| 1853 | July |
| Library Trustees appointed. | |
| Competition for building on two-acre Swanston Street site. | |
| First prize of £150 won by Joseph Reed. | |
| 1854 | 3 July |
| Foundation stone laid by Governor Hotham. | |
| 1856 | 11 February |
| Melbourne Public Library opens. | |
| May | |
| Official opening of southern part of Swanston Street building. | |
| Building lighted with gas. | |
| First Librarian, Augustus Tulk, appointed. | |
| 1858 | Construction of South Wing. |
| 1860 | July |
| Travelling Library scheme inaugurated (discontinued 1900). | |
| 1863 | Construction of North Wing. |
| 1868 | 4 January |
| Visit by the Duke of Edinburgh. | |
| 23 November | |
| Purchase of William Strutt's painting,‘Black Thursday’. | |
| 1869 | Act of Parliament incorporates the Public Library, Museums and National Gallery, with a single Board of Trustees headed by Barry. |
| State Copyright Act provides for Library to receive a copy of every book and magazine published in Victoria. | |
| 1870 | Work begins on the portico, completed in 1871. |
| 1874 | Royal Society of Victoria presents papers of the Victorian Exploring Expedition (Burke and Wills). |
8 | |
| 1880 | 23 November |
| Death of Sir Redmond Barry, President of the Board of Trustees. | |
| 1883 | Electric light first provided by Australian Electric Light Co. |
| 1886 | 2 September |
| Opening of Barry Hall (first floor of the South Wing). | |
| 1887 | 23 August |
| Statue of Sir Redmond Barry (modelled by James Gilbert and completed after Gilbert's death in 1885 by Percival Ball) unveiled. | |
| 1889 | Bronze statue of St George and the Dragon by Sir Joseph Boehm (1834-1890) purchased from the Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition and placed in the forecourt. |
| 1891 | Card catalogue completed. |
| 1892 | 8 August |
| Lending Branch opened to the public. | |
| 1901 | 23 January |
| News received of Queen Victoria's death: Library closed and columns of the entrance draped in black and purple. | |
| 6–11 May | |
| Library and other city buildings illuminated for the opening of the Commonwealth Parliament. | |
| 1907 | February |
| Bronze statue of Jeanne d'Arc (replica of statue by Emmanuel Fremiet in Place de Rivoli, Paris), which had been acquired by the Felton Bequest in 1906, placed in forecourt. | |
| 1909 | 26 October |
| Foundation stone of the Dome building laid by the Governor of Victoria. | |
| 1913 | 14 November |
| Domed Reading Room opened by the Governor-General. | |
Public Library, Melbourne. 1853. Lithograph after a drawing by Joseph Reed. H3948. La Trobe Picture Collection.
Nicholas Chevalier, 1828–1902, artist. The Public Library. 1860. Watercolour. H27931. La Trobe Picture Collection.
H.N.E. Cook, artist. Melbourne Public Library. 1883. Oil on canvas. H84.135. La Trobe Picture Collection.
Frederick McCubbin, 1855–1917, artist. Melbourne gaol in sunlight from the Public Library grounds [ca. 1884]. Oil on canvas. H29648. La Trobe Picture Collection.
| 1915 | Completion of classification of Reference Library according to Dewey Decimal System. |
| 1924 | The two metal lions removed from Swanston Street steps. |
| 12 February | |
| Unveiling of Septimus Power's War Memorial Mural in the staircase hall outside the Queen's Hall. | |
| 1937 | Two statues of Great War soldiers, ‘Wipers’ and ‘The Driver’, by Charles Sargeant Jagger, erected on front lawn. |
| 1938 | Moreton Bay figs removed from forecourt. |
| 1939 | Wrought iron gates removed. |
| 1944 | Act of Parliament provides for ending the joint administration of Library, Gallery and Museum established by the 1869 Act. |
| 1945 | Library Board established. |
| 1948 | Opening of Library Training School. |
| 1951 | 2 July |
| Foundation stone of the La Trobe Library laid. | |
| 1953 | June |
| Royal coat of arms hung on portico to mark coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. | |
| 1956 | Appointment of first Manuscript Librarian. |
| 1960 | Official title changed to State Library of Victoria by Act of Parliament. |
| 1965 | 6 September |
| La Trobe Library opened. | |
| 1966 | 16 November |
| Friends of the La Trobe Library formed. | |
| 1968 | April |
| First issue of La Trobe Library Journal. | |
14 | |
| 1970 | Appointment of first Field Historian. |
| 1977 | Public Record Office of Victoria moves from Library to its own repository. |
| 1984 | Friends of the La Trobe Library change name to Friends of the State Library of Victoria. |
| 1990 | Construction begun on the first new buildings on the Library site since 1965. |
| 1992 | North-East and South-East Wings on Russell Street completed. |
| 1993 | Heritage Collections (Rare Books, Maps, Pictures and Manuscripts) move to North-East Wing. |
| 1997 | 3 March |
| Opening of the Trescowthick Information Centre. | |
| 1998 | Friends of the State Library merge with the State Library of Victoria Foundation. |
| February | |
| ‘Wipers’ and ‘The Driver’ relocated to Shrine of Remembrance. | |
| July | |
| The Herald & Weekly Times Newspaper Reading Room opened to public. | |
| 1999 | Domed Reading Room closed for renovation. |
| 2003 | 28 February–25 May |
| ‘Kelly Culture’ Exhibition draws record number of visitors. | |
| 8 July | |
| Re-opening of the Domed Reading Room as the La Trobe Reading Room. | |
Public Library, National Gallery and Museum with New Concrete Dome (Largest Span in the World). [ca. 1913]. Shirley Jones Collection of Victorian Postcards. H96.200/514. La Trobe Picture Collection.
Public Library, Melbourne [ca. 1945-ca. 1956]. Glass negative. H91.50/2444. La Trobe Picture Collection.
Library of Victoria Photographic Section. Facade of Library [ca. 1993] Colour transparency.
Barnett Johnstone, 1832–1910, photographer. [Queen's Hall Reading Room, Melbourne Public Library, 1859] Albumen silver photograph. H4322. La Trobe Picture Collection. This photograph was taken at the request of Sir Redmond Barry, present at its capture — a fact that unnerved the photographer. While purporting to show members of the public using the Library, it actually depicts Augustus Tulk the Chief Librarian sitting at the end of the table, with his assistants as well as some workmen employed on the building all posing as readers. At the time of the photograph's execution, the South wing of The Queen's Hall had just been completed, hence the presence of the workmen. It was not until 1864 that the North wing was constructed, thus completing The Queen's Hall to its present form.
