News
News
16 January 2026
The Western Australian Premier's Book Awards, a vibrant celebration of the stories and voices that define the State, has launched for 2026.
Round 5
News
9 January 2026
The State Library is pleased to announce 15 successful recipients to share in $208,000 through this year’s Better Beginnings Community Grants. The annual grants program supports recipients to deliver early reading and literacy activities tailored to their communities.
News
18 November 2025
The State Library of Western Australia has celebrated the 20th anniversary of Better Beginnings by launching new look program resources and a newly published version of the iconic Baby Ways book.
Stories
How the Botanic Park came to be
Stories
This story is based on the oral history of forester, ecologist and one of the first Directors of Kings Park, John Stanley Beard (1916–2011), and features a collection of historical photos of Kings Park.
Stories
Photographs and films
WA history
Wimmin's Work
Wimmin's Work is a new collection of audio, audio-visual and photographic stories documenting the stories of ten Western Australian women.
by Lucy Torvaldsen
Wimmin's Work
Strap in for Barbara's reflection on her life of activism, advocacy and uplifting others. And remember - life really can get better with age, and you never have to settle down.
Exhibitions
The First Twenty Years
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Experience an exhibition tracing two decades of work by Perth-based small press comic publisher Gestalt, championing Australian comic creators and showcasing an underrated narrative art form that continues to defy expectations.
Photography Exhibition
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See the work of some of WA's best photographers from 2025. Spanning a range of styles and subjects, this exhibition showcases the winners and finalists of the third annual awards.
The Food That Shapes Us
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An exhibition exploring what food tells us about who we are as Western Australians. From nostalgic eateries, iconic ads and timeworn recipes to radical social change and environmental transformation, take a seat at the table of WA’s evolving food heritage.
Upcoming events
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Monthly on the last Wednesday, 2 - 4pm until Wed 25 Nov 2026
Discover how to find out more about your kinship in a joint presentation from the Storylines team and the Aboriginal History WA team.
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Weekly on Monday, 10:30am - 12pm until Mon 30 Mar 2026
Interactive story fun for pre-schoolers and their carers. Followed by a half hour Play Time where families can explore literacy and learning through reading, talking, singing, writing and playing together.
Food, Memory and Belonging
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A panel of foodies, historians and trendsetters will discuss why culture, place and identity all play a part in WA’s continuing love affair with food from around the world.
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Weekly on Friday, 10:30am - 12pm until Fri 27 Mar 2026
Songs, rhymes and stories for babies and their families, followed by an hour of Play Time to help develop early literacy and learning skills.
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Calling all FIFO families, truck lovers and dozer fans, this is one Story Time you won’t want to miss. Join us in the Story Place for a very special Story Time with Conor Mills, author of Crunch! Kaboom!
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An unmissable evening with internationally bestselling author Kathy Lette as she launches her hilarious, heartfelt, and wickedly witty new novel, The Sisterhood Rules.
Sheiks, Fakes & Cameleers
Between 1870 and 1920, around 20,000 camels and 4,000 men travelled to Australia to help explore and develop the country's arid interior. Discover the forgotten history of cameleers in Western Australia.