Home > Stories > The Library Files: exploring 52 kilometres of our collection

The Library Files: exploring 52 kilometres of our collection

30 August 2021

In this episode of The Library Files, Head of Collections Access Vanessa Ross takes us on a whistle stop tour of State Library Victoria’s off-site collection storage in Ballarat.

Over half the Library’s collection resides in the Ballarat Off-site Store (BOSS), including 52 lineal kilometres of books, objects, manuscripts, textiles and realia. It’s also home to some weird and wonderful Historic Victorian items, such as Captain Cook’s waistcoat, a rolltop desk belonging to the first editor of The Age, and even a vacuum cleaner from the Coles Myer collection.

Watch the video above to get lost in the historic maze, and learn about the logistics behind keeping items in the Library’s collection safe for future generations.

Please note: the figures mentioned in this video are from a 2017 calculation.

About The Library Files

The Library Files is a video series that sheds new light on the little known processes, stories and spaces of State Library Victoria.

Find out more and view all episodes.