State Library Victoria

State Library Victoria opened in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library and is the oldest public library in Australia. It occupies an entire city block, with entrances on Swanston, Russell and La Trobe Streets, and its main portico faces Swanston Street at number 328. The architect Joseph Reed drew up a masterplan for the whole site in 1860, and the building grew in stages over the following decades.

The highlight is the domed reading room, now known as the La Trobe Reading Room. Designed by Bates, Peebles and Smart, the successor practice to Reed's firm, it opened in 1913 and was the largest dome in the world when it was completed. It remains a working reading room as well as the building's main sight.

The library has 3,892,523 collection items registered electronically and stages free exhibitions drawn from them. Current displays include World of the Book and a display of Ned Kelly's armour, one of the most recognisable objects in Australian history. Other exhibitions change through the year, and there is a programme of talks, events and tours.

Between 2015 and 2019 the library went through a major redevelopment known as Vision 2020, an A$88.1 million project to transform its public spaces, programmes and facilities, completed in December 2019. The result is a building that works equally well for a short look at the dome and for a half day of reading or exhibitions. There are cafes on site, including Mr Tulk, which suits a break between rooms.

The library is open from 10am to 6pm daily and closes on New Year's Day, Good Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Its address on Swanston Street places it in the northern part of the city grid, a few minutes' walk from the Old Melbourne Gaol on Russell Street, so the two combine easily. Allow an hour to see the reading room and the main exhibitions, and longer if you plan to read or join a tour. For research questions, the library runs an Ask a Librarian service through its website. The Wheeler Centre, a separate venue, occupies part of the same block, with its entrance on Little Lonsdale Street.