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Stories

Discover curiosities, treasures and the latest inspiring stories from our community and inside the Library

A crowd of onlookers at a football game
22 October 2020

Local football over the decades

We've scoured our digital collections for the best and rarest images of local football over the century.

Headshot of Erik Jensen on grey and black background
21 October 2020

2020 Stephen Murray-Smith Memorial Lecture: Erik Jensen, The Man with No Face

Erik Jensen delivers a powerful lecture that explores how political systems impact the lives of individuals.

A single row boat floats down a flooded Melbourne street
15 October 2020

The day Melbourne went underwater

Our latest From the Vault video offers an extraordinary glimpse into our city, underwater, during the 'Great Flood' of 1891.

Black and white photo of two horses in front of a tram
08 October 2020

The horse-powered trams of 19th century Melbourne

In our latest video of the From the Vault series, we bring you some rarely-seen photos of Melbourne's earliest public transport.

Black and white photo of six men and two horses standing by a large tree
01 October 2020

A grandstand in the middle of Beech Forest

An Ask a Librarian query unearthed a very wacky racecourse in the middle of a forest!

Black and white photo of two young children
25 September 2020

A rare photo series showing the Melbourne slums of the 1930s

The first video in our brand new series, From the Vault, provides a rare glimpse into the slums of Melbourne 100 years ago.

Drawing of a flea
19 September 2020

Engraving of a flea online jigsaw puzzle

Cure school holiday boredom with this customisable digital puzzle!

Three platypuses
19 September 2020

Platypuses online jigsaw puzzle

Keep the kids entertained with this free platypus puzzle!

19 September 2020

Christmas projections online jigsaw puzzle

It's never too early for some Christmas cheer!

Heritage wooden desks and chairs in the La Trobe Reading Room
19 September 2020

La Trobe Reading Room online jigsaw puzzle

The magnificent octagonal reading room now comes in puzzle form!

A woman leafs through piles of paper on a table
17 September 2020

Whitman letters

Kate Torney shares one of the Library's treasures: heartfelt letters between American poet Walt Whitman and his Melburnian friend Bernard O'Dowd.

A grandfather sits at a table with his preschool-aged granddaughter
11 September 2020

Collective Isolation Project, week 21: Our legacy

In our final Memory Bank we ask you to tell us: what do you want people in 100 years from now to know about this time?