Annual Report 2018-2019

Tech4Seniors
Baby Bounce
Temora Library re-commenced Baby Bounce sessions during March 2019. Library staff prepared for and
advertised the new program over a few months and had success with the first session with four mums and
bubs attending. The session is now run fortnightly and it is open for parents with babies aged 0-12 months.
Temora Baby Health Clinic is also utilising the library for their Mothers Group on a fortnightly basis and the
library presents the 20-30 minute fun-filled session on the alternate fortnight. This partnership is aimed at
providing childhood development and support activities for young babies as well as encouraging social
interaction between parents. The Baby Bounce Program has been gaining momentum. The biggest session
was held in June with 14 attendees.
Wendy Manning
Librarian in Charge
Temora Library

49

Tumbarumba

Travelling Art Exhibit
Tumbarumba Library hosted a travelling art exhibit from the National Gallery of Australia in March this year.
This collection of art works was made available through the Elaine and Jim Wolfensohn Gift. The exhibit
consisted of two cases: The Red Case: Myths and Rituals, which portrayed traditions and ceremonies from
India, China, Africa and Australia. The Yellow Case: Form, Space and Design, which not only characterised a
variety of concepts, but engaged the audience through the chosen medium. The unique, hands-on exhibit
allowed library users to experience a collection of contemporary and historical artworks.
Community Involvement
This year saw the library grow into a community hub for groups and organisations to hold meetings,
workshops, and training programs. Tumbarumba library offers a number of programs and initiatives to
promote library services and literacy throughout the community, including the annual Community Reading
Day which this year focused on healthy living. Guest author, Susan Berran, entertained children with her
high energy storytelling, and Yoga in the library was a hit with children and teachers.
Tumbarumba library has been working in partnership with local schools to provide learning opportunities
for children and youth. This year the library hosted children’s author and illustrator, Megan Forward, who
ran an engaging workshop for Year 3 and 4 students from local schools. Megan read and talked about
her picture books and then led an artistic workshop which introduced children to different drawing and
painting mediums. In term four, Tumbarumba Public School students enjoyed a five week long program,
where they visited the library for stories and activities. This has been a popular program which has become
an annual event that students look forward to each year.

20,175 894

Library Visits Library
Members
7,566
15,947
Loans Collection Items

Tumbarumba Library Snowy Valleys Council (Winter) Opening Hours:
Prince Street Network of Libraries Monday 2:00pm - 5:00pm
TUMBARUMBA Tuesday 1:00pm - 5:00pm
NSW 2653 Adelong
02 6948 2725 Batlow Wednesday - Friday
Talbingo 10:00am - 5:00pm
50 Tumbarumba (closed for lunch
Tumut 1:30pm - 2:00pm)

Saturday
10:00am - 12:00pm

The Vegetable Plot
School Holiday Programs
The library was fortunate to be able to offer a great range of workshops and activities throughout school
holidays this year. For NAIDOC Week, a special family Storytime with guest reader, Aboriginal Elder, Aunty
Mary Greenhalgh, was held with NSW National Parks & Wildlife Services offering an Aboriginal Weaving
Workshop for children.
Winter craft activities filled the library with families escaping the cold to participate in the Sock Snowman
and Pom Pom craft workshops. Crocodile Encounters in October was a crowd pleaser, with children being
able to get hands-on with crocodiles and reptiles. During the April school holidays, singing group The
Vegetable Plot, performed in the library. The children and families really enjoyed the performances as they
laughed and danced the conga around the library.
Vicki Hulm
Library Team Leader
Tumbarumba Library

