Blog Every Day in June Day 6: New Library for Rockdale Clears Final Hurdle

In a closed session late last night, Rockdale City Council voted unanimously to approve the final design and construction of a new Rockdale City Library. Four tenders were considered, with the contract, worth close to $14m, being awarded to Kane Constructions Pty Ltd.

It's been a long process. You can read about some of it in our blog posts from February last year, and in March this year as ALIA Sydney have kept an eye on proceedings. Rockdale City Council and Rockdale City Library have also kept the community abreast of developments through local press and social media channels.

In the open session of the meeting last night, a report on the new library open day held earlier this year, and a visit by the Central Library Development Advisory Committee to Katoomba Library was tabled, and this afforded the opportunity for some community members to speak about the need for the new library ahead of the closed session vote. There were three speakers. Dr John Barclay, who also addressed the Council on this topic in February last year, Mr Andrew Edwards, a student and member of the Rockdale Youth Council, and Ms Marilyn Hart. I caught the tail end of Ms Hart's address which spoke about the value of the library beyond books, as a place of study and learning, quiet contemplation, exhibitions, and local history.

Four councillors also spoke in favour of the new library. Clr Awada mentioned the valuable input of community advocates to the project, Clr Tsounis and Clr Macdonald both expressed the hope that Rockdale would finally get the facility the residents deserve, and Clr Hanna referred to the new library as one of the three pillars for the city and community. In the past the Liberal members of Council have voted against the redevelopment of the library citing the considerable costs of the project being incurred at the same time as other large projects, notably the Bexley Pool redevelopment, and one of the Labor party members has always abstained due to a declared possible conflict of interest, so it has never been a forgone conclusion that this project would proceed. I have heard the current Mayor, Clr O'Brien speak passionately in favour of the new library development at other events, and having two Independent councillors (Hanna and Macdonald) speaking in favour of the proposal was cause for cautious optimism. I was surprised that, in the end, the vote to undertake this project was unanimous, but delighted that it received bi partisan support.

I've lived in the area for a bit more than ten years, so consider my experience of the current central library. In the Local History room, there is no work surface to have material open and take notes at the same time. In the central reading room there are tables scattered around with four chairs surrounding them, but the tables can really only accommodate two people with materials open. The Children's Library is often uncomfortably full at story time because of the restricted space, and there is not a great deal of room a library display, however one has been placed alongside the main walkway. Armchairs for reading are located right next to the YA fiction such that it is a little awkward to browse if someone is sitting there. It is a cramped space, not much bigger than some of the branch libraries. Yet the programs the library runs are the equal of any, the staff are winning awards, the collection continually addresses the changing needs of the community, it's a real shame the space has been so uninviting. But no longer.

Have a look at this "fly through" created by the designers, it's pretty impressive. My favourite part? The rooftop terrace for which Council separately allocated just over $100K to fund construction.  I can't wait for construction to begin, hopefully by the end of the year, depending on development approval. If things proceed smoothly, then the new building could be completed by February 2016.

Advocacy for projects such as this is important, and it's often hard to generate a groundswell of interest in sufficient numbers. I see a need for sharing of strategies and more concerted action as pressures on funding increase. Around Australia the growth of movements such as Get Up! have re engaged citizens to press for change on issues that affect them on an issue by issue basis, and the growth of tools, particularly social media tools, has assisted this enormously by reducing costs and increasing reach. The current campaign from the NSW Public Library Association "Fair Deal for Public Libraries" is one such action, and if you haven't yet signed the petition, then I encourage you to do so on the NSWPLA Community Funding Campaign website, and maybe even Become A Library Champion via the same page.

Do your bit and things can change. Even after 30 years.

-Lauren Castan

The Living Library

“Everyone has at least one good book in them” so the saying goes. What if books were actually people, sitting right in front of you, telling you their story after you browsed through a list of titles and picked the one that was the most interesting to you? What if, instead of you the reader, constructing the story in your head, you became an active listener, a witness to human experiences and growing empathy, and an asker of questions?

Human Library started out in 2000 in Denmark (as a visitor activity at the annual Roskilde music festival) to challenge attitudes about violence against young people and conflict arising from racism, prejudice and stereotypes. In this library, the books were real human beings with their own personal stories and experiences to share, and could be ‘borrowed’ by curious readers who may have otherwise never had a dialogue with people from diverse backgrounds in their own community.

Fast forward over a decade later, and the Human Library now has gone global with an aim to “create more social cohesion and respect for diversity and human rights” by supporting people to organise and create their own Living Libraries around the world. Popular and universal titles include stories told by refugees and immigrants, people with unusual occupations, people of different religions, what it’s like living with a serious medical condition.
 

I took part in a Living Library activity in London a few years ago, when the academic library I worked for had its annual staff development day. I was terribly shy and utterly stumped,  besides, I was far more interested in borrowing the human books! It is an odd thing, to objectively pull back and look at yourself, the sum of your life and experiences, and try to pick an angle, a plot, a single thread, that others might find interesting enough to listen to for the fifteen minutes or so that they borrow you for.

In the end, I think the title of my ‘book’ was something about a “Greek Kangaroo”, and my blurb focused on what it was like growing up with two very different cultures, feeling like you belong to both and neither at the same time, then taking that all of that and moving to the other side of the world, to add another layer of confusion and self-identity to the mix. Fun stuff. Talk about ‘judging a book by its cover’.

In NSW, I found a handful of out-of-date websites from several years ago, and some one-off mentions (including this mini-mentorship library at a past Emerging Writers’ Festival). Only one regularly organised occurrence of a Living Library seems to be happening; at Lismore library, on the first Friday of every month. Where are all our living libraries? 

I’m curious, has your local library ever put on a Living Library event? Would you consider it for your own library? Do you have your own experience of borrowing or even being a book?  What stories would you be interested in hearing?

Australia is overflowing with stories from the fascinating and diverse people that live here. It’s a great opportunity for people to sit down and actually meet someone who they may have only heard about as an abstract idea or label, or on the news, or a statistic. One story can change the way you see everything.

-Maria Savvidis @m_savvidis

Social Media Officer, ALIA Sydney

Read on, humans:

The official Human Library website

A human book in Copenhagen

The Living Library Organiser’s Guide (PDF)

Lismore’s Human Library

Goonellabah Library Saved

In early May this year, Lismore City Council announced the closure of Goonellabah Library as part of it's budget cuts for 2013-14. But last night, after an impassioned plea from our own executive director Sue McKerracher and along with a petition with almost 1000 signatures, Lismore City coucillors opted to keep the library open with reduced hours. 

Had Goonellabah Library closed, it would have been the first NSW library in more than 15 years to shut its doors without a new library opening to take its place. This would have made a huge impact on the community who rely on  the library to serve its large retired community and help boost its high levels of disadvantage and low literacy levels. So for the second time this year ALIA stepped up to help the community protect a valued asset. 

We in library world know how important public libraries are to the communities they serve, especially those regional areas and are grateful to all those who have lent their support and signatures to this effort.