News from the Library

State Library Reopening FAQs

1. Is the Library open?
   Yes. Our opening hours are Monday to Thursday 9:00am to 8:00pm, Friday 9:00am to 5:30pm and on Saturday and Sunday 10:00am to 5:30pm.
    
2. Are there restrictions on visitor numbers?
   

The library will be closed from around 4:15 today for the next five days.

Depending on advice from the State government we plan to be open again on Saturday February 6 at 10 am.

Our doors are closed but we will still be working remotely and you will still have access to all the great free  eresources we offer including:

14 – 28 November is PrideFest, Western Australia's annual celebration of the LGBTQI+ community – past, present and future. It also commemorates the 1989 march on the WA State Parliament to demand the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

• State Library to host the free Disrupted Festival of Ideas on Saturday, November 7
• The theme for the festival is A Better World
• Stan Grant will headline 40 plus speakers and panellists
• Amazing light and sound projection on the State Library building, children's activities and a WA supergroup playing WA hits

• State Library's Western Australian treasures will be brought to life through a film partnership with Screenwest
• $60,000 to support local filmmakers
• Applications are now open via the Screenwest website 

Find everything you need to know about upcoming exhibitions, events and workshops at the State Library in January, February and March in one handy guide. State Library What's On: January, February and March (PDF 3.36 MB)

Not long ago we asked the good folk at the John Curtin Institute of Public Policy at Curtin University to do a bit of research on the value of libraries and this is what they came up with.

Bottom line is that libraries are important community assets, which make where we live a better place.

Find everything you need to know about upcoming exhibitions, events and workshops at the State Library in October, November and December in one handy guide. State Library What's On: October, November and December (PDF 2.6 MB)

• ​The State Library's Disrupted Festival of Ideas is on July 27 and 28, 2019
• Features Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, Leigh Sales, Professor Geoff Gallop, Dr Tracy Westerman, Bri Lee and many other local and interstate speakers
• More than 10,000 people are expected to attend Disrupted in person and online

Find everything you need to know about upcoming exhibitions, events and workshops at the State Library in July, August and September in one handy guide. State Library What's On: July, August & September (PDF 2.2MB)

• The shortlist of the Premier's Book Awards announced
• Awards ceremony to be held on July 26, 2019 

Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman today announced the shortlist for the 2018 Western Australian Premier's Book Awards.

• Exhibition exploring the legacy of John Forrest’s 1874 trek in shaping Western and South Australian exploration history opens.
• The project will contribute to a more balanced and inclusive understanding of Western Australia’s history including perspective of Aboriginal peoples.

• The State Library has successfully bid for a 1978 handwritten letter by Bon Scott.
• The acquisition adds to library's dynamite collection of existing AC/DC materials.
• The library continues to expand its heritage collection of items significant to Western Australian history and culture. 

Find everything you need to know about upcoming exhibitions, events and workshops at the State Library in April, May and June in one handy guide. State Library What's On: April, May & June (PDF 2.2MB)

Find everything you need to know about upcoming exhibitions, events and workshops at the State Library in January, February and March in one handy guide.

State Library What's On: January, February & March (PDF 1.9MB)

Western Australian writers across all genres will be the beneficiaries of the revamped Premier's Book Awards, which were announced today by Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman.

The new format will see the awards reinstated as an annual event and feature three separate Western Australian awards and one national indigenous award.

The Backyard Book Fair at the State Library of Western Australia is an opportunity for your children to meet the writers and illustrators of their favourite books.

On Sunday 11 November 2018, the State Library of Western Australia will offer behind-the-scenes tours as part of Open House Perth.

Fittingly named Beyond the Bookshelves, these guided tours will take you deep into the bowels of the unassuming brutalist State Library building in the Perth Culture Centre.

Find everything you need to know about upcoming exhibitions, events and workshops at the State Library in October, November & December in one handy guide.

State Library What's On: October, November & December (PDF 2.19MB)

• Bibbullmun Bardi – Exploring Aboriginal Design celebrates Aboriginal fashion and textiles in Western Australia
• Exhibition features  clothing, textiles, photographs and archival collections from influential WA Aboriginal design icons
• Free event, open from 8 August to 30 September 2018

The State Library of Western Australia is pleased to announce that Steven James Finch and Gabby Loo have been awarded the James Sykes Battye Creative Fellowship for 2018.

