Warrnambool City Council has joined forces with South West TAFE for a new library. RACHAEL HOULIHAN explores the push to revamp the community hub.
A NEW community hub is the long-term vision for Warrnambool’s library.
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Warrnambool City Council is advocating for an improved library that will help deliver improved educational and employment outcomes for the region.
The proposal is in its very early stages. No funding has been secured, but the council has acknowledged with the population forecast to approach 50,000 by 2035, the library in its current form will not satisfy user expectations.
The current library, adjacent to the council’s civic centre on Liebig Street, has no meeting rooms, zoned spaces or public toilets. It was built in 1976 when the city had a population of 18,000.
The library has 27,000 books, magazines and other items.
In partnership with South West TAFE, proposed plans for a new library include the capacity to hold more than 60,000 items, meeting rooms and a greater emphasis on technology with more public access computers ,self- checking technology and automated book return systems.
A council advocacy document details the need for a new and improved library.
“Warrnambool is an education hub and a fast growing regional centre,” it reads.
“We now have a need to ensure current and future generations are provided with the best possible pathways to learning and employment. Over recent years Warrnambool City Council has focused on building infrastructure that will ‘future-proof’ the city and its residents.
“We need a library that meets 21st century community expectations. A library that bridges the digital divide and which enables increased access and participation through state-of-the-art technology.”
Mayor Kylie Gaston’s number one budget wishlist for 2017 was funding for a new hub, however the state government overlooked the facility.
“Our library is desperately in need of a technological update, more space and toilets, and better opening hours,” she said.
“As community hubs continue to grow around the world, we can enhance our library experience for our region by partnering with TAFE.”
She said it would be great to open late and on weekends, making the library a place to go during Warrnambool’s chilly winters. She said it would be ideal to bring different generations into the TAFE space to use technology and enjoy literature and educational information.
“Ultimately it leads to more jobs and bigger aspirations for our region,” she said.
“I really am excited for the day when kids will say to mum and dad ‘pick me up from the library’.”
Some respondents to the council’s Warrnambool 2040 survey, which asks the community what they want the city to look like in 2040, have said they would like to see the library improved – both the services and the collection.
Partnership to benefit city
IMPROVING the education attainment of the region is one of the benefits of a state-of-the-art library.
Warrnambool City Council chief executive officer Bruce Anson said a new facility would be “a real game changer for the city”.
“It’s the next major bit of infrastructure that we need,” he said. “The new library will reach out to a real broad section of the community. We have people that aren't employed, earning or learning and we have the opportunity to get them actively involved in a learning centre that has got flash IT equipment. Being on the (TAFE) premises gives the opportunity for those people to graduate across to learning opportunities.”
Mr Anson said about 120,000 people went through the library a year.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that grew to 300,000 or 400,000,” he said.
“It will be a significant regional facility that will serve the greater Warrnambool area. There is a lot of work to achieve, but it’s a fabulous opportunity.”
South West TAFE chief executive officer Mark Fidge said the idea of a combined library began at least seven or eight years ago.
“It first started when I went across to the council and approached them about whether or not they would be interested in a joint library approach because of the location of our current libraries,” he said.
“The idea was that we would explore the option of something located here (at TAFE). We have been actively involved with council for quite a few years in regards to coming up with a business case and a potential location. The drivers have been the benefits to the community. Some of the real drivers for us are education in our region and improving education attainment rates.”
He said a new library was a small part of a much bigger plan for TAFE.
“We have an educational precinct plan,” he said.
“We have a vision for this site that we will develop a place of learning for the entire region. The masterplan for that particular vision has been pulled together over the last few months. It’s being considered by our board at the moment.
“We want to provide something to the region that doesn’t exist. The library will become almost a centrepiece of this campus for that vision. If we have something that is centrally located here, then it gives the region and the community a broader awareness of what we have available, and then, while they are here we can match them up with potential jobs if that’s what they want, short courses, upskilling and reskilling. The opportunities that can come from putting this library into the region will be enormous.”
He reassured his library staff the proposal was in the very early stages.
“There is so much to go,” he said. “We don’t want to alarm staff.”
Prime example just over the state border
The $10.2 million Mount Gambier Library is a perfect example of what Warrnambool could develop.
Its doors opened in December 2009 and has grown into an extraordinary community hub. More than 7000 people attended the opening day, an impressive number considering the city has a population of about 26,000.
Acting library manager Kristi Leamey said the loan rate increased by 48 per cent and visitation rate by 400 per cent after it opened.
In 2014/15 there was 32,847 visits per month and 394,172 visitors for the year.
She said the thought process behind the design and construction of the library was to reflect the region’s landscape of volcanic craters, lakes and limestone.
“This is highlighted in the children’s cave area,” she said. “You are greeted by a sculptured frog and toadstool which is the children’s self loan station. Walking through you are given the illusion of being underwater in a sinkhole. The walls are 3D complete with fish, frogs, reeds and even a cave. This area hosts the children’s collection, craft area, chalk board cave walls and a parenting room.”
Other features of the library include a 15-metre long internal limestone wall with carved silhouettes of a forest, a dedicated youth area with PlayStations, Wii, Xbox, TVs and a magazine area, a local and family history room with resource collection, access to local databases and online family history subscriptions, a café, an IT training room for library programming and community use, a multifunction room with kitchenette and IT and 18 public computers and unlimited wireless.
Programs are offered for all ages with staff members working in each area.
She said the library was a community space. “We listen to their needs and wants and try to deliver,” Ms Leamey said. “We are a place for people to meet and engage, a place where you can meet to essentially run a business.”