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

The library will be open regular hours on Monday November 3.

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

The library will be open regular hours on Monday November 3.

News and Events

Friday 12 December 2025
Music: Inventi Ensemble

BOOKING INFORMATION HERE

 

Inventi plays The Nutcracker! Experience the magic of Inventi Ensemble as they perform Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite like never before, arranged for a vibrant chamber ensemble. This concert delivers energetic classics...read more
Thursday 1 January 2026
Events in 2026
We have another packed events program coming in 2026 featuring some musical favourites returning to the library, including Inventi Ensemble, Ash Davies, Stella Anning, Flinders Quartet, and Ultrafox. We're also...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
Chosen family / Madeleine Gray
General Fiction
Herscht 07769 / Laszlo Krasznahorkai
General Fiction
The Warrumbar / William J. Byrne
General Fiction
The wolf who cried boy / Mark Mupotsa-Russell
General Fiction
Seed / Bri Lee
Crime Fiction
I will find the key / Alex Ahndoril
Crime Fiction
Dead girl gone / Gareth Ward & Louise Ward
Crime Fiction
Gunner / Alan Parks
Crime Fiction
Last one out / by Jane Harper
Crime Fiction
In the shadow of King's / Nora Kelly
Non Fiction
Book of lives / Margaret Atwood
Non Fiction
The mushroom murders / Greg Haddrick
Non Fiction
Defiance / Bob Brown
Non Fiction
Mary Penfold / Grantlee Kieza
Non Fiction
Great writers & the cats who owned them / Susannah Fullerton
Other Genres
Venetian vespers / John Banville
Other Genres
The Brownout murders / Luke C Jackson, Maya Graham, Kelly Jackson
Other Genres
The rose field / Philip Pullman
Other Genres
The night of Baba Yaga / Akira Otani
Other Genres
Pictures of you / Tony Birch
Ebooks
The Lost Bookshop / Evie Woods
Ebooks
Best Detective Stories of Cyril Hare / Cyril Hare
Ebooks
Love Off Script / Laura Starkey
Ebooks
Once We Were Brothers / Ronald H. Balson
Ebooks
Dearly Beloved / Mary Jo Putney

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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