I don’t know about you but I’m cold. The transit to and from work each day is enough to make icicles form on the end of my nose and turn my toes a shade of blue. Yesterday, I stocked up on tins of soup and it’s entirely plausible that I could lock my front door, turn on the heater and not be seen again for four to six weeks. Winter has well and truly set in this week and it’s about this time every year when I swear I may never feel warm again. I don’t know how the people in Canada do it.

While sitting in front of my rather inefficient little heater, dressed head to toe in layers of cotton, polar fleece and wool and wrapped in a blanket, I found it difficult to hold my book and maintain my body temperature. There had to be a better way. I threw off the polar fleece, grabbed a coat (and scarf and gloves) and headed out into the wintry wonderland that is Melbourne.

Since one of my favourite winter pastimes is curling up with a good book (The Memory Keeper’s Daughter was this week’s bargain, $2.99 at Savers, Greensborough) I headed for Swanston Street and one of our icons, The State Library of Victoria. With thousands of books, reading rooms, study nooks and desks, magnificent architecture and exhibitions to visit, not to mention central heating, I could while away the afternoon in comfort and warmth, for free.

I started in the Arts Reading Room where you can listen to music and watch classic and contemporary films. Music of all types is available for your listening pleasure and you can even pop on a cassette and remember the good old summer days of your youth. Watch a film, a biography or a documentary. Or schedule some time in your day to peruse the upcoming events held at the Library.

Moving onto the galleries, you can choose to wander at your leisure or take a guided tour. There are three galleries – Keith Murdoch, Cowen and the Dome Gallery – each hosting various permanent and temporary exhibitions. My personal favourite at the moment is the Shop Til You Drop exhibit, a pictorial history of Melbourne’s most significant shopping precincts such as Collins Street, the Bourke Street Mall and our many fabulous arcades and laneways.

Since I have come out on a cold and wet day, I figure I should make the most of it and I head to the La Trobe Reading Room to get out my pen and notebook and make a start on some of my homework for Uni this week. I write for ten minutes but am distracted by the beauty of this room, the grandeur and elegance of it. I’ve never been to the New York Public Library – you might remember this is where Carrie chose to marry Big in the first Sex and the City feature film – but if I were getting married, the La Trobe Reading Room is number one on my list.

The library was built in 1854 and was one of the first free public libraries in the world. It now houses one of the great collections in the world, built over the years through careful acquisitions and generous donations. The library truly has to be seen to be believed and it will take you many, many hours, over many days, to enjoy the true extent of it. If you are sitting at home on a cold and wet Melbourne afternoon wondering if you will ever be warm again, head to the library. The heating is free and the sheer simple beauty of this Melbourne landmark will warm your heart.

To search the collection, or find out about events happening at the State Library of Victoria, visit http://www.slv.vic.gov.au.