Editing State Library Victoria (section)

== Forecourt ==
[[File:St George Melbourne.jpg|thumb|upright|Sir [[Joseph Edgar Boehm]]'s ''Saint George Slaying the Dragon'' (1889), one of several statues in the forecourt]]
The grassy lawn in front of the library's grand entrance on Swanston Street is a popular lunch-spot for the city's workers and students at the adjacent [[RMIT University]]. Originally enclosed by a picket fence, then by a wrought iron fence and gates in the 1870s, the space was opened up with the removal of the fence and the creation of diagonal paths in 1939.<ref>{{cite web|title=Forecourt|url=https://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/slvhistory/forecourt|website=The history of the State Library of Victoria|publisher=State Library of Victoria|access-date=30 August 2017|archive-date=8 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708163757/http://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/slvhistory/forecourt|url-status=live}}</ref>

The forecourt includes a number of statues. A pair of bronze lions flanked the entry from the 1860s until they were removed in 1937 due to deterioration. A memorial statue of Sir [[Redmond Barry]], [[King's Counsel|Q.C.]], by James Gilbert<ref>{{cite web|url=https://latrobejournal.slv.vic.gov.au/latrobejournal/issue/latrobe-54/t1-g-t2.html|title=The Mysterious James Gilbert, The Forgotten Sculptor 1854–85|website=The La Trobe Journal. No 54, March 1995|publisher=State Library Victoria|access-date=6 March 2019|archive-date=15 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415221110/http://latrobejournal.slv.vic.gov.au/latrobejournal/issue/latrobe-54/t1-g-t2.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and built by [[Percival Ball]] was installed on the central landing of the main stairs in 1887. Flanking the entrance plaza are [[Saint George and the Dragon]], by the [[England|English]] sculptor Sir [[Joseph Edgar Boehm]], installed in 1889 and Jeanne d'Arc ([[Joan of Arc]]), a replica of the statue by [[France|French]] sculptor [[Emmanuel Frémiet]], installed in 1907. World War I commemorative statues 'Wipers' and 'The Driver' were at the centre points of the 1939 diagonal paths, but were relocated to the ground of the [[Shrine of Remembrance]] in 1998.<ref>{{cite web|title=Driver & Wipers Memorial|url=https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/ww1/display/95571-driver-and-wipers-memorial|website=Monument Australia|access-date=30 August 2017|archive-date=30 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830153449/http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/ww1/display/95571-driver-and-wipers-memorial|url-status=live}}</ref> A statue of [[Charles La Trobe]], by Australian [[sculptor]] Peter Corlett, was installed in 2006 in the north east corner of the lawn.<ref>{{cite web|title=The history of the State Library of Victoria|url=https://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/slvhistory/statuesmurals|website=Statues and Murals|publisher=State Library of Victoria|access-date=30 August 2017|archive-date=8 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708162051/http://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/slvhistory/statuesmurals|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2012, the Dromkeen Foundation and Scholastic Australia gifted the entire Dromkeen Collection, along with the Dromkeen archive, to State Library Victoria.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Dromkeen |url=https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/interact-with-us/scholarships-awards/dromkeen-awards/about-dromkeen |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=State Library Victoria |language=en}}</ref> The collection includes a number of sculptures featuring children's book characters that are installed in the Library forecourt.

The forecourt is often used for rallies and protests.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Public assemblies, demonstrations & rallies |url=https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/public-assemblies-demonstrations-rallies |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=State Library Victoria |language=en}}</ref>