51

Tumut

NAIDOC Week 2018 - Celebrating Wiradjuri
Tumut, and the smaller community of Brungle, have a strong and proud indigenous community. Members
of this community are keen to ensure that the wider Tumut and Snowy Valleys Council area learn about,
understand and celebrate the significance of our local indigenous culture. Tumut library provided the
platform for the Snowy Valleys Council NAIDOC Week celebrations, hosting the Official Council Morning
Tea. Activities included a flag raising ceremony, traditional morning tea and the opening of an indigenous
art exhibition at the library, which featured the artworks of indigenous women from the Tumut and Brungle
area. The weeklong series of events and activities celebrating indigenous culture, culminated with the
evening event:“Celebrating Wiradjuri”. The feature of the program was Nova Peris OAM. Nova is well known
to most Australians as an indigenous Australian athlete and former politician. As part of the Australian
women’s hockey team at the 1996 Olympic Games, she was the first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic
gold medal. Nova, together with prominent local indigenous women, spoke of the 2018 theme: “Because
of her, we can” and the significance of women in indigenous culture. This event was a finalist at the Local
Government Professionals Awards, Community Partnerships & Collaborations.
Piano Forte - Legal Issues for Older People
Tumut Library hosted the “Piano Forte” Legal Issues for Older People Workshop in February. The workshop
was aimed at older people, as well as carers who may have an older person’s Power of Attorney.The workshop
commenced with a screening of a play that explores issues older people might face when planning for the
future, covering Wills, Power of Attorney and elder abuse. Following the video presentation, the workshop
progressed to a panel discussion of industry experts, lawyers and senior’s rights experts including Hannah
Reid, Lawyer with Legal Aid NSW; Tammy Cabban, Advocate with Seniors Rights Service; June Price, Social
Welfare Worker with Ages & Extended Care Services - NSW Health; and Kelly-Ann Smith, DFV Project Worker
with Tumut Regional Family Services Inc.

50,441 2,476
Library
Library Visits Members

38,179 14,782
Loans
Collection Items

Tumut Library Snowy Valleys Council Opening Hours:
169 Wynyard Street Network of Libraries Monday - Friday
TUMUT NSW 2720 10:00am - 6:00pm
Adelong
02 6941 2541 Batlow Saturday
Talbingo 9:00am - 12:00pm
52 Tumbarumba
Tumut

Book Launch - Life on the Currango High Plains and Beyond
The discussions explored issues that older people and their families experience when planning for the
future and the support available to people in the community. The panel had handouts about state-wide
contacts for free legal advice and assistance and the services available to Tumut residents.
Life on the Currango High Plains and Beyond - Book Launch
The book, Life on the Currango High Plains and Beyond, edited by HelenTaylor and Judi Hearn, was launched at
the Tumut Library in January to much excitement and enthusiasm from locals and high country enthusiasts
alike. The book was written by and for the people who have lived or come in contact with the long forgotten
mountain townships, such as Bella Vista, Kenny’s Knob, Happy Jacks, Eagle Hawk and Cabramurra as well
as the Snowy Scheme workers from the early surveyors to Blowering Dam. The book explores the droving
exploits of people and what it was like growing up in Kiandra and when the snow leases brought people
to the mountains for the summer to care for their cattle and sheep. The book included stories from people
of the Snowy Mountains, drovers, bushmen, workers on the Snowy Scheme and fishermen. Well over 100
people attended the book launch from all around Australia.
Rhonda Twomey
Coordinator Library Services
Tumut Library

53

Wagga Wagga

From Wagga Wagga To The World With Amplify
Wagga Wagga joined Central West Libraries, Ryde Library Service and Wollongong Libraries as the first
public libraries in Australia to pilot the State Library of NSW’s innovative online tool called Amplify. This
project brought local oral history collections out of the archives and to the world, by allowing anyone to
search, listen to and transcribe local audio collections.
At the launch of the Wagga collections on Tuesday 13 November, local residents were able to see their oral
history interviews as text for the first time. These important historical interviews about the 2012 Wagga
Floods experience and the 2WG Women’s Club 1930-1960 were transcribed as part of the Amplify Oral
History Project. Local historians, archivists and museum staff learned how to edit the transcribed recordings
in the same way as the TROVE National Newspaper collection.
State Librarian Dr John Vallance said, “Amplify will give communities unparalleled access to their local
histories. Over 400 hours of oral histories that document the lives and experiences of local people and
events across history, including our recent history, are just waiting to be explored and transcribed.” Wagga
community members joined digital volunteers from around the world in the important task of transcribing
these oral histories so that more people can discover the amazing stories from their own communities.
Cultural and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Programming
Wagga Wagga, a Refugee Welcome City and a resettlement area, has a growing CALD community made up
of recent arrivals, settled community including asylum seekers, and people on skilled migration visas. The
Language Café program was developed to assist this growing demographic. It is a volunteer driven English
Conversation program to assist English as a Second Language (ESL) learners from all corners of the world.
It expanded from an initial twenty volunteers in July 2017 to seventy two volunteers by June 2019.

