Continuing this series of the Best Libraries around the world, this edition takes a look at the best libraries in Australia. From Sydney to Adelaide and in-between, here is a run down of some of the best libraries in Australia to tick-off your bookworm bucket list.
Mortlock Library
Located in Adelaide and housed within the State Library of South Australia, is the Mortlock Wing; a 19th century library, museum and art gallery. The interiors are thoroughly Victorian, with wrought iron balustrades, cast iron brackets and an original glass-domed lantern roof. While the ground floor is used as exhibition space, two further levels house walls of books and reading spaces. In 2014, the library was named as one of Travel + Leisure‘s top 20 most beautiful libraries in the world, with the historic building one of the most popular tourist spots in Adelaide.
La Trobe Reading Room
Housed within Victoria’s State Library, the domed gallery, known as La Trobe Reading Room, is one of Australia’s most famous libraries. When the domed structure was completed in 1913, it was the largest dome in the world. At 34.75 metres in height and diameter, the Edwardian space still packs a punch, with over 32,000 books housed inside. The design of the six-storey-high splendour was inspired by the British Museum and Washington’s Library of Congress, and is a popular tourist spot.
Mitchell Library Reading Room
In the 1890s, the State Library of New South Wales ran out of space for its growing collection, so it was decided that a new building was required. Book collector, David Scott Mitchell, bequeathed his extensive library of Australiana books to the national library and therefore, the new space would be named after him. The space was designed with a host of beautiful features including bronze doors, a stained glass copy of Mitchell’s coat of arms, a mosaic map in the foyer floor depicting the Dutch explorers first and second landings in Australia, filigree fretwork and Neo-grecian millwork.
See more beautiful libraries from around the world in previous posts such as the Best Libraries in Europe part one and part two or in upcoming posts exploring North and South America. Find more inspiring reading rooms in previous posts such as the last edition of our Best Libraries series or a post on Library Inspiration, alternatively browse the ‘library‘ tag for more
feature image: Stefan K