Forestville Retirement Community Visits the State Library of NSW 

10 residents from Forestville Retirement Community visited the State Library of NSW for a private tour with Curator, Elise Edmonds who works in the Collection Acquisition and Curation branch of the Library. She gave the residents a fascinating insight into the library’s history and took them through the extensive portrait/landscape art collection currently on display. They then toured the Peter Kingston exhibition, 100 years of cartoonists, May Gibbs an Australian classic and a library viewing of the original library.  

95-year-old Barbara Nalder, and Lorna Fransden, 88, had never visited the library until now. They were so taken by the scale of the library and both mentioned that having grown up in the country, they didn’t have access to everything those in the city did when they were at school in the 1930s and 40s.   

The library has archives and books that continue eight levels down (accessible by staff only) and if you wish to view a book in the Mitchell library you must request it from the staff, who will retrieve it. Eight floors below ground, your eyes take in collections that span, books, maps, manuscripts, art, artefacts and more, all as you hear the City Circle line train rattle past above.  

Fun fact: Did you know that by law, every published author in NSW must give a copy of their book to the State library for its collection (the Library Act 1939)?!  

The residents can’t wait to go back for the next exhibition.