185,999 19,339
Library
Library Visits Members

246,468 76,696
Loans
Collection Items

Wagga Wagga Opening Hours:
City Library Monday 11:00am - 6:00pm

Cnr Baylis & Morrow Tuesday - Friday
Streets 10:00am - 6:00pm

WAGGA WAGGA Saturday
NSW 2650 10:00am - 4:00pm

02 6926 9700

54

Tech Savvy Seniors in Mandarin

Other CALD program opportunities evolved from the Language Café. These included Arabic language
classes for children held on Saturdays, and Tech Savvy Senior computer classes in Mandarin, Arabic and
Dari held over six-week periods.
Language Café attracted national attention over the last twelve months. It was showcased at the SWITCH
Conference in 2018 and attracted enquiries from libraries from both NSW and Tasmania. The Australian
Library Association (ALIA) showcased the Language Café program in its publication Services for Migrants
and Refugees 2019 and promoted it during Refugee Week. The International Federation of Library
Associations and Institutions (IFLA) approached the library to add Language Café to IFLA’s Library Map
of the World (LMW) project which has stories about impactful library programs, which demonstrate how
libraries are contributing to achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Riverina Science Festival 2018
Wagga Wagga City Library, as coordinator of the Riverina Science Hub (RSH), secured a fifth Inspiring
Australia Grant from the Federal Government to curate and host the annual Riverina Science Festival during
National Science Week in August. Highlights of the festival included the National Indigenous Science
Education Program (NISEP) community day at Tolland, and ROBO DAY, a day-long event at the Civic Centre
that attracted four thousand people.
NISEP is a partnership between Macquarie University, Charles Sturt University, local Elders of First Nations
People, high schools, primary schools, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery and the library. NISEP supports the
development of young Indigenous youth to be future leaders and scientists. The day-long event gave
students the opportunity to engage with the science of stone tools, ochre and weaving in addition to
modern chemistry, biology and microscopy.

55

Wagga Wagga

National Indigenous ROBO DAY was the main festival event and focused on robotics
Science Education Program and other cutting-edge technologies including 3D printing,
digital microscopes, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
experiences. ROBO DAY featured industry experts drawn from
commercial, business, government and the education sectors.
The other festival events included a digital art projection
of robotics on the walls of the Civic Centre, Kitchen Science
Storytime sessions and a guided tour of the Marrambidya
Wetlands.
The Festival attracted over eight thousand people, who
participated in 111 events and activities.
Partnership Programs and Building Social Inclusion
The library provided a number of programs, services and
events that align with Wagga Wagga City Council’s Disability
and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), which was created in
response to the new legislation that provides guidelines for
council services, programs and buildings to be more accessible
for the community as a whole. Library partner programs last
year addressed the following: depression, domestic violence,
being safe online, the impact of drug-taking in the community,
dementia and ageing.
The programs were delivered as outreach services and in-
house programs. They included the following: the Digital
Ageing Exhibition; an Avoiding Scams talk during Law Week;
the screening of the film BPM: Beats Per Minute for World Aids
Day; a Strata Living session for Seniors; a Dementia Friendly
Communities Workshop for carers and providers; and the Drug
Information Hub event presented in partnership with the local
Community Drug Action Team.
A special event for new parents was the Storytime attendance
by clinicians and service providers to talk about Perinatal
Depression and Anxiety Awareness Week. Important social
inclusion events held this year included the Australian Launch
of Amnesty International’s Our New Neighbours campaign,
and the launch of S.M. Matthew’s book, Skinny Girl, which was
part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence
to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls
around the world. This was a partnership with Wagga Family
Support Services and the Women’s Domestic Violence Court
Advocacy Service.
Meeting Community Needs
The Home Library service continued to grow with trained and
police checked volunteers making regular deliveries to library
members who are no longer able to visit the library in person.

