Picks of the month

From the internationally bestselling author of Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop comes a philosophical collection of essays about reading, language and life - showing us what living a life immersed in reading means.

While this is a book about books, at its heart is an attitude to life, readers and non-readers will take away something from it, including a treasure trove of book recommendations blended seamlessly within.

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Featured Events

Inspired to spend more time with books? Join us on Thursday 30 July for Reading Allowed, our 12-hour read-in celebrating Library and Information Week, where library members and special guests will fill the library with stories and poetry from 12.00pm to 6.00pm.

The celebration continues with Library After Dark from 6.00pm to midnight, featuring themed reading sessions, special guests and the final hours of our 12-hour read-in. Whether you'd like to read aloud or simply settle in and listen, we'd love you to be part of this unique celebration of books and reading.

Spotlight: First Nations Voices

The paradise pact by Anita Heiss

Abbey's ready for a holiday. So when her tiddas suggest they take their yearly girls' trip international and hit Hawai'i, Abbey says yes faster than you can say aloha. Before Abbey, Stevie and Caitlin head to paradise, they make a pact: they will do nothing but indulge in mai tais and sunsets -- oh, and run a half marathon. Then Abbey meets Kaleo and things get complicated. This was supposed to be a fun, drama-free holiday, but will the call of holiday romance be too much to pass by? And what happens when reality comes knocking?

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Pictures of you : collected stories by Tony Birch

From Australia's master storyteller comes this retrospective of his best short stories from the past two decades. Cherry picking from across his oeuvre, this anthology showcases his skills at finding the extraordinary in ordinary lives, and the often-unexpected connections and kindnesses between strangers.

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Compassion by Julie Janson

From the acclaimed author of the Miles Franklin longlisted Madukka: The River Serpent and the Barbara Jefferis Award shortlisted Benevolence, Compassion is the dramatised life story of one of Julie Janson's ancestors who went on trial for stealing livestock in New South Wales. A gripping fictive account of Aboriginal life in the 1800s, Compassion follows the life of Duringah, AKA Nell James, the outlaw daughter of the Darug hero of Benevolence, Muraging.

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Aunty Beryl's cookbook : heartwarming recipes and stories of First Nations food by Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo

Alix Watson works dead-end jobs to make ends meet and takes nightly refuge in the reading room at the Boston Public Library until she stumbles through a hidden door and is transported to the Astral Library. When a shadowy enemy threatens to destroy the library, Alix must flee from danger through the Regency drawing rooms of Jane Austen and the back alleys of Sherlock Holmes' London as danger closes in...

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Big sky : when the emu left the Earth by Bruce Pascoe and Professor Ray Norris

Big Sky, when the emu left the earth is an exquisite conversation of sky knowledge between Aboriginal farmer and award-winning writer Bruce Pascoe and astrophysicist Professor Ray Norris. It reframes astronomy not only as a science but as ethics and Law in our heavens. This dialogue places First Nations beliefs as rigorous, enduring knowledge, offering ecological and astronomical insights which could help navigate current climate threats.

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Celebrate NAIDOC Week with Us 

Native Animals and Dreaming Stories with Uncle Col
Saturday 11 July

Meet native animals from Taronga Zoo and hear stories from Brewarrina Elder Uncle Col about their connections to Country, culture and the Dreaming. Families can also enjoy storytime, craft activities and tours of the library's new Banksia garden.