Discover Rare Books and Special Collections: Extraordinary Women

The University of Sydney Library holds one of Australia’s largest collections of rare books and special collections, with over 300,000 items. Join us at Fisher Library for a bespoke and intimate encounter with highlights from the collection.

Each session will run for 90 minutes; guests can drop-in during this time to view items and chat with staff, and enjoy light refreshments and mingling.

Please note that there are 2 bookable sessions:

Afternoon: 3 – 4:30 pm
Evening: 6 – 7:30 pm

We hope you can join us!

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Extraordinary Women

This event will spotlight the work and impact of significant women authors, creators and characters throughout history. View first editions (including Agatha Christie's mysteries and Virginia Woolf’s personal copy of The Voyage Out); author annotations (including early poems by Sylvia Plath and drafts by Miles Franklin), and intellectual insights (including Ada Lovelace and Zora Cross).

This will be the third discovery event held in this series, with one final event scheduled for Tuesday 2 December 2025, themed Around the World in Rare Books. Find out more.

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Celebrating 175 Years

These events are held in celebration of the University’s 175th anniversary. The Library has been an intrinsic part of the University’s identity from the very beginning; the purchase of Library books was one of the earliest decisions made by the Senate in the establishment of the University.

Since then, our Library collection has continued to expand alongside the University. Our Library now has 14 locations across campuses and 4.6 million books.

As we reflect on this rich history, we invite you to immerse yourself in our collections, which have sparked scholarly curiosity for over 175 years.

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Images

A Woman's Life Journey Sugoroku 婦人お生ひ立ち双六. [Fujin oitachi sugoroku] (1918).
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818), SF S545 J1 4
[Commonplace book with a Byronic connection and a portrait of Ada Byron (later Lady Lovelace)], (1832-1844), Add.Ms. 439