Ballarat Library at Town Hall FAQ

The services of the Ballarat Central Library are being transferred temporarily to a pop-up library at the Ballarat Town Hall. 

The Central Ballarat Library is undergoing a $7.48 million redevelopment and upgrade, as approved by Council at the October 2022 council meeting.  

The Doveton Street library cannot remain open to the public during the construction, with the Town Hall library to serve as an alternative option. 

It will be known as the Ballarat Library at Town Hall. 

The transition is expected to occur in mid-November, 2022 and will take about 12 months to complete. 

On-street parking is available in the surrounding streets and the first hour is free throughout the entire Ballarat CBD.  

You can read more about parking in Ballarat on our website. 

The first two hours are also free at Central Square Carpark, which can be accessed via Dana Street. 

The Ballarat Library at Town Hall’s opening hours are: 

• Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. 

• Saturday, 10am-4pm.  

• Sunday, 1pm-4pm.  

The library is on the ground floor, in the eastern corner of the building.  

If you are entering via the Sturt Street entrance through the main doors, it will be on your left.  

If you are entering via Bath Lane, walk through the Visitor Information Centre and the library will be on your right.

Yes. This entrance is from Bath Lane, through the Visitor Information Centre.

Yes. These are adjacent to the library space. 

Fully accessible toilets are located within the Visitor Information Centre of Town Hall.  

There is also a public kitchenette for tea and coffee.  

There are plans to have accessible baby change facilities installed at Ballarat Town Hall. 

Yes, you can place holds on collection items, borrow and return at The Ballarat Library at Town Hall. 

Due to storage space difficulties, the collection will be smaller than what is traditionally available at the Doveton Street library. 

The browsing collection at the Town Hall will be refreshed weekly with new titles.  

Library users are also encouraged to visit the larger collections available at Sebastopol and Wendouree libraries, and to explore the libraries e-collection to download.  

Items held at Sebastopol and Wendouree can also be placed on hold and collected from Town Hall.  

Due to space constraints, some books are held in storage. 

Collection has been transferred to Sebastopol and Wendouree branches and the remainder is in storage for the duration of the redevelopment.   

Unfortunately, not all books will remain accessible due to limited space. 

Library staff have made the most popular collections available, including adult fiction, picture books, DVDs, large print, junior fiction, adult and junior non-fiction. 

Library users are encouraged to place holds on catalogue items, and can collect from the library branch or outreach location of their choice.  

Holds can be placed via the library website, the library app or by seeking assistance from staff. 

After hours returns are not available at Ballarat Library at Town Hall. 

However, after hours chutes are available 24/7 at Sebastopol and Wendouree branches.  

Items can also be returned at the Library Outreach services and to the Eureka Centre research hub, during its hours of operation.  

Yes.  

There are eight public computers at Town Hall with printing, scanning and photocopying facilities.  

Town Hall will also have free WiFi.  

Storytime sessions will be held at Town Hall and will continue to be held at Outreach, Sebastopol and Wendouree.  

Check the library website for session times.  

The full extent of library events is yet to be full determined but Technology Q&As will still run. 

These are bookable sessions for assistance with any element of technology – using a computer or mobile device, accessing online services. 

The redevelopment of the Ballarat Library includes an expansion to the second level of the building, a new entrance, purpose-built teaching areas, quiet areas, open space for socialisation, specialised children’s and family areas. 

New facilities to be constructed at the Ballarat Library include a multi-purpose teaching space on the new second level, that can be used for hands-on activities such as cooking, art and more. 

More information about the new library project and further design images can be found on the City of Ballarat website. 

It is expected the Doveton Street library will reopen in late 2023. 

Ballarat Town Hall tours run for 20 to 30 minutes at 2pm on Wednesdays and Fridays from the Visitor Information Centre.