Today I went to visit the State Library of Victoria. They have an exhibition on called Gusto! which is a look at some of the food history of Victoria. While I am not going to talk too much about that today (probably will post about it next week for Weekend Cooking) I thought I would share some photos I took at the library today!Even better, later I realised that this could be my post for this month's Where in the World meme which asks us to talk about our libraries. The meme is hosted by Kelly, Trish and Lisa so if you fancy sharing something about your library, head over to their blogs for all the details. Whilst this isn't the library that I use every week, it is one that I do enjoy visiting when I go to the city.
The Street View
The Reading Room
Looking up
Looking down
Mirror of the World Exhibition
There is an exhibition which showcases the production of books from medieval to modern times. There are books on display which are hundreds of years old, and a couple that are worth millions of dollars. It is always a joy to spend time looking at the various manuscripts. The photos I took today are from the more modern facets including books that changed the world, Penguin classics and the advent of pulp fiction.
The Changing Face of Victoria
Another of the exhibitions is a series of documents and photos showing the history of Victoria from British settlement through to the modern day. It also includes a display on the infamous bushranger Ned Kelly, the major component of which is the suit of armour that Ned was wearing the day he was finally captured.
This photo, taken in the 1950s, from the rural life photos amused! I don't know if you can read it but at the very bottom it says Don't Steal This One. Presumably he has had trouble with sign stealers previously.
Ned Kelly's armour
There have been quite a few movies made telling the Kelly story.
The view at the top
William Shakespeare stained glass window
Looking down from the very top into the Reading Room
Outside
Sir Redmond Barry was instrumental in the foundation of the library. He is probably more well known as the judge who sentenced Ned Kelly to death!
I really love the 'ruins' that are embedded in the footpath outside the library!
I have no idea why but there were lots and lots of decoarated elephants all round Melbourne today! They were lots of fun!
Currently Reading
Blameless by Gail Carriger, A Brief History of Montmoray by Michelle Cooper and The Mirrored World by Debra Dean
Reading Next
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The Mali's are in celebration of 150th anniversary of the Zoo. They're all painted by diff ppl and displayed around for 6wks. There's an app you can get where you can tick off the ones you've found. I'm planning to hunt down a few while I'm in the city for MWF
ReplyDeleteAh well! I know where there are two!
DeleteOnly 48 to go then!
ReplyDeleteI am sitting in our room in the most southern point of Chile w/ pouring rain outside. Luckily I must have loaded the Kindles we have w/ a thousand books. We might need them. Loved the post of the Melbourne library as all the times I have visited Melbourne from Hobart I have been too intimidated to just walk in and around. Large libraries have that effect. Now I really want to visit it. But doubt I'll get there before the elephants finish. Thanks for sharing all the book things in Melbourne as I really love it!! Make that LOVE IT!! Pam
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful photo of the street view! Best I've ever seen of the place I love most in Melbourne.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a very cool place - thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLovely photos. What a wonderful place to go wandering. Wonderful place to go reading.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics Marg, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love this library...and kind of have fond memories of it since I got engaged there :D
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing all those photos - what a glorious resource to have close to you!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I walked past it twice and didn't find the time to go in and look. The faux-ruins outside have been a favourite of mine since they were installed
ReplyDeleteYour library looks fantastic especially the reading room! Thanks for sharing these pics with us.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful tour of a beautiful library. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful library! I would love to visit this one someday, and the elephants are just wonderful. They are my favorite animal, ya know!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely library...with fascinating exhibitions! Thanks for sharing. (And now my library is totally jealous of all the good things yours has ;-))
ReplyDeleteThey sound like great exhibitions, I hope to check them out. I arrived in Melbourne today for the MWF, and have spotted 2 elephants so far- I've got 48 to go too!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful building. Thanks for the tour of the Library. Neat!
ReplyDeleteMarg - Love these pictures. why it's like visiting a museum instead of a library. What a wonderful excursion. LGS
ReplyDeleteYour State Library is impressive! I love all the details of it. I wonder what is up with decorating elephant statues... it happens once in a while over here as well. I've even seen quite a few displayed in Antwerp. But they do cheer up the streets :)
ReplyDeleteThat is an awesome library! I enjoyed visiting it. :)
ReplyDeleteI went to the State Library for the first time back in May - can't believe I've walked past it so many times and not gone in! It's gorgeous. The Alexander Library doesn't have quite the same pizzazz!
ReplyDeleteThis is incredible! I'd never seen photos of this library before and it's just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLove love love those books come up out of the ground! Your library is stunning and I love that it has the historical exhibits inside as well. I definitely think I could spend a few hours lost there! Thanks for joining us Marg!
ReplyDelete