Hi-tech library tipped to transform much-maligned Docklands precinct The Docklands Library and Community Centre will be a community hub enabling people to come together to create, explore, connect, belong, learn and participate THE $22 million Docklands Library will feature an "outdoor room" on the waterfront and a performance area holding more than 100 people. New images and video have been released of the state-of-the-art facility, which government and municipal authorities hope will transform the much-maligned precinct. Located at Victoria Harbour, where Bourke and Collins Sts will come together, the library and community centre complex is due to open in April. As well as offering library books, it will feature an interactive learning environment, a hi-tech digital collection, multipurpose community spaces and studios for recording and mixing music. The Docklands Library is expected to open in April next year. There will also be a performance venue, children's area, gallery space and a cafe. Built from reclaimed hardwood and cross-laminated timber, the library is a joint venture by the City of Melbourne, state urban authority Places Victoria and builder Lend Lease. Lend Lease Victoria Harbour project director Claire Johnston said that a key design feature was a big undercover area along the waterfront like an outdoor room. An artist's impression of the Docklands Library. "It also has a top floor indoor/outdoor play area with retractable roof," she said. Ms Johnston said libraries were an important meeting and activities place for communities. "We expect the library to become the centrepiece of Victoria Harbour's civic heart, complemented by Dock Square Park and the family services and boating hub, which will sit adjacent to the building," she said. The Docklands Library will feature an interactive learning environment. The projects architects are Clare Design and Hayball.