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Melbourne Art Library

  • Attractions
  • Melbourne
  • price 0 of 4
Boxes of books
Photograph: Archie Chew
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Time Out says

Discover a hidden library of creative resources inside of the Nicholas Building

As anyone who's ever purchased an art book can attest, creative resources can come with quite a hefty price tag. It's an issue brought into sharp relief by the fact that the people most often accessing said resources – artists – are commonly also some of the lowest-paid workers in Australia. 

Melbourne Art Library (MAL) seeks to make specialised art and design resources available to all – not just the well off. The library was founded by Nell Fraser, who has a background in art history and theory and has previously worked as a librarian at the National Museum of Australia's Research Library. "After finishing university, I realised how difficult it was
to access key arts texts," she says. "The books I wanted to read and learn from weren’t available at the public library, and I couldn’t afford access to university or research libraries, or to buy the books myself.”

MAL launched in October 2020 (while Melbourne was still in lockdown) as a free and contactless book borrowing service. From November 27 2020, MAL will also run a small public library within the Nicholas Building to allow further people to access its arts-focused collection. 

Speaking of the collection, at the time of writing MAL has around 1,000 specialised texts on its books (pun intended), with most resources donated from institutions and individuals around Australia. The available materials include items often overlooked in typical libraries (such as zines and artists' publishing) with all items available to be borrowed, for free, by anyone. 

While the physical space will launch November 27, expect MAL to remain highly developmental for some time (all the more exciting for Melburnians). Visit MAL online or head in for an in-person visit at room 619, level 6 of the Nicholas Building. 

Nicola Dowse
Written by
Nicola Dowse

Details

Address:
Nicholas Building
Room 619, level 6, 37 Swanston St
Melbourne
Melbourne
3000
Contact:
View Website
Price:
Free
Opening hours:
Tue-Fri 11am-8pm; Sat 11am-4pm
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