Stories | State Library Victoria

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Lithograph showing facade of Melbourne's Public Library c.1858, featuring Joseph Reed's design for the whole facade with the two corner pavilions.

The Library’s foundation stones were set in July 1854 and the doors opened in February 1856. We look back on 170 years.

Discover a wide range of learning, publishing and development opportunities, as well as prizes and fellowships, for young writers.

Black and white photograph of author Peter Carey working on a laptop in his study, which feature floor-to-ceiling bookshelves spanning one wall.

Direct from New York, Peter Carey joins host Michael Williams for an exclusive online interview about his creative practice.

Professor Peter Kornicki takes us on a journey through Japan’s printing history for the 2025 Foxcroft Lecture.

Image featuring artist Joe Monteleone in his studio, working on linocut prints at an angled workstation

Artist Joe Monteleone reflects on making art and sharing his Deafblind perspective with the world.

Alice Zaslavsky surrounded by stacks of books while seated a desk in the Library's La Trobe Reading Room

Alice Zaslavsky uncovers the tastes of her childhood through the Library’s cookbook collection, where every meal tells a story and every recipe sparks a memory.

Butterfly specimens in a case at the Australian Museum

Long before the Louvre jewellery raid, the world of natural science was rocked by the most audacious serial heist in the history of Australia’s museums. A fascinating new book draws on the Library’s collection to unpack this true crime caper.

Image of Lawrence Leung reading a book.

Comedian Lawrence Leung has been digging into the Library’s extraordinary collection to uncover the curious world of 19th-century spiritualism.

Installation view of Creative Acts: Artists and their inspiration at State Library Victoria. There are a number of cabinets and cases in the foreground featuring books and other items from the collection. It is a very full gallery.

Michelle Moo, the Library’s Manager, Exhibitions and Experience Design, speaks about curating the exhibition 'Creative Acts'.

Artist Bundit Puangthong reflects on his family and upbringing, and the core memories that inform his work in this instalment of our Monograph series.

George Coppin was one of colonial Australia's most audacious and successful showmen. A fascinating new book details his tumultuous journey to Civil War-era America.

Still from Monograph: Dr Deanne Gilson, showing the artist standing in front of an uprooted tree in a paddock

The first instalment of the Library’s new short-format documentary series, Monograph, is on Dr Deanne Gilson.

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