56

Library staff made quarterly deliveries to nine Aged Care facilities, across the Wagga Wagga area, of large
print books and audio books.
In addition, staff provided assistance to library members and visitors to access library computers, other
technology and collection items, because of vision impairment, mental health issues and other disabilities.
There was an increase in daily visits by a large number of NDIS clients, in wheel chairs, which demonstrated
the need to review access pathways and layouts in future library redesign processes. Providing a safe and
welcoming space and excellent customer service to vulnerable members of the community is an important
role of libraries in the twenty first century.

ROBO DAY
Adult Literary Events
This year over 45 Book Clubs held regular meetings and there was a range of popular literary events across
the year. These events provided the Wagga Wagga community of readers many opportunities to share their
love of books and their passion for robust discussion. Author talks and book launches included : Rosalie
Ham and The Year of the Farmer; Carly Findlay in conversation with Caroline Candusso discussing Say Hello,
a moving memoir about her courage and irrepressible spirit while living with a rare skin condition; Gabrielle
Chan and Rusted Off; and, Suzanne Daniel and Allegra in Three Parts. The Sydney Writers Festival was live-
streamed into the Civic Centre for the third successive year and local readers enjoyed the experience of
listening to their favourite authors without having to travel to Sydney.
The Library, Museum and Art Gallery opened their doors until 9pm on Valentine’s Day to celebrate Date
Night with a splash of culture. Artists from the Theatre Research Institute, Dr. Fun and Mrs. Cole, helped
participants to solve love puzzles and play love games of a bygone era, reimagined especially for Date
Night. This event celebrated the life of Edward William Cole, bookshop owner, author, entrepreneur and the
first man in Australia to find a wife through a newspaper advertisement.

57

Wagga Wagga

One Book One Wagga
The highlight of the readers’ year was the annual citywide book club, One Book One Wagga (OBOW),
which promoted Australian writers and stories, and encouraged a community wide conversation about
the reading experience. In 2019, the book was Chris Hammer’s Scrublands, which was launched on Library
Lovers Day 14 February and culminated in the Gala Dinner on 24 May with the author in conversation with
Amy Heap. Chris Hammer’s novel Scrublands (A&U) was shortlisted at the UK Crime Writers’ Association
(CWA) Dagger Awards in 2019, and it was read by nearly 800 community members.

One Book One Wagga
Lifelong Learning
Adult workshops and events included themes of art, craft, sustainability, music and space. On World
Make Music Day, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra livestreamed a concert featuring oud musician Joseph
Tawadros. Art in the Arcade was an evening workshop funded by Inspiring Australia. Community members
joined artist and author Megan Forward to create beautiful watercolours inspired by leaves, flowers and
fruit. Local weaver Jenny Nechvatal ran a popular workshop on basket weaving. The library partnered
with Sustainable Wagga to host a screening of the film, Normal is Over, on World Environment Day, and
presented a workshop on how to make Bees Wax Wraps.
Crafting workshops were very popular with a range of topics including the following: Felt Jewellery;
Sashiko; Fabric Stars; Weaving; and regular Knitting Sessions. Writing sessions like InCoWriMo (International
Correspondence Writing Month), attracted local correspondents to attend a letter writing social evening at
the library, while NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) was attended by budding writers over four
Write Nights events at the library.
In addition to English Conversation classes this year, an enthusiastic group of adults and children attended
Italian language classes on Saturday afternoons in 2018 and another group studied French during the
FRESH festival in early 2019. The Tech Savvy Seniors classes were also held fortnightly across the year with
waiting lists for most classes.
The Library and Wagga Art Gallery held an evening event to watch the livestream of the Space X Rocket
Launch. This was a popular and topical family event with the moon landing anniversary and speculation
about new space travel adventures featuring in popular culture during 2019.
58

Early Literacy and School Holiday Programs
The library’s successful Babies Love Books (BLB) program, which gave new families a baby board book, was
superseded by the introduction of the Baby Book Packs which were distributed through public hospitals
by NSW Health. Helped by funds from Rotary, the library replaced the BLB board books with a multilingual
booklet and music CD called It’s Rhyme Time for new parents. These were distributed across the year at the
Baby Bounce program.

