State Library: Site Visit

On the 6th of March we took a trip across Latrobe street to the State Library of Victoria. I was already somewhat familiar with it, as I enjoy going there for the study space, but I rarely take advantage of the resources that are there. Despite having had a library card since 2012, I had never once used the database.

It was good to learn what is available at the library and how to access it, because it is probably the richest source of Victoria specific information you can find. I already had a look through the database for information on building 20, and found a range of images from the site over time, dating back 150 years. Strangely enough though, I found it difficult to find written sources on how the site was originally used. Perhaps I would need to go there in person to really get a good idea on what they have on the topic, but I spent 2 hours going through the database searching and didn’t turn up anything promising. Conversely, I spent 5 minutes on the RMIT library database and found two really great sources that are very specific to what I needed. Perhaps I am just more accustomed to that database and I know how to use it. But in the future, I would like to use the state library resources more to enhance my research.

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