State Library of Victoria
The State Library of Victoria is a Melbourne city landmark and cultural icon. The Library is a magnificent 19th-century building with some of the city’s most beautiful heritage interiors and is something that everyone on a holiday to Melbourne should experience. The La Trobe Reading Room, with its majestic domed ceiling, is a particular highlight of this attraction. The library has two free permanent exhibitions: Ned Kelly’s armour in the changing face of Victoria and the history of books in Mirror of the World.
The State Library of Victoria's Picture Collection forms a comprehensive visual record of the state and its people. To enliven your Melbourne holiday experience, view the 650,000 images which constitute the oldest visual historical collection in Australia, illustrating the development of Victoria from the 1850s to the 1990s.
Of the Library's Picture Collection, over 180,000 images have been digitised and made available online via the Library's Catalogue. The Catalogue also contains some images from the Australian manuscripts, map, rare books and other special collections
The scope of the Library's digitised content covers a diverse range of themes and collections. Content includes such subject areas as Melbourne and Victorian street scenes, buildings, ships, country views, costume, flora and fauna, portraits, Australian Aborigines, political and social events particularly of the nineteenth century, aerial views of Melbourne, factory interiors, domestic architecture, furniture, household goods and appliances, topographical, geological, botanical, agricultural and mining scenes, Federation commemorative arches and Boer War celebrations.
The Library's collections include over two million books, hundreds of thousands of pictures, newspapers, maps and manuscripts, and masses of audio, video and digital material – all reflecting the culture of Victoria over the past 150 years.
You can also enjoy fabulous artworks and exhibitions for free in one of our three galleries: the Keith Murdoch Gallery, Cowen Gallery and Dome Galleries. You can also see what's showing on the media wall in Experimedia.
