La Trobe Reading Room

Abstract

photo : david iliff Outpost Libraries are reservoirs of strength, grace, and wit, reminders of order, calm, and continuity, lakes of mental energy. – Germaine Greer I t’s a capsule of intricate white crown molding and glowing green lamps that resembles a fantasy reading world. In the city of Melbourne, Australia, a place rich with culture, a literary hot spot continues to draw in readers and writers alike. Nestled in one of the nineteenth-century buildings that make up the State Library of Victoria is the La Trobe Reading Room. Its domed ceiling reaches six stories high—the cap on a structure more than one hundred years old. Originally known as the Domed Reading Room, the space was refurbished and reopened in 2003 with its current name. The La Trobe name has a longstanding history in the colony of Victoria. Sir Charles La Trobe, the first lieutenant governor of the new colony of Victoria in 1851, shaped the values of his Australian state through environmental awareness and educational advocacy. And from La Trobe University to the reading room, literature new and old brings these spaces to life. The French saying “Qui cherche trouve” is a modern version of the La Trobe family motto. In English, it can be translated as “Whoever seeks shall find,” and among the thirty-two thousand books that the reading room can house, this holds true for anyone looking for a bit of educational enlightenment. When the space was refurbished in 2003, quotations were added above the shelves, circling the room in a ribbon of literary inspiration. From Edmund Wilson to William Shakespeare, these quotes serve to give impetus to anyone searching for words of wisdom from the greats of classic literature. Kelly Rogers is studying professional writing and art at the University of Oklahoma. La Trobe Reading Room by Kelly Rogers 80 WLT SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2015 ...