The Melbourne Athenaeum Library is closing at 2pm on Thursday 4 September to ensure the safety of members and staff while essential plumbing work is carried out in the library.

Thank you for your understanding.

The Melbourne Athenaeum Library is closing at 2pm on Thursday 4 September to ensure the safety of members and staff while essential plumbing work is carried out in the library.

Thank you for your understanding.

News and Events

Thursday 28 August 2025
Body in the Library

BOOKING INFORMATION HERE

Join us for an evening of criminally good readings and author talks, on Thursday 28th August.Meet the sisters in crime who penned the winning entries in the Body in the...read more
Friday 29 August 2025
Music: Somesh Putcha

BOOKING INFORMATION HERE

Ever Playful is Somesh Putcha’s debut album, composed for the ABC Classic and Jazz Composer Commission 2024. The album draws from the storytelling of his father’s Hindu background, an idea...read more
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Library

A range of cultural activities are held in the beautiful surrounds of the subscription library.
The library holds a 30,000 strong collection and hosts regular music performances, talks, book and screen clubs, and artist and writer-in-residence programs. Members enjoy the historic atmosphere and quiet haven in a bustling city.

Browse the collection

New Acquisitions

General Fiction
Atmosphere / Taylor Jenkins Reid
General Fiction
My friends / Fredrik Backman
General Fiction
The passengers on the Hankyu Line / Hiro Arikawa
General Fiction
Foreign country / Marija Pericic
General Fiction
The Phoenix Pencil Company / Allison King
Crime Fiction
The book of secrets / Anna Mazzola
Crime Fiction
The palazzo / Kayte Nunn
Crime Fiction
Barren Cape / Michelle Prak
Crime Fiction
To the dogs / Louise Welsh
Crime Fiction
Melaleuca / Angie Faye Martin
Non Fiction
What artists see / Quentin Sprague
Non Fiction
Edda Mussolini / Caroline Moorehead
Non Fiction
Mud and stars / Sara Wheeler
Non Fiction
Cactus pear for my beloved / Samah Sabawi
Non Fiction
Vaccine nation / Raina MacIntyre
Other Genres
Antarctica / Claire Keegan
Other Genres
The colony / Daniel Pollock
Other Genres
The midnight dance / Nikki Katz
Other Genres
Kip of the Karoo / Emma Gourlay
Other Genres
The arrangement / Mary Balogh
Ebooks
Mother of Eden / Chris Beckett
Ebooks
In Praise of the Bees / Kristin Gleeson
Ebooks
Grave Intentions / RV Raman
Ebooks
The Village Hall Vendetta / Jonathan Whitelaw
Ebooks
A Trace of Hares / Sarah Yarwood-Lovett

About us

The Melbourne Athenaeum enriches Melbourne’s cultural and educational life by fostering public engagement with the arts and culture, and supporting creativity.
A Management Committee of volunteers is responsible for the organisation’s governance. Every member joining the Melbourne Athenaeum becomes a custodian of a rich part of the city’s living history.
history image
State Library Victoria, www.slv.vic.gov.au, Alfred Martin Ebsworth, June 29, 1885.

History

The story that unfolds here is about a unique organisation that continues to contribute to the city’s culture in a building first completed in 1842.
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