The Melbourne Athenaeum Library will be closed from Friday April 18 to Monday April 21 for the Easter long weekend.     The library will reopen at 10am Tuesday April 22.

The Melbourne Athenaeum Library will be closed on Friday April 25 for the ANZAC Day public holiday.     The library will be open regular hours on Thursday April 24 and Saturday April 26.

The Melbourne Athenaeum Library will be closed from Friday April 18 to Monday April 21 for the Easter long weekend.     The library will reopen at 10am Tuesday April 22.

The Melbourne Athenaeum Library will be closed on Friday April 25 for the ANZAC Day public holiday.     The library will be open regular hours on Thursday April 24 and Saturday April 26.

News and Events

Wednesday 9 April 2025
Storytime with Leigh Hobbs

EMAIL FOR BOOKINGS

Join artist, author and Athenaeum member Leigh Hobbs for a special storytime as we celebrate 30 years of one of his most popular characters, ‘Old Tom’. On 9th April we...read more
Thursday 1 May 2025
150 Years of Chloe

BOOKING INFORMATION HERE

 

On May 1, author Katrina Kell will discuss the intriguing mystery surrounding the identity of the model in Jules Lefebvre’s painting, Chloe, which has graced the Young & Jackson hotel...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
Fire exit / Morgan Talty
General Fiction
The book woman's daughter / Kim Michele Richardson
General Fiction
Tuesday evenings with the Copeton Craft Resistance / Kate Solly
General Fiction
Forbidden notebook / Alba de Cespedes
General Fiction
The campers / Maryrose Cuskelly
Crime Fiction
The black swan mystery / Tetsuya Ayukawa
Crime Fiction
The grapevine / Kate Kemp
Crime Fiction
Can't run, can't hide / Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Crime Fiction
You are fatally invited / Ande Pliego
Crime Fiction
The impossible thing / Belinda Bauer
Non Fiction
The day that went missing : a family tragedy / Richard Beard
Non Fiction
Fighting for justice : the Donald Thomson story / Robert Macklin
Non Fiction
The chairman's lounge : the inside story of how Qantas sold us out / Joe Aston
Non Fiction
Source code : my beginnings / Bill Gates
Non Fiction
Being Jewish after the destruction of Gaza / Peter Beinart
Other Genres
Under the eye of the big bird / Hiromi Kawakami
Other Genres
The North Wind : the four winds / Alexandria Warwick
Other Genres
Australian bachelors / Laura Martin
Other Genres
This poison heart / Kalynn Bayron
Other Genres
Under the wide and starry sky / Nancy Horan
Ebooks
The Dog Sitter Detective Plays Dead / Anthony Johnston
Ebooks
The Chinese Gold Murders / Robert Van Gulik
Ebooks
Winter's Mourn / Mary Stone
Ebooks
A Generation of Vipers / Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
Ebooks
Death on the Isle / M.H. Eccleston

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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