HOT: East Melbourne Library, 122 George St, East Melbourne

We are a family of readers yet I prefer to be a book borrower, not a book owner. So libraries are natural places for me to visit with the kids.

Going to a library is almost a ho-hum experience for us so it’s rare that I review them – but I think East Melbourne Library deserves a special mention on the blog.

I think it’s because it’s such an unexpectedly beautiful space. The small, tall, glass-fronted structure is tucked away on a residential tree-lined street in elegant East Melbourne, near Jolimont station and the MCB. Apparently it’s Australia’s most ecologically sustainable public library and the interior design is award-winning.

East Melbourne is a suburb that’s typically full of medical suites, city workers and old people and not really teeming with kids or young families. Hence the advantage on a (cold and rainy) Saturday morning was that we were the only people in the children’s section.

When we visited the children’s section had a special reading pod created by artist Emma Davies and children of the library. It’s an igloo made out of recycled milk bottles, complete with colourful milk bottle caps to twist and untwist! Inside were some comfy mats for sitting on, a wooden block toy that Baby 2.0 loved playing with while Lady AB cosied up with a few books of her choice.

(Emma also runs Bowerbirds Workshop with children to explore recycling, re-using and re-thinking through the fun of art and craft.)

Unfortunately the milk bottle igloo has disintegrated to about a quarter of its previous glory as the structure has been up for almost 6 months. Nevertheless East Melbourne Library has one of the best collections of new and curated children’s picture books that I’ve come across, other than in a children’s bookstore. I normally choose the kids’ library books by picking up random items on display and in this case I could have borrowed every single book that was on display. There were also two large tables with playdough and other art supplies, a tub of plastic dinosaurs and even a low table and chair for little people to access the library catalogue.

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Finally, East Melbourne Library run free storytime sessions every week. Baby storytimes (0 to 18 months) are every Thursday 10:30am, a 18month old – 3 year old storytime every Wednesday 10:15am, storytime for preschoolers every Wednesday at 11am. For Children’s Week 2014 they are holding a musical storytime for 3-6 year olds featuring Inventi Ensemble on Wednesday 22 October at 11-12pm. 

East Melbourne Library 122 George St East Melbourne 03 9658 9600