This was the first library I visited during our road trip last year. It was July 2021 at the height of the COVID pandemic so the entrance of the library was ‘manned’ with a library staff making sure that we signed in, sanitised and masked up.

Just thinking back I realised that my family and I should have enquired about becoming a member of the Victorian library network. Mind you, we didn’t stay long enough in the state to be able to make full use of the service. Next time!

Features: The Bendigo Library provides contemporary and traditional library services. The 2-story building housed the lending and printing (wireless!) services on the ground floor while the reference material and computers were on the upper level. There was also a dedicated spacious children’s area and a cafe. The staff seemed nice and at the time of our visit, there was also a cleaner wiping the highly-touched surfaces with disinfectant.

Now for a population of 140,000 which includes the city and the outer area of Bendigo, there were either a lot of book groups in this town or these bags (below) were for the home library service. I honestly can’t remember.

Overall Impression: I like this library. Everything about it seems new – the building, furniture and collection. It’s a great space to read, chill out, study and work. A must-visit when you’re in Bendigo.