The library will be closed on Friday 27th September for the AFL Grand Final eve public holiday. The library will reopen on Saturday 28th September. 

The library will also be closed on Friday 18th October due to an ABC Radio event taking place in the theatre and the library.  

eBooks can be downloaded during the closures. If you need help setting up an eReader or downloading eBooks speak to the library staff. 

The library will be closed on Friday 27th September for the AFL Grand Final eve public holiday. The library will reopen on Saturday 28th September. 

The library will also be closed on Friday 18th October due to an ABC Radio event taking place in the theatre and the library.  

eBooks can be downloaded during the closures. If you need help setting up an eReader or downloading eBooks speak to the library staff. 

News and Events

Friday 30 August 2024
Partridge String Quartet

BOOKING INFORMATION HERE

The Partridge String Quartet is back in the library in August, with a varied program including works by Schulhoff, Britten and Harrison. The quartet formed at the National Academy of...read more
Saturday 31 August 2024
The Flowering Dark: Book Launch

BOOKING INFORMATION HERE

5 Islands Press author Sue Lockwood will launch her superb collection, The Flowering Dark, at the Melbourne Athenaeum Library on the 31 August. Anne M Carson will launch the book,...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
Brotherless night / V.V. Ganeshananthan
General Fiction
Exquisite corpse / Marija Pericic
General Fiction
Kairos / Jenny Erpenbeck
General Fiction
The radio hour / Victoria Purman
General Fiction
To sing of war / Catherine McKinnon
Crime Fiction
Knife skills for beginners / Orlando Murrin
Crime Fiction
The waiter / Ajay Chowdhury
Crime Fiction
Daughter of mine / Megan Miranda
Crime Fiction
They thought I was dead / Peter James
Crime Fiction
Killing Jericho / William Hussey
Non Fiction
The Earth transformed / Peter Frankopan
Non Fiction
The princes in the Tower / Philippa Langley
Non Fiction
Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher / Brandy Schillace
Non Fiction
The book at war / Andrew Pettegree
Non Fiction
Pageboy : a memoir / Elliot Page
Other Genres
Shadow and bone / Leigh Bardugo
Other Genres
Free / Meg Keneally
Other Genres
Shanghai immortal / A.Y. Chao
Other Genres
Only the astronauts / Ceridwen Dovey
Other Genres
Lay your body down / Amy Suiter Clarke
Ebooks
When We Fall / Aoife Clifford
Ebooks
Slow Boat to Mongolia / Lydia Laube
Ebooks
Murder at the British Museum / Jim Eldridge
Ebooks
The Wicked King / Holly Black
Ebooks
The Dictionary of Lost Words / Pip Williams

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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