Located in Melbourne’s CBD, State Library Victoria is Australia’s most historic public library, it boasts 19th-century heritage galleries, spacious contemporary venues and Conference Centre spaces.
With a variety of unique venue spaces, we offer the flexibility to cater to any occasion: serve cocktails for 500 under the dome of the La Trobe Reading Room, present a refined banquet for 150 in the Isabella Fraser Room, hold an intimate dinner for 25 in a heritage Rotunda or seat 200 guests for a lecture in the Village Roadshow Theatrette.
Whether you are organising a conference or a workshop, a formal banquet or a romantic wedding, you’ll find the ideal venue for your special event.
Room | Board Room | U-Shape | Classroom | Theatre | Cabaret | Banquet | Cocktail |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Village Roadshow Theatrette | – | – | – | 200 | – | – | – |
Seminar room 1 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 60 | 36 | 48 | 100 |
Seminar room 2 and 3 | 18 | 16 | – | 30 | 12 | 14 | – |
Seminar room 4 and 5 | 24 | 22 | 16 | 40 | 18 | 24 | – |
Queen's Hall | – | – | – | 150 | 96 | 120 | 320 |
Red Rotunda | 36 | 26 | – | 70 | 48 | 60 | 90 |
Experimedia | – | – | – | 250 | 160 | 200 | 350 |
Cowen Gallery | – | – | – | 150 | 200 | 220 | 400 |
La Trobe Reading Room | – | – | – | – | – | – | 520 |
Forecourt | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Room | Board Room | U-Shape | Classroom | Theatre | Cabaret | Banquet | Cocktail |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Village Roadshow Theatrette | – | – | – | 200 | – | – | – |
Seminar room 1 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 60 | 36 | 48 | 100 |
Seminar room 2 and 3 | 18 | 16 | – | 30 | 12 | 14 | – |
Seminar room 4 and 5 | 24 | 22 | 16 | 40 | 18 | 24 | – |
Queen's Hall | – | – | – | 150 | 96 | 120 | 320 |
Red Rotunda | 36 | 26 | – | 70 | 48 | 60 | 90 |
Experimedia | – | – | – | 250 | 160 | 200 | 350 |
Cowen Gallery | – | – | – | 150 | 200 | 220 | 400 |
La Trobe Reading Room | – | – | – | – | – | – | 520 |
Forecourt | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
It is a premium lecture venue with fully integrated audio visual equipment including high brightness, high definition video/data projector, 300 inch projection screen, 7:1 surround sound system and multi-setting room lights.
Theatre | 200 people |
The space has natural light and looks over La Trobe Street, the Conference Centre Foyer and the Library’s Genealogy Centre with original blue stone walls and lead light windows.
Board Room | 28 people |
U-Shape | 26 people |
Classroom | 24 people |
Theatre | 60 people |
Cabaret | 36 people |
Banquet | 48 people |
Cocktail | 100 people |
Seminar Room two and three can accommodate up to 16 in a U-shape configuration. The space overlooks over the Library’s Genealogy Centre with original blue stone walls and lead light windows.
Board Room | 18 people |
U-Shape | 16 people |
Theatre | 30 people |
Cabaret | 12 people |
Banquet | 14 people |
Seminar Room Four and Five features a ceiling fixed data projector and a screen. The space has natural light and looks over La Trobe Street.
Board Room | 24 people |
U-Shape | 22 people |
Classroom | 16 people |
Theatre | 40 people |
Cabaret | 18 people |
Banquet | 24 people |
Queen’s Hall is one of Melbourne’s most beautiful 19th-century interiors and features grand columns, ornate plasterwork and elaborate chandeliers. It has splendid Victorian décor and is reminiscent of the gold-rush days of the late 1800s and the era of Marvellous Melbourne. Queen’s Hall is accessed from the Library’s main foyer via a sweeping marble staircase, with walls adorned with a magnificent 1920s mural, War, by Harold Septimus Power. The venue is flexible in layout.
Theatre | 150 people |
Cabaret | 96 people |
Banquet | 120 people |
Cocktail | 320 people |
Named for its plush red walls, the Red Rotunda of the Cowen Gallery makes a stunning backdrop for any intimate event. The octagonal shaped space features portraits of figures significant in the history of Victoria.
Board Room | 36 people |
U-Shape | 26 people |
Theatre | 70 people |
Cabaret | 48 people |
Banquet | 60 people |
Cocktail | 90 people |
Experimedia offers designer furnishings and fittings and new media technology in a spacious bluestone-walled courtyard. A major feature of the space is the large media wall (6m x 4.5m) which can be used for audiovisual presentations. Should your numbers be smaller, the space can manipulated with furniture to ensure a comfortable floor space is available. Experimedia is a large and versatile event space that works exceptionally well as a tradeshow or expo venue.
Theatre | 250 people |
Cabaret | 160 people |
Banquet | 200 people |
Cocktail | 350 people |
The beautiful heritage Cowen Gallery houses a permanent exhibition of 150 works of art from the Library’s collection. It offers a grand and elegant setting for large cocktail parties and dinners. The Cowen Gallery is available after 6.00pm Friday to Sunday. It can accommodate up to 200 people for a sit-down dinner or 400 people for a cocktail party.
Theatre | 150 people |
Cabaret | 200 people |
Banquet | 220 people |
Cocktail | 400 people |
The Library’s most spectacular architectural feature, the dome, makes an impressive centrepiece for a special event. The La Trobe Reading Room is available after 6.00pm Friday to Sunday. It can accommodate up to 520 people for a cocktail party (all furniture is fixed and heritage listed). The Reading Room makes a most impressive entrance for guests and can be a stunning space for pre-dinner drinks and canapes before moving to Queen’s Hall or Experimedia for a seated dinner.
Cocktail | 520 people |
During finer weather people sprawl across the lawns. The Library truly is for all Victorians and attracts a wide demographic including workers, students, retirees and tourists. The Library’s forecourt represents a rare patch of grass within the CBD and is a highly desirable location. It is adjacent to Melbourne Central and QV shopping centres and RMIT University making it a high traffic zone. The forecourt is highly accessible and visible with trams servicing La Trobe and Swanston streets and Melbourne Central station across the road.