Ask a Librarian

Direct from the State Library Victoria reference desk – our librarians share stories, resources and research tips, as well as some of their favourite queries (as asked by you!). 

Got a question you'd like our wonderful librarians to answer? Get in touch and let us know!

Watch Ask a Librarian

Watch our six most recent episodes here - and visit our YouTube channel to view the entire playlist!

Read the blog

Loved the video? Read more in our Ask a Librarian blog series.

• Fireworks in Little Bourke street
• When the Spanish flu came to Victoria
• Using the Victorian Police Gazettes to research your ancestors
• Pigeon messengers of World War I
• Voices from the Great War
• Canvas Town: 'a floating city devoured by the sun'
• 'Put out that light!' Brownout Melbourne during World War II
• Dedicated to the ladies
• The All England 11 and the birth of Australian cricket
• The punk and alternative music scenes of St Kilda (and Melbourne) in the 1970s and 1980s
• Piecing together the lives of soldiers
• Murder at the Grand National
• A tale of two lions
• To the land of hope! Mid 19th century voyages from the UK to Victoria
• The riotous Williams
• Oscar saves the day (about Oscar the sled dog)
• The voyage of the HMS Hercules
• The inspiration behind Picnic at Hanging Rock
• Time travelling with Sands & McDougall
• Albert Purchas: architect, soldier, inventor
• The day the Sea Fury came to visit
• The marvellous and macabre waxworks: part one
• The marvellous and macabre waxworks: part two

Still want more?

• View our video resources & notes for the 'On the Beach' episode, available on our YouTube channel (opens in Google Drive).

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