Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.
The University of Sydney Library acknowledges that our buildings, collections, and practices exist on unceded Aboriginal lands. We recognise the diversity and knowledges of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and students across all the lands the University stands on, and respect the ongoing connection Aboriginal people have to these lands, their cultural practices, knowledge systems and histories. We pay our respects to their Elders, past and present, who have handed down custodianship to each generation for more than 60,000 years.
Money, J. (2021). Yilabara (Now). Filmed on Gadigal Country. Commissioned by the University of Sydney Library
University of Sydney Library now on Google Arts & Culture
Ipad screens showing different screens from the Library's Google Arts and Culture page
We are excited to be partnering with Google Arts & Culture. This is a great opportunity for us to showcase and share collections with the world, to communicate why these items are special, and to be able to collaborate with other cultural institutions and create online exhibitions across collections.
Google Arts & Culture is a discovery platform featuring highlights from over 2,000 cultural organisations from 80 countries across the world. Utilising high-resolution imagery, the website encourages users to engage through themed collections, online exhibits, customised user recommendations, augmented reality and interactive games. As part of the Google platform, the website is highly-visited and often used by educators, researchers and by curious culturalists.
In late 2023, the Library applied to become a member of Google Arts & Culture. Following months of close collaboration with Google to make sure we were making an engaging first exhibition and that we were selecting a range of items from across our collections for launch, we are delighted to announce that our page is now live and ready to browse.
Our Google Arts & Culture collection currently has over 100 of our collection highlights, including the earliest known European illustration of a Turkey from a 16th century manuscript, a Book of Hours owned by Sister Anne le Routye, the University of Sydney float at the opening of the Harbour Bridge parade, the title page of the only surviving early draft of Miles Franklins’ My Career Goes Bung!, and an early portrait of Ada Lovelace.
We have also launched our first online exhibition The Fabrica: An Illustrated Exploration of Human Anatomy, featuring in-depth details of the landmark book De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem by Italian physician and anatomist Andrea Vesalius. This book was acquired by the Library last year to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Fisher Library.
We look forward to showcasing more of our Library collections through Google Arts & Culture in the future.
Visit the University of Sydney Library's Google Arts & Culture page