Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

REID () (): Libraries around the Central Coast are turning 75 years old this year, and I want to wish our outstanding libraries across the Central Coast a huge happy birthday. Libraries are important community centres and provide people with access to information, education, entertainment and so much more. Libraries also allow people to pay council rates or access a JP to certify legal documents.

The first library on the Central Coast was Woy Woy Library, which was established in the former Woy Woy shire chambers building in 1948. Now there are 10 library branches across the region, from Umina Beach Library in the south all the way to Lake Haven Library in the north. On average, these libraries accommodate half-a-million visitors each year and the library services also extend to mobile libraries that visit 20 locations across the region and a home-delivery service for people who are housebound. Combined, these services loan, on average, 1.2 million items each year from a collection of 243,590 physical items.

I thank every librarian working at Central Coast Council libraries on the Central Coast, and I give a special shout out to managers and branch supervisors: Beth Burgess, unit manager of libraries and education; Andrea Edwards, section manager of libraries for the Central Coast; Adam Palmer from the Woy Woy Library; Denise Hogan from the Erina Library; Nicole Barr from the Kariong Library; Denise Smith from the Gosford Library; Kirsten Paterson and Libby Robertson from Kincumber Library; Richelle Conlan from the Umina Beach Library; and Darryl Kane from the mobile and home library services. Happy birthday Central Coast Library!