The Melbourne Athenaeum Library will be closed on Saturday April 25 for the ANZAC Day public holiday.

The library will be open regular hours on Friday April 24 and Monday April 27.

The Melbourne Athenaeum Library will be closed on Saturday April 25 for the ANZAC Day public holiday.

The library will be open regular hours on Friday April 24 and Monday April 27.

News and Events

Wednesday 29 July 2026
Melbourne Rare Book Week: Big Show Offs: The clowning achievements of George Coppin and Barry Humphries

BOOKING INFORMATION HERE

Speaker Simon Plant, who delivered the Gary Morgan Oration in the library in March, will speak about George Coppin and Barry Humphries, who graced the stage a century apart, bringing...read more
Thursday 30 July 2026
Melbourne Rare Book Week: Graphic Novels and the Real World

BOOKING INFORMATION HERE

The comic book form is used as a narrative medium by creators to tackle social, historical and personal histories: protesting about the Vietnam War in Mirranda Burton’s Underground; Napoleon Bonaparte’s...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
Frogsong / Melissa Manning
General Fiction
Kaisa : a reckoning with love / by Samuel Thawley
General Fiction
Look what you made me do / John Lanchester
General Fiction
The calamity club / Kathryn Stockett
General Fiction
Angel down / Daniel Kraus
Crime Fiction
Songwriters on the run / Robert Forster
Crime Fiction
Devil's breath / Jill Johnson
Crime Fiction
No welcome home / Daniel Pollock
Crime Fiction
Miss Winter in the library with a knife / Martin Edwards
Crime Fiction
Click / Sarah Bailey
Non Fiction
Touching the sky / Deborah Lawrie
Non Fiction
Decoding the hand / Alison Bashford
Non Fiction
Big sky / Bruce Pascoe and Professor Ray Norris
Non Fiction
The difficult ghost / Leila Guerriero
Non Fiction
Money : a story of humanity / David McWilliams
Other Genres
Once we were wildlife / Inga Simpson
Other Genres
The bluff / Joanna Jenkins
Other Genres
Red star rebels / Amie Kaufman
Other Genres
Six weeks by the sea / Paula Byrne
Other Genres
Bad moon / Jodi Taylor
Ebooks
A Charm of Finches / Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
Ebooks
The Duchess of Drury Lane / Freda Lightfoot
Ebooks
Unstuck / Dr Jan Eppingstall
Ebooks
Murder Among the Pyramids / Sara Rosett
Ebooks
A Case of Mice and Murder / Sally Smith

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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