Baillieu Library

Sorry, but I love it here. They have just about everything or they can get you everything. And I mean everything. Who cares the building is sort of worn down, right? And that it’s packed most of the time. But I liked the spring morning ground floor view of the golden wattle in bloom. And for this I can forgive a lot! :) Oh, but what sucks is their policy for accessing journals.

Be prepared for noisy students, especially the science kids!!! Toilets are gross — can tell that the high fees that the university students pay is not going towards maintenance costs!!! «a library is not a café or restaurant». I wish this rule was reinforced– because many students leave coffee cups and lolly wrappers on desks. Wifi paid for by students who are enrolled, not the public.

I would say that this library is great whether you’re a Melbourne Uni student or not. I believe it’s recently renovated (I do recall about a year ago walking by this library and it was always closed off due to construction).
Atmosphere:
The place is relatively clean and very spacious. Also, as most libraries are, they are decently quiet so you can get decent peaceful studying in. Unfortunately, I warn you about the 1^st and 2^nd floor bathrooms. For some reason they smell horrible — every time I have to go to the restroom I always end up gagging.
Utilities:
~ They have plenty of computers available for use. I do recommend booking ahead though. During a busy period, if you do not book a computer, you would get kicked off it if a student who has booked it comes by.
~ Plenty of learning centers as well which are private rooms. Study groups rejoice!
~ They have quite a few printers, but unfortunately not many scanners or copy machines. Sometimes you can get lucky, but at other times all the computers that are attached to scanners will be taken and you need to prepare to wait. I do believe that you need a Melbourne Uni Student Card to print because you load up money onto it.
Staff:
The staff are friendly and try their best, but some of them are clueless — especially just the volunteers who aren’t actual librarians. I asked this woman if there was a stapler and she made a 20 minute dash around the library trying to procure one. I felt bad sending her on this massive quest so I can staple a few papers together.
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Overall, you can’t really fault this library. It isn’t jaw-​droppingly amazing. But it does its job and it does it well.