The Roland Pope Collection

On Friday night the Library opened what is one of our most rare and visually stunning exhibitions that celebrates the legacy of Dr Roland Pope and the foundation of the city's cultural collections : A Gift to the City - The Roland Pope Collection.

This partnership exhibition, held across both cultural institutions, Newcastle Art Gallery and Newcastle Region Library celebrates the 70th anniversary of Dr Roland Pope's generous donation of art and literature in July 1945 that established the foundations for the art gallery and library collections.

Pope's gift of 2000 books and almost 200 works of art was gifted to Newcastle, a city he had no particular ties with - the provision that a library and a art gallery be built by Newcastle City Council to house this important gift. Whilst this wondrous collection speaks for itself... it is the story of Dr Roland Pope and his vision for our city its rarest procurement.

Please come along and join some of the great programs being offered by the Newcastle Art Gallery and Newcastle Library.

 Visit Newcastle Region Library's Catalogue and Website.

Newcastle Youth Council

Newcastle Youth Council (NYC) is an advisory Committee of Council that provides an opportunity for young people to participate in local decision making and provide a forum for young people to discuss and provide input.

The Youth Council aims to:

• Reflect the interests of young people
• Raise awareness on issues affecting young people
• Organise activities in which young people can participate
• Provide an advisory group for organisations wishing to develop programs and activities for young people
• Allow for interaction between people with diverse interests and backgrounds.

The Youth Council provides an opportunity for young people to develop leadership skills through planning youth initiatives and staging events during Youth Week each year.

NYC membership is currently full, however we are always happy for new Facebook friends, so we can discuss youth issues and share the many great youth initiatives in Newcastle. Please like our Facebook page. 

If you are super keen to join, fill in an application form, available on Councils website and when a spot opens up, we will be in contact. 

Visit Newcastle Region Library's Catalogue and Website.

2015 Man Booker Prize Podcast

Are you a podcast listener? Don't miss The Man Booker Prize podcast which is a exciting new audio series which takes as its focus the prize’s tagline, Fiction at its Finest, and looks at the very best from the world of books. Throughout seven podcasts, Joe Haddow, Producer of the Radio 2 BBC Book Club, will offer listeners a behind-the-scenes look at the prize.

The latest episode is out this Friday (7th August) and will feature judges Michael Wood and Sam Leith talking about selecting the longlist, authors Paul Ewen (aka Francis Plug) and Sarah Waters, and Chris White from the Waterstones Book Club. If you missed the episode one, featuring Viv Groskop, Richard Flanagan’s stunned reaction to winning in 2014 and an inside look at the publication of Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman, catch up now on iTunes and SoundCloud.

With guest recommendations from the magnificent backlist to as-it-happens interviews at key news announcements, this is your ultimate Man Booker guide in the run up to the big day on 13 October, when the 2015 winner will be revealed.

Visit Newcastle Region Library's Catalogue and Website.

2015 Man Booker Prize Longlist

Which of the Man Booker Prize 2015 longlist are you reading?

The longlist for the Man Booker Prize was announced on 29 July 2015 and has been praised by many as a truly diverse and deserving Man Booker ‘Dozen’.
The long list features a international spectrum of the novels, with the long list featuring three British writers, five US writers and one apiece from the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, India, Nigeria and Jamaica. Marlon James, who currently lives in Minneapolis, is the first Jamaican-born author to be nominated for the prize. Laila Lalami, now based in Santa Monica but born in Rabat, is the first Moroccan-born.

The longlist is:

 

Chair of the 2015 judges, Michael Wood, comments: ‘We had a great time choosing this list. Discussions weren’t always peaceful, but they were always very friendly. We were lucky in our companions and the submissions were extraordinary. The long list could have been twice as long, but we’re more than happy with our final choice.’ Lorna Bradbury, the Telegraph's book reviews editor, remarks: ‘This is a strong list that celebrates innovative novels from established writers as well as introducing us to some new voices.’ Justine Jordan writes in The Guardian: ‘this year, the new internationalism has led to a list with admirable balance and wide imaginative reach.’

The shortlist of six books will be announced on Tuesday 15 September and the 2015 winner will be announced on Tuesday 13 October at London’s Guildhall, televised on the BBC.

Place a hold on all of these titles today via the library's catalogue!

Visit Newcastle Region Library's Catalogue and Website.

Local Stories

Recent donations to the Newcastle Library's Local Studies Department have inspired us to look back. Alderman Robert George Kilgour was a member of the Newcastle City Council, with one brief break of a few months, for 28 years. In that time he was Mayor seven times; no other member has sat on the city's Mayoral chair for so many terms.

Born in Cooks Hill on January 31 1867, his father was Mr James Kilgour, one of the first school teachers of the district. Selected as the Mayor 1915, he was described as a "straight goer and an upright honourable citizen." He was elected with hopes to complete the construction of the Ocean Baths and Hunter Street this being a great feature for Newcastle, as the city was destined to become one of the most popular watering places in the state.

Ald. Kilgour along with his wife took a most active and honourable part in the local government life of the Newcastle District. His contributions were widespread due to his enthusiasm and devotion to his community in difficult periods. During Ald. Kilgour's occupancy of the chair, the Pneumonic influenza epidemic was spreading all around the world. Largely forgotten, the toll was 31 million globally. 

In Sydney as well as Newcastle the reported cases were recorded on March 15^th, with an increase to sixty three cases five days later in Newcastle alone. Newcastle, even in the worst days of the epidemic, was never subject to the coordinated government planning afforded to Sydney. The country areas were forced to rely on council or voluntary organisations, mainly church groups, to perform the nursing and patrolling functions which were administered by state officials in metropolis. The Newcastle Council organised Influenza Executive Committee that constantly laboured under the difficulty of the securing sufficient funds from the state headquarters, and throughout the epidemic was forced to rely on credit.

Council arranged for women to visit the homes of the ill and render any necessary aid. The women of Hamilton established a kitchen where food such as beef tea, custard and jelly was prepared and distributed amongst the needy, and other councils soon followed its example. Three hundred people were provided for by the Hamilton depot alone. These kitchens relied on funds donated by the public or on gifts of foodstuffs.

With the hospitals overcrowded and an established preference for home nursing in any case, it was almost impossible to obtain an accurate idea of just how many has succumbed to the disease. The deaths reported represented only those who died in hospitals, but the optimistically low reported death rate was consistently belied by the pages of funeral notices in the Sydney and the Newcastle Morning Heralds.

In Newcastle medical practitioners notified two thousand, four hundred cases, with four hundred and ninety four registered deaths, i.e. death ratio of approximately 6% of the population, this in a period of less than half a year! Ald. Kilgour and Mrs B Kilgour efforts in this arduous time were noted by all effected.

In three of his terms the World War was in progress. 

He worked hard for the formation of the Newcastle District Ambulance Transport Brigade and the Newcastle Show Association had the benefit of his service. Here we show you a picture of a cake slice presented to Alderman R.G. Kilgour on Laying of Foundation Stone for Newcastle Ambulance 1923 and a box of business cards printed for Ald. Kilgour with simply 'Mayor of Newcastle.'

Click on the image for more detail

Please visit our Local Studies department to dive deeper into Newcastle's history.


Visit Newcastle Region Library's Catalogue and Website.