Progress on Site

In yesterday's Gatton Star, the public were advised that as of the 24th March, a section of the Lake Apex pathway between the kiosk and the new skate bowl will be closed to allow for construction of the new Arts and Cultural centre.

This was confirmed today by the delivery of large earth moving equipment to the site this morning.

Library staff are very excited to see progress at the site.

Lockyer Valley Libraries evolve

Tomorrow will see the beginning of the Lockyer Valley Libraries which has seen the merger of the existing Gatton and Laidley Shire Libraries. This process starts tomorrow with patrons being able to borrow 15 items and an increased limit of 10 audio visuals (Vids, CD's) including 2 DVDs.

Fees and charges have also been aligned resulting in no overdue fees or reservation fees.

In the near future, all members will be issued with new library cards and the libraries will be operating on the same management system allowing for reservation between the branches, stock rotation and the ability to return items to any branch (Laidley, Gatton and Mobile).

Library staff have been busy preparing for this and new signs are being placed around the libraries as I type.

Library Size

With the upcoming elections (tomorrow....bring it on) there has once again been quite a lot of comments about the location of the new library. I'd like to take this opportunity to point voters, potential councillors and other interested people to several websites that might help them understand why the decision to move to the Lake was made.

• Size -- the State Library of Qld has Guidelines and Standards for Public Libraries http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/info/publib/policy/guidelines/four which gives minimum space allocations for libraries with other branches, headquarters and mobile libraries. This guideline was used extensively by staff when preparing for the community meeting held last year
• Site -- Gatton Shire Council's website has access to PD Online which allows you to search for sites for various information including size. This was also used by staff to determine that the area near the fire station was not large enough for our future library. http://www.gatton.qld.gov.au
• Other library sites that are located away from the CBD. Do a google search on public libraries and you will see what is around.
• Other library services -- Have a look around (within Qld, Australia and the rest of the world) to see what services other public libraries are providing when they have adequate space.

If you haven't visited the library in the last month, you won't have noticed that the library has been reduced in size. This is to make way for the larger Lockyer Valley Regional Council. The current size is well below standard and as public, we cannot allow this reduced library to be 'our' library for the future.

Deputy Premier visits new cultural centre site

The Deputy Premier Paul Lucas was in Gatton recently to address various issues in the region and looked at the site for the new cultural centre at Lake Apex.
Gatton Shire Council is receiving $3 million from the State Government’s Q150 funding to construct a new library/art gallery/truck museum/visitor information centre. This funding is one of the largest allocations to a local government in Queensland to celebrate Queensland’s 150th birthday in 2009.
Further funding is also coming from the State Government due to the prison being located in Gatton Shire. It is anticipated that the total project cost will be subsidised almost entirely by the State Government.
Whilst many Councillors would have ideally liked to have seen the new cultural centre built in the CBD area of Gatton, a building of the size and prominence of the one planned could not be accommodated in this area.

In agreeing to place the library complex at Lake Apex, library staff have undertaken to look at extending the at home service for the elderly and to provide a drive through service. The present library position in the CBD does not cater for parking needs, particularly for the disabled. The current library was undersized 10 years ago and the Shire population has increased dramatically since then. The new library and art gallery will more than double in size.

Contrary to recent media reports Council has not ignore the majority of residents in making the decision on the library location. It has only ever received a few letters of concern and one petition numbering about 2% of the Shire’s total population. A good number of those were from outside the Shire with some 70% of the names listed being either non-library members or non-Shire residents.
It is anticipated that construction on the new cultural centre complex will commence very soon and it is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Thanks to Janice Holstein and The Withcott Times Online (www.withcotttimes.com.au) March edn for this story.