Page 974 - Week 03 - Thursday, 22 March 2018
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In the Civic library a small range of Access Canberra services is available, although—I have written very recently to the minister about this—I have had some comments that there is not enough signage about the Access Canberra services at the library. People use Google Maps. They arrive in Civic Square and then they are not quite sure where to go. A number of those people end up asking at the front entry of the Assembly where the Access Canberra services are. There are some there at the library. It would be good if we made the signage a little more visible or perhaps had better instructions on Google Maps. I am not quite sure how you would go about that.
I would like to mention another thing that perhaps not everyone would think about. The libraries often hold sales of books. This weekend, 24 and 25 March, there is a book sale at the Tuggeranong library. I encourage people to get down there and see if there are some books. I love books. I love physical books. Whilst I also subscribe to e-books and OverDrive from the ACT library service, for me nothing will replace physical books. I have walls of bookcases in my house.
Libraries traditionally have had a unique and vital place in research, education and enlightenment of the modern world. They are steeped in history and tradition. I love those photos you see on the web of fabulous libraries all around the world. There are some absolutely stunning and outstanding libraries. The challenge for us, including here in the ACT, is to be able to evolve to address changes in the modern digital world.
We have seen some of those changes recently here in the ACT Assembly, where we are moving to a more paperless approach. We have Assembly-provided iPads now. More and more that will become the case. In many cases our libraries are successfully embracing and adapting to change but they will need to continue that imaginative thinking.
I have recently written to the minister about the possibility of a new library to service the new Molonglo area in Woden/Weston, and I think I put a question on notice last sitting. I am looking forward to an answer from the minister on that. I am sure many people here utilise our libraries in one way or another, either the parliamentary libraries or more widely in our community. I certainly encourage you to continue to do so.
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (3.49): I stand today as the daughter of a librarian. I was probably one of the very few teenagers in the world whose mother classified all her books by Dewey decimal classification. She had the proper book, not software in her day. I can still remember her doing it. I am a huge fan of libraries and I am a huge fan of books, as Ms Lawder is. I must admit that I was an early adopter of the Kindle but it did not really do it for me; I actually like books. One thing I will say that does not agree with librarians is that I like a small paperback. It is the ideal size for reading in bed. But I know from my mother and other librarians that they wear out more quickly, so I appreciate why libraries support hardbacks, even though it is not my personal preference.
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