Page 3836 - Week 12 - Thursday, 23 November 2006
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previous library and has resulted in a huge increase in visitation. There has been $800,000 to improve the new Kippax library collection, with new books, hundreds of contemporary CDs, DVDs and audio books and English learning resources.
There has been the refurbishment of Erindale, Woden and Belconnen libraries—in 2003, 2004 and 2006, respectively—at a cost of about $3 million. The refurbishments have provided improved internal layout, better access for people with disabilities, enhanced computer areas, new youth areas and improved facilities and furniture.
And there is the construction of the new Civic library as part of the $16 million Civic library link project. It will be opened by the Chief Minister on 8 December 2006. The library will be over 60 per cent larger than the existing one and will have new computer facilities, including a training room, community meeting space and youth area. It will also provide exciting opportunities for new strategic partnerships with the library’s neighbours in Civic Square, the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre and resource library, the Canberra Museum and Gallery and the Civic library and link project.
The Stanhope Labor government has a strong commitment to our public library service and to the important role public libraries play in the life of the ACT community. Our significant investment in public libraries has been in an attempt to modernise them. It must be noted that the role and nature of public libraries is changing; libraries need to move with the times to embrace electronic resources and new service delivery methods to appeal to people of all ages—particularly a new generation of library users. The ACT government is committed to ensuring that our public library facilities, services and programs remain viable and meet the needs of the ACT community in coming years. It is unfortunate in the extreme—and I repeat that I deeply regret it—that if we are to continue with a sustainable, improved, best practice library service, Griffith library must close and its resources be allocated elsewhere in the system.
It also needs to be put on the public record that the mobile library service still operates. It will provide services to people in Griffith and Narrabundah who are socially isolated—as it already does. The home lending library system will also operate; it will be exactly the same.
It has often been said that bus access into Civic is pretty ordinary. But the buses—the intertown buses particularly, but buses on other routes as well—actually stop right outside Civic Square. It will be roughly the same distance to the new library as the distance at present. And the new library itself, as I said, is 60 per cent bigger than the old one. The services will be more extensive.
There has been some suggestion that there has been an abandonment of people who cannot get to a library. I can say this, Mr Speaker: we are very happy to work with anybody who feels as though they had an opportunity to walk to the library and cannot do that now. We will try to facilitate ways in which people can get to one or other of the other libraries, be it Phillip or Civic. I am particularly concerned that a number of older people may feel that they cannot make the trip. We might talk to people like Southside Community Services and do some work with them to see how we can help.
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