25 Francis StreetPerth Cultural Centre
Perth Western Australia 6000
(08) 9427 3111
http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/
Hours:
Mon-Thu 9:00 - 20:00
Fri 9:00 - 17:30
Sat-Sun 10:00 - 17:30
Revamped in the last years, the State Library has become an open public space to lay and professionals, students and researchers, yummy mamies and homeless people. The Library offers what you can expect from a State Library: an ample collection of books, rare documents, private archives material, an important collection of maps, music-related material, an impressive photographic collection, sources for Family history and WA History, the daily newspaper and most of the State newspapers microfilmed from their first issue. The 3rd floor, formerly known as Battye Library, holds material specifically related to the History of Western Australia, the microfilms area, and reproduction machines. Borrowing books from the library has become one of the improvements in the last years, formerly not allowed, and makes things even easier for book lovers.
The Library's ground is both a source of relax and free Internet for backpackers from around the world, while the 1st and 2nd floors are also places to unwind, read a novel, checking your fav travel guides or technical books, or finding a nice quite place to use your computer or study, with plenty of study desks for students.
The Place, on the mezzanine floor, is a colourful and fun area devoted to children. Check my other review.
The Library holds yearly concerts, movie shows, and small exhibitions at the foyer and theatre areas, as well as corporate/academic privately arranged functions, and plenty of cultural activities all around the year. It is a place where you meet people in the city, have a coffee at the Aroma Cafeteria or use the toilets, which seem to be very popular!The Library being such a welcoming place, is often crowded with people with mental and/or anger problems, smelly homeless and the occasional petty thieve and drug dealer. Beware, if you leave your computer unattended it can be stolen. Really? Yes, really. The same apply to the lockers: make sure you introduce your pin when people are not watching, as there are petty thieves who, at seeing you leaving fancy stuff in the lockers, will pay attention to the pin you are using, then open your locker and steal your things. This info is not to scare anybody, just to let you know that there are nasty people everywhere, the Library included, and that you have to be cautious, because these happen quite often. Having said so, I have never ever had a problem of the sort here, ever.
The staff are all w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l.
