| State Library Victoria | |
|---|---|
 State Library Victoria | |
 | |
| 37°48′35″S 144°57′53″E / 37.809801°S 144.964787°E | |
| Location | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Established | 1854 |
| Collection | |
| Size | 3,892,523 collection items electronically registered [1] |
| Legal deposit | Legal deposit library for the State of Victoria |
| Access and use | |
| Access requirements | Free to access |
| Population served | 2,113,118 [1] |
| Members | 87,073 |
| Other information | |
| Employees | 311 FTE[1] |
| Website | slv |
| Official name | State Library of Victoria |
| Type | State Registered Place |
| Designated | August 20, 1982 |
| Reference no. | H1497[2] |
| Heritage Overlay number | HO751[2] |
State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the world. It is also Australia's busiest public library[3] and, as of 2023, the third busiest library globally.[4]
The library has remained on the same site in the central business district since it was established fronting Swanston Street, and over time has expanded to cover a block bounded also by La Trobe, Russell, and Little Lonsdale streets. The library's collection consists of over five million items, which in addition to books includes manuscripts, paintings, maps, photographs and newspapers, with a special focus on material from Victoria, including the diaries of the European founders of present-day Melbourne John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, the folios of colonial explorer James Cook, and items related to Ned Kelly, notably his armour and the original Jerilderie Letter.
- ^ a b c "Library Board of Victoria Annual Report 2022-23" (PDF). Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ^ a b "State Library of Victoria". Victorian Heritage Database. Government of Victoria. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
- ^ Victoria, Creative (26 June 2023). "Two million reasons to love State Library Victoria". Creative Victoria. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Annual reports". State Library Victoria. Retrieved 8 November 2023.