As we head into the winter months, this issue of the Connect eNewsletter brings you ideas of ways to brighten up the darker days. Join us here at the State Library where we have something for everyone.

For children and families, drop in to The Story Place on the mezzanine floor for National Simultaneous Storytime in May, and make sure you don’t miss the visit by Children’s Laureate, author and illustrator Leigh Hobbs, in June.

If you’re looking for some great free entertainment, liven up your lunchtimes with new music performances Live @ the Library. Or if you want to know more about our heritage collections, come along on Friday 6 May and hear our experts deliver short, sharp 20 minute talks about their favourite collections and how the State Library is looking after these for current and future generations.

The State Library looks forward to welcoming you soon, either in person or online at www.slwa.wa.gov.au

Margaret Allen, CEO and State Librarian

Unfinished Business, a free exhibition of 3D photographs from Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People with Disability is on display in the State Library’s Ground Floor Gallery.

Using a lenticular photographic process and backlighting, Belinda Mason has created a series of portraits where the subjects appear to step out of their frame and into the viewer’s space. 2D reproductions of these photographs don’t do them justice, so make sure you visit the State Library to see the full effect for yourself.

To celebrate National Heritage Month, the State Library, Art Gallery of Western Australia and State Records Office have teamed up to bring you a great day of events on Friday 6 May. Join these organisations in the Perth Cultural Centre for a selection of informative and entertaining guided tours, talks and exhibitions.

The experts at the State Library of Western Australia have put together a series of engaging talks and will uncover some secrets from our shelves. Hear about gems of mining history, collecting and conserving WA heritage, tracing queer history in WA, what the Pilbara Strike of ’46 was about, how our music heritage is in good hands and what the new history of the North West is. All sessions are free.

The second series of Live @ the Library continues with performances that capture the breadth and diversity of experimental music practice in the State. These free performances promote the Western Australian New Music Archive (WANMA); a joint project between the State Library, WAAPA and Tura New Music.

The next three performances are:
Friday 15 April – Dane P. Yates – music for film, dance and spoken word
Friday 13 May – Greywing Trio – harp, saxophone and guitar
Friday 3 June – iMprov Collective – multi-instrument improvisations

All performances start at 1pm and can be found in different locations around the State Library, so pop in on the day and liven up your lunchtime with something a little different. 

Join us for a special Storytime on Wednesday 25 May at 10.30-11.30am as we celebrate National Simultaneous Storytime. Each year a picture book, by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country.

This year we will be having lots of fun with hats and reading “I Got This Hat” by Jol and Kate Temple and illustrated by Jon Foye. Join us wearing your favourite hat.

Free, no bookings required.

Images from the State Library’s collection of approximately 700 First World War portraits are featured in the Museum of Perth’s Soldiers of Barrack Street exhibition. The exhibition commemorates the centenary of the first ANZAC Day March which came down Barrack Street to the Esplanade.

The Soldiers of Barrack Street exhibition will be open from Wednesday 20 April to Monday 20 June at the Museum of Perth, 117 Barrack Street.

Portrait of J. McCallum and his family, 1914-1918. (Call Number: 150084PD)

 

Leigh Hobbs is the Australian Children’s Laureate. He is best known for his children's books featuring the characters Old Tom, Horrible Harriet and Fiona the Pig and Mr Chicken, as well as the Freaks and their teachers in 4F for Freaks and Freaks Ahoy.

You can join Leigh Hobbs in free, fun, interactive drawing events at the State Library on 16 and 18 June.

Books will be available for purchase and signing. Free, but bookings essential via Eventbrite.

To mark the 400th anniversary of Dirk Hartog’s landing at Cape Inscription, the State Library will be hosting an exhibition highlighting 400 years of Dutch maritime, military and migrant connections with Western Australia. The exhibition has been developed in collaboration with Dr Nonja Peters from Curtin University and the Associated Netherlands Societies of WA (ANSWA). Related education and public programs will be available for school students and the community to engage with the exhibition. The free exhibition and the related activities will run from 24 June to 25 September 2016.

The State Library will hold the third Disrupted Festival of Ideas over the weekend of 30-31 July 2016. Save some space in your diary and join a range of speakers, facilitators, artists and performers over the two days to contribute to the national debate on innovation and creativity.

Did you know that State Library members can access electronic editions of today’s newspapers from around the world? You can come into the State Library and use the computers or the free WiFi, or you can access the newspapers from home on your laptop or tablet using your State Library card. Login from home to the PressDisplay eresource here.

Available international newspapers include The Guardian, Le Monde, Corriere della Sera, The Straits Times, The Irish Times, Oriental Daily News, Phillipine Daily Inquirer, and for more local news, The West Australian.

The State Library holds a lovely collection of daguerreotype portraits, which are rare and fragile photographs created by producing images on silver-coated copper plates. They are named after Louis J.M. Daguerre who invented the process in 1839.

The Whitfield family daguerreotype photos are encased in wood and embossed leather cases lined with velvet. The portraits are believed to be Charlotte, Eliza and Anna Whitfield, Nancy McDermott Green, and Nancy’s second husband, Dr Alfred Green. They were kindly donated by Barbara King, a descendant of the sitters. Charlotte was the wife of Captain Francis Whitfield, and Eliza and Anna were their daughters.

The family arrived in WA on the brig “James” in 1830 and took up land in the Helena Valley and Guildford where Francis became District Magistrate.

Using the daguerreotype process only one image was ever made per sitting, so each photograph is unique, and only the wealthy could afford to have their portraits taken in this way.

The State Library’s daguerreotypes are housed in the special format collection but digital copies are available via the State Library catalogue.

The State Library will be closed on the following public holidays:

Monday 25 April 2016 for ANZAC Day

Monday 6 June 2016 for WA Day

Looking for somewhere quiet, convenient and packed full of past papers and study guides? Visit the 1st floor of the State Library, where resources and a group study area are available for you to use.