Things are changing at the State Library. They have been changing every decade or so since Redmond Barry, our founder, opened the doors to the public 170 years ago.

That change has given us vastly expanded and beautiful spaces enjoyed by thousands of Victorians and visitors every single day of the week.

Our critics take a different view of change. Astonishingly, some seem to pine for the library as it existed 40 or so years ago – as writer Helen Garner described it last week, a “temple of calm and a refuge from racket”.

Christine Christian, president of Library Board Victoria, in the State Library.Credit: Susan Gordon-Brown

I’m also fond of a bit of calm. But I happen to take a clear-eyed, not a misty, romantic, view, of the way students, researchers and scholars now want to access the library in different ways.

Walk in here any day, and you’ll see young students, the life of the city, and our future, using screens, checking reference points with their mates, and yes, even occasionally getting a book off the shelves.

I’d call it a temple of engagement.

As Library Board president, I also look to the State Library charter and clearly stated government policy, on a daily basis, which requires us to offer an inclusive service for a diverse range of........

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