Storytime was the largest library program with over four thousand participants across the year attending
these early literacy sessions. In addition to the regular Storytime packs there were a number of special
events including Wiradjuri Storytime, Kitchen Science Storytime during National Science Week and Dental
Health Week Storytime. Baby Bounce sessions of four weeks duration were held in September, March and
June.

School aged programs and events included multiple school tours and school holiday programs. The free
movie sessions and all day craft sessions occurred across the holidays along with exciting events like
Crocodile Encounters and science based programs during the Riverina Science Festival. The Premiers
Reading Challenge and annual Summer Reading Club were catalysts for junior readers to increase the
number of books they read each year. Another popular collection for junior borrowers were the Riverina
Science Hub kits about space, mini beasts, rocks and magnets.

Baby Bounce

59

RRL Statistics 2018-2019

553,343 38,040 total RRL members

visits to
RRL branch libraries

28,656 250 Book Club titles 2,563

collection items purchased circulated to 86 Book Clubs donated items received

Collection item 28,656 32,139
purchases and discards IN OUT

14,872 50000 2015/2016
45000 2016/2017
Internal Delivery 40000 2017/2018
Service 35000 2018/2019
30000
tubs distributed 25000 Purchases
20000
around 15000
RRL branch libraries 10000
5000
551,535
0
RRL items loaned Discards

60

RRL Statistics 2018-2019

3,250

Story Box Library views

26,915 48,609 139 Inter Library Loans
IN
eBook loans RRL website visits 241
OUT
12,486 Member Notifications

eMagazine 109,930

downloads Letter
10%
SMS Email
25% 65%

37,814 5,681 454

eAudio loans Kanopy views ancestry.com sessions

61

RRL Statistics 2018-2019 New stock by Local Government Area

Wagga 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000
Temora
Snowy Valleys
Mobile

Junee
Greater Hume

Federation
Coota-Gundagai

Coolamon
Bland

Regional Resources
0

Wagga Total stock by Local Government Area
Temora
Snowy Valleys 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,000
Mobile

Junee
Greater Hume

Federation
Coota-Gundagai

Coolamon
Bland

Regional Resources
0

Member Council populations Council %pop. $
and contributions 4.24
Bland 5,917 3.17 120,788
4,419 8.17 109,689
Coolamon 9.01 211,375
Cootamundra-Gundagai 11,392 7.46 291,034
Federation 12,569 4.54 276,408
10,406 2.22 117,433
Greater Hume 6,329 10.76 122,986
Junee 318,430
Lockhart 3,103 4.36 126,877
15,013 46.07 1,393,431
Snowy Valleys 6,088 100.00 3,088,450
Temora
Wagga Wagga 64,272
139,508

62

Membership as percent of population by LGA RRL Statistics 2018-2019

Bland 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
Coolamon
Cootamundra/Gundagai
Federation
Greater Hume

Junee
Lockhart
Snowy Valleys

Temora
Wagga
State Average

0%

Loans by Local Government Area 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000

Bland
Coolamon
Cootamundra/Gundagai
Federation
Greater Hume

Junee
Lockhart
Snowy Valleys

Temora
Wagga

0

Loans per capita by Local Government Area

Bland 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00
Coolamon
Cootamundra/Gundagai 63
Federation
Greater Hume

Junee
Lockhart
Snowy Valleys

Temora
Wagga

0.00

64

Reading gives us
a place to go,

when we have to stay
where we are.

65

66



2018-2019
rrl.nsw.gov.au