State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia Review

Staff are fantastic. The library is more than books. There's displays, kids corner (interactive!), history and art.

Huge library with beautiful interior. Always come here to study for exam preparation. Wish it open till late night

A must-see in Melbourne city! You get to read to your hearts content and there are exhibitions for you to visit! Great place with great atmosphere!

Good wifi and nice place to sit all day. Beautiful architecture. Chess room

This is probably my favorite library. It is a very modern building. It is very clean, and the staff has kept up with it very well. The selection of books is pretty good, better than most of the other branches.

Great library!

Plenty of space, desks, chairs and sockets.

Free unlimited and very fast wifi.

Open till late!

One of the great public spaces and resources: SLV isn't just a great place to find a quiet desk to study, it's the home of fascinating special collections, active research materials, and has its own place in the history of Melbourne.

Historic place with a soul. I really enjoy coming here

Quite place to study and read, also very nice to visit as a tourist!

An architectural beauty set in the heart of Melbourne City.
We walked to the library as we wanted to get our membership set up for the library and access the online e books.
We were wowed by the regal beauty of the building. One thing we found tough was navigating our pram to the entrance. The ramp to push up our pram was located at an obscure corner.
When we entered the premises, the fine architecture caught our eyes. The children reading section was very cosy and we spent our time reading there for a whole afternoon.
We will definitely come back again.

Loved the place. Library is well maintained with great artifacts and details on history. Dome area with table seatings having old fashioned chairs are impressive.

Woman at information desk was very condescending and unhelpful.

Highly Recommend! Beautiful Art, History and Design

1. Building Architecture - esp the dome.
2. Exhibits - from pictures to artifacts to old books showcasing the history of Melbourne as well as history of books.
3. Was not able to check out the book collection due to time constraints.
4. A mix of modern times and the old era.
5. Exiting out of the library into the street is a surreal experience as it seems like time travel - almost!

Always full of students. Hard to find an empty desk for study. The plus side: it opens everyday in a week. It, as I know, is the only public library open in Sunday morning.

Very lovely library to sit, read and relax. The children love it to go exploring.

In Melbourne
Can be easily found
Combination of classical and modern aesthetics

This library
So beautiful
Come to the city and come in and visit
Feel the scroll of the book here.

It is a library, like a museum, with a dedicated display area. It is a very interesting experience to read the 12 representative collections listed in the guide booklet.

Went to see a library with my wife and was astounded that it was indeed a nice library, thanks

Beautiful designs, great history and art. Staff are friendly and helpful.

If you are in Melbourne this is a must visit place. You will be amazed by the building itself, but also by the exhibitions they have in there.

The Melbourne Public Library as it was then known was one of the first free public libraries in the world, open to anyone over 14 years of age, so long as they had clean hands.

A fancy library but lacking the function of a real library. The online resources are pretty good. But i won't spend time browsing in the library. Still a good place to rest, hang out with friends or study. The information desk was a bit offensive while I was looking for a book which is not on the shelf. I feel it is a waste of resources if we can not have access directly to those books. Well, I know they have their concern, too. It is a big library after all.

Beautiful building/library. Fast Wifi with no signup needed. Great location too. Great place to be in a hot day.
Very cheap printing (15 cents a page).

Perfect, Who more could you ask for?

Architectural masterpiece. Come here for the books you can't find anywhere else.

In 1853, the decision to build a combined library, museum and gallery was made at the instigation of Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe and Mr Justice Redmond Barry, Q.C. (Sir Redmond from 1860). A competition was held, won by the recently arrived architect Joseph Reed, whose firm and its successors went on to design most of the later extensions, as well as numerous 19th-century landmarks such as the Melbourne Town Hall, and the Royal Exhibition Building.

On 3 July 1854, the recently inaugurated Governor Sir Charles Hotham laid the foundation stone of both the new library complex and the University of Melbourne. The library was the first stage opened in 1856, with a collection of 3,800 books chosen by Mr Justice Barry, the President of Trustees. Augustus H. Tulk, the first librarian, was appointed three months after the opening. The Melbourne Public Library as it was then known was one of the first free public libraries in the world, open to anyone over 14 years of age, so long as they had clean hands.

The complex of buildings that now house the Library were built in numerous stages, housing various library spaces, art galleries and museum displays, finally filling the entire block in 1992.

The first stage was the centre of the front block, opened in 1856, with most of the front wing, along with the floor Queen's Reading Room (now Queen's Hall) complete in 1864 by Abraham Linacre.Other wings were built are various time, such as Barry Hall, along Little Lonsdale Street, in 1886, McCoy Hall (now the Redmond Barry reading boom), built for the Museum in 1892, Baldwin Spencer Hall facing Russell Street in 1909, and the McAllan Gallery on the LaTrobe Street side, built in 1932.

Temporary buildings were built in 1866 for the Intercolonial Exhibition of Australasia just behind the front wing, which remained in use until 1909, when work began on the library's famed Domed Reading Room, opened in 1913, designed by Bates, Peebles and Smart, the successor to Reed's firm, now known as Bates Smart.[8] In 1959, the dome's skylights were covered in copper sheets due to water leakage, creating the dim atmosphere that characterised the Library for decades.

Great design, great selection of books and free Wifi! What's not to love

Staff here are always helpful. And a beautiful building too.

If you like reading and peace you are served! Huge library. You have several floors to contemplate the historical monuments and all that, for free!

