One year ago, on 29 September 2008, the State Library of New South Wales entered The Commons on Flickr!

The State Library of New South Wales’ major subject strengths are Australian history, culture and literature, including Aboriginal studies, Antarctic exploration, family history and genealogy, business and management, social sciences, applied science, biography, health and law.

It’s more than fitting to start the celebration with the Library’s very own Happy Birthday set, featuring the amazing photography of Sam Hood.

Happy Birthday

They opened their collection with a series of images of libraries of yore in NSW, to provide ideas and inspiration for New South Wales public library staff who are planning changes to their libraries. These images will help with plans for renovations and rebuilding.

Libraries, galleries and museums

Possibly one of their most recognized Commons images are from the set Bondi Jitterbug: George Caddy and his Camera. This photo was taken by Ted Hood, Sam’s son.

Bondi Jitterbug

These iconic Sam Hood images are of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the world’s largest steel arch bridge.

Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Library also has an extensive collection of children in their catalog – especially this heartbreaker from the Depression.

Australian children

An absolute must is their historic Antarctic exploration series of images.

First Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911-1914)

And you know, they also have some of the cutest animal photos to be found in the Commons. Got milk?

Pets and other animals

We’ve barely touched the surface of their impressive collection, so hop over and join in the fun by tagging, commenting, and researching their collection! They’ve over 1,000,000 views on their ~500 photos, which is pretty darned impressive, and we look forward to seeing what their second year in the Commons brings them.

Hip Hip Hoorah and Happy Commonsversary to the State Library of New South Wales!

Tags: anniversary, Commons birthday, State Library of New South Wales

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 at 5:00 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.