June sure was a busy month for ALIA Sydney.
Along with our #blogjune challenge, we had our wonderful Events Coordinator Gabby organise a special behind the scenes tour at the State Library of NSW on June 21.
Our brilliant tour guide Wendy Holz (a family history librarian with SLNSW ), was able to show our group around to some areas of the Library that most do not have the privilege of seeing, namely the stacks underneath the Reference Library. The smell of old books and paper is really strong down there! An interesting fact that Wendy mentioned is that at the sub level that we were standing on, only 2 metres of concrete separates us from train lines.
Wendy showed us a selection of beautifully preserved maps showing the history of cartography in Australia and sub division plans that were produced in the early 20th century.
Our group also had the opportunity to view some of the exhibitions that were showing at the time, such as the World Press Photo 2014 gallery.
After wandering through the exhibition area, Wendy took us over to the Mitchell Library, where she explained the history of that wing. We observed some librarians and clients who were examining items from the special collections.
Afterwards, our group was given the opportunity to examine in up close old maps, photographs and diaries. It was a wonderful experience to look through these treasures.
A very big thank you to Wendy Holz for her lovely tour, and to Gabby for organising this event. Watch this space for future events from ALIA Sydney, we hope to see you soon!
-Caitlin Williams
