State Library Victoria, Public library in Melbourne, Australia.
State Library Victoria is a public library in Melbourne, Australia, occupying an entire city block and housing reading rooms, exhibition spaces, and research facilities within several interconnected buildings. The architecture follows neoclassical principles with columns, symmetrical facades, and a central rotunda illuminated by natural light from above.
The building opened in 1856 and became the first public library in Australia, founded during the gold rush years in Victoria. In the early 20th century the library received its central dome and expanded reading rooms to meet the growing needs of a rising city.
Visitors often sit beneath the large dome working on laptops or reading through old newspapers while tourists browse exhibitions on the ground floor. The name recalls the state of Victoria, whose collective memory is stored along the shelves of these rooms and remains available to locals and researchers alike.
Free guided tours and research assistance are available during opening hours, and wireless internet works throughout all rooms. Visitors should head to the La Trobe Reading Room first to gain an overview of the entire building and its layout.
The reading room beneath the dome rests on six floors of bookshelves arranged around the octagonal space and reaching up into the upper stories. Visitors often notice that the ceiling floats more than 35 meters (115 feet) above the floor and the acoustics behave in such a way that whispers are barely audible.
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