The Melbourne Athenaeum Library will be closed on Tuesday November 4 for the public holiday.

The library will be open regular hours on Monday November 2 and Wednesday November 5.

The Melbourne Athenaeum Library will be closed on Tuesday November 4 for the public holiday.

The library will be open regular hours on Monday November 2 and Wednesday November 5.

News and Events

Saturday 14 November 2026
Workshop: Watercolour Pencil Sketching

BOOKING INFORMATION HERE

 

Join Alissa Duke for an inspirational class/workshop with watercolour pencils amongst the bookshelves, and learn tips and techniques along the way. No previous experience is required – just bring your...read more
Thursday 26 November 2026
Talk: Printing the Plays of Shakespeare

BOOKING INFORMATION HERE

In this talk, Professor David McInnis explores how Shakespeare and fellow dramatists wrote their plays, tracing the textual evolution from authors’ hands to playhouses and eventually the printers. This period...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
The Moroccan daughter / Deborah Rodriguez
General Fiction
Phantom days / Angela O'Keeffe
General Fiction
Chronicle of a death foretold / Gabriel Garcia Marquez
General Fiction
Benjamin's crossing / Jay Parini
General Fiction
All them dogs / Djamel White
Crime Fiction
Unsound / Heather Critchlow
Crime Fiction
How to kill a crime writer / Sarah Lotz
Crime Fiction
My inner child wants to murder mindfully / Karsten Dusse
Crime Fiction
Bad neighbours / Joanna Jenkins
Crime Fiction
Claire DeWitt and the bohemian highway / Sara Gran
Non Fiction
The courage to be ordinary / Ichiro Kishimi
Non Fiction
For and against a united Ireland / Fintan O'Toole, Sam McBride
Non Fiction
Murray Ball : a cartoonist's life / Mason Ball
Non Fiction
A training school for elephants / Sophy Roberts
Non Fiction
Jan Morris : a life / Sara Wheeler
Other Genres
Time travel for beginners / Jaclyn Moriarty
Other Genres
The weekend / T.M. Logan
Other Genres
Dungeon crawler Carl / Matt Dinniman
Other Genres
The friendship paradox / Aska
Other Genres
Land / Maggie O'Farrell
Ebooks
Taken / Dinuka McKenzie
Ebooks
Death by Dickens / Penelope Cress, Steve Higgs
Ebooks
No Longer a Gentleman / Mary Jo Putney
Ebooks
A Murder Worth Dying For / Russell Cooper
Ebooks
Your Steps on the Stairs / Antonia Munoz Molina

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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