State Library of Victoria

I don’t quite know what to say about the State Library of Victoria as I wasn’t there long enough to regale you with tales of its broad reference scope or the types of information available, but I can tell you that it is truly one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve seen in Melbourne (or anywhere for that matter).

Anyone who knows me will know that I love books. Feeling the sensation of all of those books (over a million?!) nestled on the lofty shelves of such a gorgeous building filled me with the warm and fuzzies.

While you cannot take any of the references out of the collection, that’s oddly comforting too because the books will probably elude the fate of many books: being dog-eared, written on or worse.

The thought of that honestly made me shudder! It also reminds me of a time when I was a primary school student at a Catholic school. I visited my Mom at work; she was a librarian in a public school. I remember saying (sotto voce) in a horrified voice, ‘Mom, they’ve written on the desks ...’

Her response was (paraphrased), ‘If you stay still long enough, they’ll write on you too!’

I don’t think any photo can truly capture that vaulted room—and certainly not the feel, quiet but for the unheard, but somehow felt collective whispers of all of those books … ideas just waiting to be uncovered by someone new—so I think you should definitely make the trip to experience it for yourself.



Before I close, I want to thank Kelvin Eldridge of JustLocal for helping me get out and experience more of Melbourne today. Thanks, mate!

I invite you all to see more of this beautiful city and perhaps revisit your old favourites. By doing so, the old is made new.

Warm Regards

Renée Barber
... and this is My Melbourne