The State Library of Victoria is Australia's oldest free public library and the first of Victoria's key cultural institutions.
Founded in 1854 when Victoria was barely 20 years old, the Library has continued to reflect the cultural and social development of the state and its people for 150 years.
It is the major reference and research library in Victoria, responsible for collecting and preserving Victoria's documentary heritage and making it available through a range of services and programs.
State Library Collections
The Library first opened in 1856 with a stock of 3846 books. Today it includes over two million books and serials, one of Australia's largest newspaper collections, hundreds of thousands of pictures, maps, manuscripts and artefacts, as well as materials in digital and multimedia formats.
Arts
Includes the visual and performing arts, music, magic, cinema, television, radio, photography, and recorded sound and video. There is a strong emphasis on Australian material, particularly in the Australian Art and Artists (AAA) collection of exhibition ephemera.
Australian Manuscripts
Includes original archival materials that reflect all aspects of Victorian life.
Australiana
Encompasses materials that deal specifically in history, literature, culture, biography, travel and Aboriginal studies, with particular focus on Victoria.
Business & Statistics
Includes statistical publications, directories, databases and yearbooks, with emphasis on Australia.
Chess
Contains books, tournament reports, magazines and pamphlets. It is recognised as one of the three largest public chess collections in the world.
Children’s Literature
Contains picture books, readers, anthologies, ephemera, and works of fiction including rare children's books, with an emphasis on Australian literature.
Information Databases
Includes multi-subject databases and subject specific databases. Access is via the Information Databases link from the catalogue.
Genealogy
Includes indexes to births, deaths & marriages, cemetery and immigration records, and electoral rolls and directories. The focus is on genealogical sources for Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
Humanities and Social Sciences
Encompasses materials on psychology, sociology, religion, literature, economics, linguistics and history.
Law & Government publications
Includes parliamentary papers, legislative material and Hansards for all the states of Australia and the Commonwealth Government. Also government publications from the United Nations, United Kingdom, United States and the European Community.
Maps
Includes mainly Australian, and particularly Victorian maps and is also complemented by strong holdings of maps from overseas.
Newspapers
Includes a comprehensive collection of Victorian metropolitan, suburban and regional newspapers, as well as selected Australian and international titles.
Pictures
Includes biographical, cultural, environmental, historical, sociological and topographical images relating to Victoria.
Rare Books
Comprises rare and valuable Australian and non-Australian books dating from the 17th century until the present day.
Science and Technology
Encompasses medicine, health, motoring manuals and periodicals, patents, standards and codes of practice, and environmental resources.
Sport & Recreation
Includes current and historical materials focusing on various sport and recreational activities pursued in Australia.
Founding the Library
The idea to build a world-class public library was generated by a small group of prominent men including Sir Redmond Barry, an Irish lawyer who arrived in Melbourne in 1839.
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