Welcome to the August eNEWS.

The Dutch East India Company, Nick Cave and astronauts have all made their way into the Library's news this month.

Kerry Stokes lends rare Dutch charts

Businessman and philanthropist Kerry Stokes has generously loaned four rare Dutch navigational charts to the Library.

The charts, circa 1725-1740, were issued with other maps and instruments to voyages bound for the East Indies. Two of them show parts of Western Australia.

The Hon Peter Garrett AM MP, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Library Council Chair Sir James Gobbo and Director-General Jan Fullerton (pictured) were all present for the unveiling of the charts last Thursday.

The maps are on loan to the Library and will go on permanent display when the new Treasures Gallery opens.

Images of the charts are available on the Library's website

Launch of Nick Cave: The Exhibition

The foyer of the National Library was teeming with music fans of all ages for the launch of Nick Cave: The Exhibition on 14 August.

The Audreys entertained the crowd with some imaginative covers of Nick Cave songs, before the exhibition was officially launched by former member of the Go-Betweens, Robert Forster.

Curated and designed by the Arts Centre, Melbourne, the exhibition delves into the imagination of this iconic musician, songwriter and author.

Nick Cave: The Exhibition is open until 29 November

More information on the exhibition is available on the Library's website

Photograph by Polly Borland / Original painting by Tony Clark.
Commissioned by the Arts Centre in 2007.

Far-Sited: The Maps That Made Canberra

To mark Canberra's forthcoming centenary, the National Library will stage a special exhibition in the Maps Reading Room from 2 September. As a precursor to the 2013 celebrations, Far-Sited: The Maps That Made Canberra will celebrate 100 years since the naming of the national capital.

Presented in collaboration with the ACT Government and the Federal Attorney General's Department, the display features maps from the National Library's collection, the National Archives of Australia, the Canberra Museum and Art Gallery, and the House of Representatives, Parliament of Australia

Opens 2 September 2009 to 31 January 2010
Maps Reading Room, Lower Ground 1
Monday - Friday, 9 am - 5 pm

Image: Canberra, Proposed Federal Capital Site (detail) (Sydney: William Applegate Gullick, Govt Printer, 1908)

Astronaut visits the Library

Retired NASA astronaut Jim Reilly visited the Library recently to introduce the screening of Race to the Moon, which recounts the daring Apollo 8 mission in 1968.

Dr Reilly, a geologist who has flown on three space shuttle missions, was in Australia as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Apollo 11 mission.

Race to the Moon was presented by the Embassy of the United States of America.

Applications open for 2010 Summer Scholarships

Thanks to the generosity of the McCann family and John and Heather Seymour, the Library is able to offer three six-week Summer Scholarships for young scholars.

These scholarships give young researchers the opportunity to work intensively with the Library's superb collections, and to work closely with expert Library staff. Applications are now open for the 2010 round, and close on 30 September 2009.

More information is available on the Library's website

Image: 2009 Summer Scholars Kate Robertson, Dave Earl and Nicole Berry.

The Musical Journey of Larry Sitsky

Larry Sitsky is regarded as one of the most important figures in Australian music, making his mark as a composer, pianist, researcher and educator.

On the occasion of his 75th birthday, the Library, in association with the ANU School of Music, is holding a special event that traces his journey through memories and music.

The Library's Manuscript Collection holds his collection of personal papers - one of Australia's most comprehensive collections relating to the life and work of an Australian composer.

Friday 11 September, 6 pm, free
Bookings: 02 6262 1271 or bookings@nla.gov.au

A Dancer's Perspective

Join Anna Volkova, former dancer with the Ballets Russes, and Wendy Walker from The Australian Ballet, as they talk about their lives in dance in the National Library Theatre on Sunday 30 August.

Organised by Friends of the National Library, Performing Les Presages: A Dancer's Perspective, will feature the two acclaimed artists discussing their roles in the creation and recreation of the ballet Les Presages.

Sunday 30 August, 2 pm
Cost: $20 / $30 non-members

Visit What's On for more details

Dr Strangelove or: How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love the Gov

You can credit Barack Obama for bringing sexy back to government - it's 2.0! - but the change has largely been driven by self-organised communities collaborating across disciplines and borders. It's not e-gov, it's we-gov.

As part of the Library's Digital Culture talks, Bernard de Broglio, Internet Coordinator at Mosman Council, will share some of his stories of internet life at the local level.

Friday 25 September, 12.30 pm, free

Visit What's On for more information

Pictured: Bernard de Broglio

eResource Focus

Music Index Online

Researching a music topic? Then discover Music Index Online.

This is an index to journal articles appearing in over 875 music periodicals from over 40 countries.

Spanning from 1973 to the present, from classical to pop music, Music Index Online is the single most comprehensive guide to music periodical literature.

Registered Library readers can view this resource via the eResources portal

You can register as a reader at the National Library website

Latest Publication Release

Australia's Wild Places
By Roger McDonald

Drawing on the extensive collection of the Library, Australia's Wild Places celebrates the Australian landscape photographers whose work capture and encapsulate the essence of their country.

From the drama of bush scapes to the untouched rocky crags of Western Australia and the serenity of the Tasmanian rainforest, the 105 works reproduced here trace the development of photography and a nation's environmental awareness from the early 1800s to the present day.

RRP: $39.95

Available for purchase at our Online Bookshop
Or phone: 1800 800 100

Treasure of the Month

A sketch of Harbour Grace and Carbonere in Newfoundland 1762

James Cook established his reputation as a chart-maker serving in North America where Britain and France were fighting in the Seven Years War (1756-1763).

The Library has two Cook charts from this period, pasted into a notebook of navigational directions. Harbour Grace and Carbonere (sic) in Newfoundland were some of the earliest English colonies in Canada, established to exploit the cod-fishery. 

In 2010, the National Library will begin construction on a state-of-the-art Treasures Gallery. If you wish to make a donation to the Treasures Gallery, please contact the Development Office on 02 6262 1141 or development@nla.gov.au.

What's On at the Library

For a full program of talks, films and reader education at the Library, visit What's On.

For more information about the National Library, visit Gateways and our new quarterly National Library Magazine.

For news from the National Library Bookshop, read INPRINT.

And discover the Library's education program.