• More than 3,500 people are expected to visit a weekend of free activities and events at the State Library of Western Australia - July 28 and 29, 2018
• Keynote speakers: Dr Munjed al Muderis, Professor Genevieve Bell and Morris Gleitzman

Screenwest has partnered with the State Library of Western Australia providing a significant boost to the WA Heritage Film Appeal in its final two weeks. Screenwest will pledge $8,000 to the Appeal to ensure its $10,000 crowdfunding target is met before the Appeal concludes on Friday 11 May 2018.

Find everything you need to know about upcoming exhibitions, events and workshops at the State Library in April, May & June in one handy guide.

State Library What's On: April, May & June (PDF 2.2MB)
 

169 remarkable women have been inducted into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame between 2011-2017. However very few personal records of the life and achievements of these women are available for access through the State Library of Western Australia.

Level One of the State Library of Western Australia will be undergoing refurbishment. To prepare for the upgrade, the collections on the floor will be moved and bookshelves will be emptied. If you have trouble finding the items you are looking for please speak to a staff member on the Ground Floor or Level Three.

Welcome to the December edition of the Connect eNewsletter. Find out about the latest news, events and exhibitions at the State Library of Western Australia.

December Connect eNewsletter (934kb)

Find everything you need to know about upcoming exhibitions, events and workshops at the State Library in January, February & March in one handy guide.

State Library What's On: January, February & March (PDF 2.2MB)

• Alternative Frequencies:40 Years of RTRFM celebrates WA’s longest running community radio station
• Exhibition features a collection of audio, images, stories, memorabilia and equipment
• Free exhibition at the State Library open until 11 February 2018

• In Plain Sight imagines what queer relationships may have looked like in Western Australia’s past
• Exhibit features ambiguous photographs of intimate moments from the State Library’s collection
• Free event, open from 17 October to 5 December 2017

Welcome to the September edition of the Connect eNewsletter. Find out about the latest news, events, exhibitions and acquisitions at the State Library of Western Australia.

September Connect eNewsletter (1973KB)

• Prestigious award for Better Beginnings program acknowledges best practice in literacy provision
• McGowan Government committed to early literacy and quality library services
• Program has reached more than 550,000 families over the past 13 years

• Funding secured to continue highly successful Better Beginnings early literacy program
• Importance of reading to babies and children highlighted at Children's Book Week 

• Botanical Wonderland explores Western Australia’s beautiful floral diversity
• Exhibit features handmade seaweed hat, pressed wildflowers, watercolour paintings, hand coloured photographs, embroidery and porcelain
• Free event, open from 10 August to 24 September, 2017

The State Library of Western Australia has released its ten year Literacy Strategy aimed at meeting the promise for all Western Australians to have the literacy they need for living and learning.

Welcome to the June edition of the Connect eNewsletter. Find out about the latest news, events, exhibitions and acquisitions at the State Library of Western Australia.

June Connect eNewsletter (1745KB)

Right Wrongs: '67 Referendum - the WA Story is an exhibition curated from Aboriginal peoples' perspectives. The exhibition focuses the story on resistance, survival and activism in WA.

Find everything you need to know about upcoming exhibitions, events and workshops at the State Library in April, May & June in one handy guide.

Election campaign material issued by candidates tells a lot about Western Australia’s cultural, social and political history.

Culture and the Arts Minister John Day acknowledged the work of the State Library and its many supporters in marking the 60^th anniversary of the State’s oldest and most significant collection of heritage documents.

Approximately 300 members of the Yungngora Aboriginal Community will benefit from the arrival of the Ideas Box prior to the coming wet season.

Donation of documentary heritage materials contributes to understanding of how the mining sector has influenced the growth and development of the State.

Premier Colin Barnett tonight accepted a donation of fifty significant, historic materials from Rio Tinto Iron Ore on behalf of the State Library of Western Australia.

This year’s Disrupted - Festival of Ideas at the State Library of Western Australia will be held on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 July, and is centred on change.

It will explore the theme of small movements gathering momentum to seed big changes, with the provocative play on words subtitle of ‘Subject to Change’.

At last night’s Library Awards ceremony held at the State Library of Western Australia, Dr Ronda Jamieson was conferred the award of Fellow of the Library Board of Western Australia.