State Library of Victoria
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| Established | 1854 |
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| Location | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Collection | |
| Size | 2,277,209 monographs, newspapers and serials (30 June 2014) |
| Other information | |
| Budget | $86.7M (FY 2013-14) |
| Director | Kate Torney (CEO) |
| Staff | 273 (248.04 FTE) |
| Website | www |
The State Library of Victoria is the central library of the state of Victoria, Australia, located in Melbourne. It is on the block bounded by Swanston, La Trobe, Russell, and Little Lonsdale streets, in the northern centre of the central business district. The library holds over 2 million books and 16,000 serials, including the diaries of the cities founders, John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, and the folios of Captain James Cook, R.N.. It also houses the original armour of Ned Kelly.
In 1853, the decision to build a state library was made at the instigation of Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe and Mr Justice Redmond Barry, Q.C. (Sir Redmond from 1860). A competition was held to decide who would design the new building; local architect Joseph Reed, who later designed the Melbourne Town Hall, Ormond College and the Royal Exhibition Building, won the commission.
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