State Library of Victoria - the largest library in the state of Victoria, which has a capacity to store more than 1, 5 million books and 16,000 periodicals! Not surprisingly, the building, located in Melbourne, occupies an entire block near the city center. Among the main treasures of the library - diaries of Captain James Cook.

Just two decades after the founding of Melbourne, it was decided to build the library - particularly insisted on the then Lieutenant Governor of Victoria Charles La Trobe. The architect was chosen the famous Joseph Reed, later built the Royal Exhibition Building and Melbourne Central Hall.

July 3, 1854 was laid the first stone of the future library. Construction lasted 2 years, and in 1856 the library was open. The first book collection consisted of 3800 volumes, but by 1861 it was expanded to 22 thousand books. At the library in the same building housed the National Gallery of Victoria and Melbourne Museum. Gallery moved to a separate building only in 1960, and the museum - in the 1990s.

Near the main entrance to the library is a small park with a number of statues and monuments, among them - the statue of St George slaying the dragon, and the statue of Joan of Arc, established in 1907. Today, this small park is a favorite vacation spot of the students of the nearby University of Technology.

The building of the library was built in the classical style. Its domed reading room was opened in 1913, it can accommodate up to 500 readers. The diameter of the octagonal hall - 34, 75 meters. At the time of opening it was the largest reading room in the world.

From 1990 to 2004 the building of the library held a variety of restoration work, which cost the state government 200 million Australian dollars. There was built a number of exhibition sites for temporary exhibitions, so the library can now be considered one of the largest exhibition halls in the world.