The State Library of Victoria (SLV) has always been one of those beautiful historical architectural buildings I love exploring. Whenever possible (very rarely) I would love to make the trip to the library and take walk around the grand building.
Officially opened in 1856 during Victoria's gold rush, as one of the free public libraries in the World. The SLV is a research library and not a lending library. It started with a single building, now 23 buildings make up the State Library.
In 2018 the library was the 4th busiest in the world LitHub and considered one of the best libraries in the world by many publications, including Veranda and The Best Collage.
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Two beautiful murals 'Peace after Victory' by Napier Waller (commissioned by the Library Trustees in 1929) and 'War' by Harold Septimus Power was installed in the library over 100 years ago. Unfortunately, the mural has not been seen for many years by the general public until now, after 15 years of restoration work.
'Peace after Victory' by Napier Waller - Over the La Trobe Reading Room Entrance
'War' by Harold Septimus Power - Over the Ian Potter Queen's Hall Entrance
The Latrobe Reading Room
No visit is complete to the SLV without experiencing the La Trobe Reading room dome. Opened in 1913 as the 'Domed Reading Room' the octagonal-shaped reading room is six storeys high and houses 32,000 books and 320 readers at its desks. Designed to emulate the British Museum in London and the Library of Congress in Washington. Only in 2003 after refurbishments, it re-opened as it's known today...'La Trobe Readin Room'. The Dome galleries can be accessed via staircase or lift with a viewing balcony on level 6.
The dais in the middle of the room currently exhibits collection items, but there was a time when a staff member sat up there, ensuring silence was maintained in the reading room.
The Dome is 114 feet in diameter and 114 feet high and in 2012-13 the Library celebrated the centenary of the Dome.
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Cowen Gallery
The Cowen Gallery houses a permanent exhibition of selected artworks from the Library's Pictures Collection. The selection includes portraits and landscapes, and historical and contemporary works to tell stories relating to the State of Victoria.
Ian Potter Queen's Hall
The Ian Potter Queen's Hall is the library's heritage space, part of the original building houses the Library's Australian literature, poetry, drama and young adult fiction browsing collections. It is also home to the world’s largest collections devoted to the ‘game of kings’ - Chess. Number of chess game tables, historic chess sets and chess-related realia can be found on Level 3 (mezzanine).
Fun Fact - "A pair of nineteenth century shoes were found hidden within the walls of The Ian Potter Queen’s Hall, thought to have been put there in the 1880s to protect the building and its inhabitants. This was a traditional ritual that began in the 1500s, most commonly in residential buildings. Experts say discovering the shoes in a public building is a rare occurrence. The boots are now in the Library’s realia collection and have been recorded by the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery – home to the largest collection of shoes in the world and a ‘concealed shoe index’ that details such findings from all over the world." - Vision 2020 Fun Fact
The library offers many free events including tours with knowledgeable guides. The Library building is open 10 am-6 pm daily.
More images can be found in the video below.
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