available in our 7 May media release):

• Christopher de Hamel, of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, talks about some of the College's contributions to the exhibition, and The Medieval Imagination curator Margaret Manion discusses the exhibition in this Channel 9 'Sunday' program feature story from 20 April.
  
  Watch the 'Sunday' program video >
  
  
• Journalist Fenella Kernebone looks at The Medieval Imagination, with comments from exhibition curator Margaret Manion, Corpus Christi's Christopher de Hamel and 'Sunday Arts' host Michael Veitch in this 4 May ABC Television 'Sunday Arts' program.
  
  Download the ABC 'Sunday Arts' 4 May video >
  
  
• Bronwyn Stocks, co-editor of The Medieval Imagination catalogue with Nigel Morgan, discusses the exhibition, and medieval illuminated manuscripts in general, with Rachel Kohn, presenter of 'The Ark' program on ABC Radio National, in the 6 April episode 'Medieval Manuscripts in Australia'.
  
  Read the transcript of The Ark's 'Medieval Manuscripts in Australia' program >
  

The Medieval Imagination runs until 15 June 2008. It is open 10am-5pm daily and until 9pm Thursdays.

Among the 12 awards on offer this year is the inaugural Prize for Best Music Theatre Script. Others include the Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction, the Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-fiction and the John Curtin Prize for Journalism.

Established in 1995, the Awards are now recognised as one Australia's most prestigious literary awards. They are part of the Victorian Government's commitment to raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry.

Find out more about the Awards >

This exhibition celebrates the Victorian holiday in all its forms; from sea-bathing and snow-skiing to bush treks, camping and caravanning. It traces how Victorian holiday styles have changed over the years, and how this reflects changes in our society, lifestyle and tastes.

Photographs, maps, posters, postcards and guidebooks, plus a multimedia display of slides from the early 1900s and 1940s-50s home movies are featured in the exhibition.

Victorians on Vacation moves on to the Mildura Arts Centre in October, Warrnambool Art Gallery in December, and Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery in March 2009.

Discover more about Victorians on Vacation >

This selection of Travelling Treasures showcases items that highlight Australian stories of personal achievement and survival, and include:

• John Helder Wedge’s letter to the Colonial Secretary of Van Diemen’s Land
• original items from Burke and Wills’ ill-fated expedition
• rare and little-known editions of May Gibbs' childrens books
• Margaret Ingham's handwritten record of passengers who died when the ship SS City of Cairo was torpedoed.

Experts from the State Library will give free talks, and answer audience questions about these incredible items.

Find out more about Travelling Treasures >

The Awards support Victorian-based writers in developing their play scripts, and workshopping them with a Victorian-based theatre company or group, director or dramaturg.

Award winners are announced at the annual Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards.

See full information, guidelines and entry form >

This play explores the relationship between Sir Redmond Barry – Ned Kelly's hanging judge and founder of the State Library – and Marcus Clarke, journalist and author of For The Term of His Natural Life.

Set within the Library's walls, the play examines two very different men in a crucial period in Melbourne's history.

Find out more about the play >

Read about the Library's Creative Fellowships >

It showcases hundreds of original documents, photographs, maps and other items from the Library's collection. Video interviews with prominent Victorian writers and historians such as Helen Garner and Robyn Annear feature throughout the site. Teacher resources (tied to the VELS 5, 6 and VCE curriculums) are also provided.

Explore ergo >