The Melbourne Athenaeum will close for the New Year period at 4:00pm Wednesday December 20 and will reopen at 10:00am Tuesday January 9.

During this period the returns box will be available on the landing outside the library when the building is open. Ebooks and eaudiobooks will be available through Overdrive and the Libby app.

The Melbourne Athenaeum will close for the New Year period at 4:00pm Wednesday December 20 and will reopen at 10:00am Tuesday January 9.

During this period the returns box will be available on the landing outside the library when the building is open. Ebooks and eaudiobooks will be available through Overdrive and the Libby app.

News and Events

Friday 1 December 2023
Zoe Knighton
A founding member of the one of the library’s favourite quartets, Zoe Knighton will take to the stage on Friday 1st December for a solo performance. Zoe will play Suites...read more
Friday 15 December 2023
Peter Beilharz Book Launch
Melbourne 1971: radical counterculture, hippies, opposition to the Vietnam War and consumerism. The birth of Oz blues rock, with a leading role by Australian group Chain. Peter Beilharz has penned...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
Hungry ghosts / Kevin Jared Hosein
General Fiction
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop / Satoshi Yagisawa
General Fiction
Dr. No / Percival Everett
General Fiction
But the girl / Jessica Zhan Mei Yu
General Fiction
The town / Shaun Prescott
Crime Fiction
Bad kids / Zijin Chen
Crime Fiction
Holly / Stephen King
Crime Fiction
The penguin pool murder / Stuart Palmer
Crime Fiction
Summer of blood / Dave Warner
Crime Fiction
Paper cage / Tom Baragwanath
Non Fiction
Her sunburnt country / Deborah Fitzgerald
Non Fiction
At the altar of touch / Gavin Yuan Gao
Non Fiction
Baggage / Alan Cumming
Non Fiction
Storytellers / Leigh Sales
Non Fiction
The Swedish art of ageing well / Margareta Magnusson
Other Genres
The escapades of Tribulation Johnson / Karen Brooks
Other Genres
Normal rules don't apply / Kate Atkinson
Other Genres
Up all night with a good duke / Amy Rose Bennett
Other Genres
The hummingbird effect / Kate Mildenhall
Other Genres
Neverlanders / Tom Taylor and Jon Sommariva
Ebooks
The Secret Life of Sunflowers / Marta Molnar
Ebooks
Girls Don't Play Sport / Chloe Dalton
Ebooks
The Watchmaker's Daughter / C.J. Archer
Ebooks
Sneaky Little Revolutions / Charmian Clift
Ebooks
Murder by the Book / Lauren Elliott

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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