Christmas Lights were wonderful, must visit during Christmas time.

Superb building extensive library and collections, free exhibitions. The dome roof and views from levels 4 to 6 are dramatic. Free computers with Internet access.

Nice place for studying/reading. I can spend all day here.

The reading room and gallery full of paintings of Melbourne in the 1800s are wonderful to see regularly. The reading room is a great place to work on laptop (I use noise cancelling earphones). Thanks to everyone who brings this to be.

Absolutely beautiful building with many things to see. Definitely check it out!

A must see place for anyone educated or even remotely interested in books. Make sure to check all of the sections/floors. There are some very old and interesting books on display.

Really interesting building. Especially the dome. You are not allowed to borrow books however you can read them there. There are five or six floors with original manuscripts in the foyer space in the floors in between.

The space is also used for events cool space

Beautiful library in the heart of Melbourne CBD. Lightly space full of books and history where you can enjoy reading, studying or contemplating the museum items in floors 3 and 4. As there are a lot of tourist visiting the library, maybe is not the best place to concentrate but still you can find all the necessary elements to do it. Recommended for visiting. Very well connected by tram with all lines and neighbours.

Beautiful library with a viewing gallery on levels 4, 5 & 6 for tourists who just want to admire the interior

So beautiful! An amazing space, soaring ceilings, art, lots of outlets. Just don't count on the wifi.

Well-built library, definitely a heaven for book lovers!

A beautiful blend of modern and historical architecture. An amazing sight to see and brimming with knowledge and creativity.
Come here to relax, read study and be inspired.

Super big library and nice staff. I am pretty sure I will come back again. Thats wonderful

The inside is breath taking. One of the best libraries I have ever been in.

A must-see attraction in Melbourne. A small desire to have such a library in Korea

Silence is but a theory in the "silent" spaces. The La Trobe reading room furnishings offer a radical rejection of ergonomics. The wifi may as well be exhibited in the Cowen Gallery. Overall, the library is great except as a place of learning.

Beautiful large library, with a lovely historical feel to it. The staff are friendly and easily approachable. It has a massive collection of books and records, and lots of spaces and areas to sit and read, or study. The green outside the front is a lovely place to sit down and relax, especially on hot days, and you are able to access free wifi from this location as a great added bonus. Highly reccomend a look

Best place to study !!!!
Super.
Very good. Fee WiFi.

Great atmosphere, huge library, has a mini gallery which is quite nice, and staff is helpful and friendly.

Great environment to study, read, play chess. Enjoy :)

I don't think it's a library! It s like a museum!
Students were studying, there were people playing chess, and there were outlets, so I spent a lot of time using computers.
Since it is a state, you can enter it for free.
The room with a high ceiling in the back was a dome, and it was a very interesting library because I could learn from the historical exhibits related to books.
After that, there were paintings related to Melbourne, and I was able to touch art.

Absolutely fabulous place to experience. The Grand reading room under the giant framed glass dome is amazing to view from various angles/levels. One has to be here in person to be able to fully appreciate the space, volume, impact and the power of knowledge displayed right here. There is also an art gallery attached to the library, which is kind of unique. The free Wi-Fi access offered by the library is certainly very thoughtful, without which this review can't be posted and shared promptly.

Melbourne's cathedral to books is a wonderful place to escape the hustle and bustle of the craziness outside. A great place to find a hidden gem of history and literature. Take the elevator up to the Dome galleries and peer down at university students, scholars, researchers and the general public studying in the LaTrobe Reading Room. Also many large public protests and events happen out in the public forecourt, causing the library to be busy. but overall a good place

Amazing architecture! Perfect place to read, study or use the free wifi. Free exhibitions-Worth the visit!

Easy access, beautiful architecture, quite study space!

Amazing building so much history and a perfect view from the top deck

I loved everything about this library. It is a beautiful piece of architecture, the setting is stunning and the exhibitions inside are really interesting. I would definitely recommend stopping by and visiting it if you are on the area.

It is a very quite area for studying but some areas smell foul and many people are disrespectful in a library space

Free entry and a great place to study. The architecture is very intricate and beautiful. There are also paintings to look at. You can also get a guided tour of the library.

Friendly atmosphere, most staff members are helpful & understanding to library visitors & guests.

Walked by with my wife and children on a pokemon hunt when i was met by dozens of rowdy, foul mouthed thugs drinking alcohol and smoking drugs at the libraries large front gardens. On one occasion one of the many skateboarders almost collided with my youngest child. These gangs were also urinating in public without any care or concern to those around them. The whole area was extremely filthy, with graffiti, urine, broken bottles and rubbish everywhere. To say i was shocked is an understatement. I and my family felt unsafe and we left shortly afterwards. We will not return. What a dump! Whomever manages these grounds should be sacked out of sheer incompetence!
NOT RECOMMENDED.

Been coming here for years. It's a city landmark as well as a personal one, for so many people in this town. Defs recommend.

This is a review for the tour of the State Library, not the facilities itself, per se. We signed up for the free Dome to Catacombs tour (please be courteous and do the library a favor and sign up in advance online...). The tour gives you the history of the building and a little about Melbourne itself, plus we got to go behind the scenes and see where the library keeps special collections, rare books, and even their old card catalogue! Everything in their collection can be requested by anyone, which is amazing. Highly recommend going on the tour!