State Library of New South Wales

Wishing everyone a happy and safe New Year! Whether you're out on the town, or staying in with a good book, we hope you have a wonderful night wherever you are. May your 2025 be full of adventure, new books, and lots of trips to the Library. 📚✨ Explore our 2025 program: https://sl.nsw.gov.au/2025 Image: Wendy Shortland's Artist's Sketchbook, 15 December 2007 to 9 September 2009

What a year it's been! In 2024 we had over: 🏛️ 1.1 million visitors onsite 💻 2.8 million visitors online 💬 92,700 enquiries answered 🎤 25,800 event attendees 📚 82,000 books in 43 languages sent out to public libraries 🎒 76,300 students and teachers join our learning programs We look forward to providing more essential services and magical experiences next year. See our 2025 program: https://lnkd.in/g4p9-DRN

A reminder to get your early-bird entries in for our 2025 literary awards! ✍️ The National Biography Award, Australia’s richest prize for biographical writing and memoir. ✍️ The Russell Prize for Humour Writing, the first award of its kind in Australia. A discounted early-bird price for entries is available until 19 December 2024, with entries for both awards closing on 23 January 2025. View guidelines and enter here: https://lnkd.in/d2eSm8Gw

Discover the scandals, daring exploits, and bold photography from the magazine's 30-year history. With its eye-catching, lipstick-red logo, PIX delivered a new style of journalism, using photographs to tell sensational stories of modern life. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gjyP2Gka

Our summer issue of Openbook magazine is out now! Inside you'll find stories about the music that moves us, a profile on broadcaster Andrew Ford, and actor John Gaden shares the library that made him. There's also a glorious photo essay on Sydney's best swim spots, a Christmas recipe from the collection, poetry, fiction and more. Become a Friend to get Openbook delivered to your door every quarter, along with: ✨ Invites to special previews ✨ Advanced and discounted tickets for events ✨ Discounts at the Library Shop and Cafe ✨ A free family history consultation ✨ Access to the Friends Room ✨ Plus more! Become a Friend: https://lnkd.in/gsi5-Zuz

The Library is the place to be. 🙌 We're excited to share our 2025 program — a year filled with transformative storytelling, compelling programs and more unforgettable experiences. From the underground auditorium to the rooftop bar — and across the state — we’re bringing new stories and ideas to life. See the full program: https://sl.nsw.gov.au/2025

Summer at the Library! Whether you're a regular or visiting for the first time, there's so much to see and do this season. Grab your copy from the Library or visit our website to see the full program. See highlights: https://lnkd.in/gXHB4izW

We are honoured to announce Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, as patron of National & State Libraries Australasia (NSLA).   At an event hosted by Caroline Butler-Bowdon at the State Library of New South Wales yesterday, Her Excellency announced that she had accepted the invitation to be NSLA's first patron in its fifty-year history. In her speech 'The library that made me,' Her Excellency spoke about the formative role of libraries in her life and of her life-long love of reading, concluding that "our DNA, and our destiny, is in the stories that we tell."   We look forward to working with Her Excellency to advocate for the value of libraries, and a life-long love of reading.   ➡️ To read more about Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC, visit https://lnkd.in/gbC8ApvK Images: (1) Photo courtesy the Office of the Governor-General, (2) Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon, Her Excellency the Honorable Ms Sam Mostyn AC, and NSLA Executive Director Dr Simon Polson, photo by Joy Lai, courtesy State Library NSW.

Big news for Australian writers! Entries are now open for two significant literary awards: ✍️ The 2025 National Biography Award, Australia’s richest prize for biographical writing and memoir. ✍️ The 2025 Russell Prize for Humour Writing, the first award of its kind in Australia. A discounted early-bird price for entries is available until 19 December 2024, with entries for both awards closing on 23 January 2025. View guidelines and enter here: https://lnkd.in/d2eSm8Gw

Summer is here ... and so are our new Fellows! ☀️ Today we welcomed 9 tertiary students and creative practitioners who will spend the next few months digging into the Library's collection. Our Fellows will explore a broad range of subjects, from architecture to activism, history, media, art and more. Find out what they'll be researching below: 🧱 Ira Friedberg: Bad Times in Red Brick Flats 🦜 Bronwyn Rennex: Ralph Clark and the Birds 🎗️ Suzanne Smith: The Save Our Sons Movement during the Vietnam War 🏳️⚧️ Hamish McPherson: Transgender Liberation in NSW 1950–2000 📸 Moon Kerr: George Goodman’s Daguerreotypes of the Lawson Family 👤 Annabelle McEwen: How the Body is Defined and Usurped via Visual Mediation 🖼️ Anita Gowers: Pictures Frames in the State Library of NSW Picture Collections 🗃️ Phillip Bartlett: A Possible Narrative of the Macquarie Chest’s Bottom Drawer 📖 Eloise Reddy: 1980–90s Cultural Planning and Contemporary Placemaking Discourse Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gTnmgNGq