When the library opened in 1856, people entering were required to sign the visitors' book, be over 14 years old and have clean hands. The only requirements today are that you leave your bags in the locker room ($1 to $2 for four hours) and maintain a bit of shush.

When the octagonal La Trobe Reading Room was completed in 1913, the reinforced-concrete dome was the largest of its kind in the world. The Wheeler Centre, on the Little Lonsdale St side, was started up by Lonely Planet's founders, Tony and Maureen Wheeler, in 2010, and regularly features talks by local and international writers. Refresh at Mr Tulk.