Lenses Out in the Reading Room

Our hotel’s only a short walk from the State Library of Victoria so we thought we’d start off with a historic library tour, which was excellent.

The highlight of the tour was the magnificent Lat Trobe Reading Room, the lovely dome reminding me of a giant lens. The room is beautifully light and airy in its current refurbished state, apparently a far cry from the dingy gloom of bygone student memories.

We didn’t see so much reading taking place* - a brief survey found one student sleeping, one playing online card games and one watching cat videos. But by far the most popular activity was attempting to capture the architectural glory looking through a phone camera lens!

* Of course there was a lot of serious library activity taking place, but a librarian (even an ex) has to tsk tsk! In fact at the centre of the room is a grandiose shushing station, complete with mirrors to aid surveillance.

** For another view check out koryak