Contemporary collecting priorities
Do you have material you would like to offer to the Library?
Every year we add thousands of items to the collection.
Some of the most valued additions are acquired from members of the community — reflecting contemporary life in New South Wales; capturing change, issues and events in our cities and our regional communities; reflecting contemporary lifestyles, the workplace, the built environment, fads and fashions, amusements, and frictions.
If you have material that may be of interest to the Library, on any subject as well as our current collecting priorities, contact us at collections@sl.nsw.gov.au or complete the collection offers form to tell us more. Include as much information as you can about the type, amount, location and arrangement of the material you would like to offer.
We will contact you to discuss your offer and explain the next steps.
The Library is currently interested in acquiring personal collections and the records of organisations and interest groups that document these specific areas.
The Library also provides guidelines for organising your personal collections.
LGBTQI+
The Library is interested in acquiring documents recording experiences of individuals, businesses, clubs, and organisations from the LGBTQI+ community, relating to their personal lives and community activities in New South Wales, including both contemporary and historical material.
We are particularly interested in activities around the PRIDE movement in New South Wales leading up to the Sydney WorldPride 2023.
IMAGE CREDIT
Parade participants with 'Respect', 'Love' and 'Diversity' signs, 4 March 2006 / photograph by Geoff Friend. View in catalogue
Election and referendum ephemera
The State Library’s ephemera collection seeks to capture the drama of elections, including policy announcements, debates, the range of personalities and discussion of issues. We need your help to ensure we build a comprehensive collection.
Please send us:
• How to vote leaflets
• Posters/Corflutes
• Flyers and brochures
• Stickers
• Mailouts
To this address:
Election Ephemera
State Library of New South Wales
1 Shakespeare Place
SYDNEY 2000
The Library also collects digital material, including websites and social media, relating to the election. Please send us through your suggestions for collecting websites and social media discussions (accounts, hashtags etc) to collections@sl.nsw.gov.au or tweet to @statelibrarynsw.
Thank you for your contribution.
Indigenous collecting including #BlackLivesMatter
The Library is gathering collections of material created by Indigenous people, who have contributed, and continue to contribute to the life of NSW and its communities, including photos and personal papers.
We are also interested in material related to recent activities and protest around the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
IMAGE CREDIT
Crowds in George Street, Black Lives Matter protest, Sydney, New South Wales, 6 June 2020 / photograph by Stephen Dupont. View in catalogue.
Bushfires in NSW
Recent bushfires have impacted families and communities across NSW. We are collecting photos, posters, flyers and mail-outs created in response to the bushfires in NSW. While many people will eventually discard this material, it provides important information about a significant event in our history.
The State Library is also collecting online content including websites and social media posts.
IMAGE CREDIT
Gospers Mountain fire : cars, a trailer and shipping containers at the back of a Wheelbarrow Ridge Road property in Colo Heights ..., 19 November 2019 / photograph by Dean Sewell. View in catalogue
COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic is an important moment in history that we need to record in our collections. The Library has put out a call to the public to collect ephemera and original materials including posters, flyers and photos that will make their way into our catalogue.
Alongside this collecting, we have launched a community-driven, diary-based platform, called The Diary Files. We welcome your contributions to these online diary files.
IMAGE CREDIT
Toilet paper sells out within 5 minutes of supermarket opening daily, as people rush for supplies, Sydney, New South Wales, 26 March 2020 / photograph by John Janson-Moore. View in catalogue.
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