Transcript

Library Lovers

Broadcast: 11/07/2008

Reporter: Catherine Garrett

CATHERINE GARRETT, PRESENTER: Community issues are shaping up as hot political targets in the countdown to the ACT's election.

One of the Stanhope Government's more unpopular decisions, the closure of the Griffith Library, left a bitter taste for many in Canberra's south. That was more than a year ago. Stateline reports there's now a rebirth for literary lovers in the inner south.

PROTESTERS (chanting): We want the library! We want the library!

MAN: Whether you accept that decision or not.

PROTESTER: We don't!

MAN: I will not respond to personal abuse, but I will respond to questions.

GIRL: Explain why you're closing this library. And it's a great resource of learning and enjoyment.

MAN 2: How on earth can you justify this particular policy when it doesn't serve the needs of the community?

MAN: We intend to put our resources into the town and group centre libraries and make them even better places.

PROTESTERS (chanting): Save our library! Save our library!

MAN: The answer is that the Griffith Library will close on 1st of December.

CATHERINE GARRETT: It's more than a year since the ACT Government closed Griffith Library amid howls of protest and high emotion. But 12 months on, a new story has emerged about a group of dedicated book lovers who fought to bring a library back to inner south.

LIBRARIAN (reading from book): Hello, Steve! Who else is in there? A crocodile!

JULIE MCCARRON-BENSON, CONVENOR, GOYDER STREET LIBRARY: We put the word out we were starting the library. We had the first conference up here. That night, nine boxes of books arrived on my doorstep and we knew we were in for something really special.

The local community pulled in behind big time. It was a group of very, very committed people. We started off, there were four of us, and as you can imagine it's a huge, huge undertaking, bigger than even I had thought.

I thought we'd just end up with bit of a room somewhere with some shelves at one end and a computer. Did not think for one minute we would have this miracle.

CATHERINE GARRETT: This miracle is the Goyder Street Library in Narrabundah where every one of the 8,163 catalogued books have been donated, along with the demountable building that houses them.

JULIE MCCARRON-BENSON: It was a gym, a boxing ring for the Boomanulla Sports and Rec Centre, the Boomanulla Boxing Club met here. When we were looking for space, the Southside Community Taskforce were looking for space, we entered into negotiations with the Indigenous community, who offered us this space.

They were thrilled to be able to offer us this space and recognised the needs for the inner south to have some sort of a library facility. So here we are.

CATHERINE GARRETT: The library's running expenses are completely covered by donations. Volunteers, staff catalogue the collection, no small job, given the number of members is swelling to almost 400.

LIBRARIAN 2: Hi, Robert. So, how many have you got today?

ROBERT NEWMAN, GOYDER STREET LIBRARY MEMBER: I've got four today.

LIBRARIAN 2: Four.

ROBERT NEWMAN: I think it's really important. I mean, right through ... the children love it, I've been here when they've been having stories and things. The older people, you know, there's a lot of older people in Narrabundah.

So overall, you know, I think it's a great focal point for the community. You know, Julie has put in a fantastic effort and, you know, in the short space of time she's been doing it, the amount of material she's got here is just amazing. So yeah, we hope it keeps going.

JULIE MCCARRON-BENSON: People have been grateful. Two things have happened which cannot put ... a price be put on. One is we've got the library. Right, that's the first thing. The second thing is we're on this space which for a very long time has been seen as Aboriginal space. And people have seen this as an Aboriginal space. The fact that it was the Indigenous community that offered us this space was huge.

SARAH BURNS, GOYDER STREET LIBRARY VOLUNTEER: A lot of people who come, say that they go to Woden and they can't find a park and Civic is out of the question. I hear that a lot.

People also went to, you know, when I talked to elderly people they often say, "I haven't been to the library since it closed at Griffith".

VANESSA LITTLE, ACT DIRECTOR OF LIBRARIES: What we've found over the past 12 months or so is in fact there's been an increase in loans and visitor numbers to places like Woden. and Dickson interestingly.

And what we feel is happening is some of the people from the south are actually going to those places which are designed to be community libraries and are set up to really provide services, particularly for families. And the parking here is available, it's available close by and it's certainly over at the Canberra centre.

SARAH BURNS: Yeah, I don't know many people who actually use the Civic Library. I think it's again, even more awkward perhaps than Woden to get to.

CATHERINE GARRETT: Well, just how awkward? Stateline decided to find out with a bit of help from local writer and library lover, Marian Halligan.

So Marian, tell us about the one and only other time you've been to the Civic Library?

MARIAN HALLIGAN: Well, it was when John was getting an award for a poem and so I set off a good three-quarters of an hour early. It was about 10 to 15 minutes drive in here, depending on the traffic.

And I was late because I drove all around trying to find a park, and it was about this time of day. And so I'm just wondering how we're going to go now because it wasn't good.

VANESSA LITTLE: Civic Library is steady and is mainly people who are coming in from the city. As you can see today it's busy around lunchtime. An interesting thing about the library here is that it's really starting to grow into one of those Civic heart libraries.

And we're attributing that to more and more of the workers from the offices around here coming over, and using the library as a place to pick up something they specifically want that they order online.

MARIAN HALLIGAN: We'll go around here and try the car park and see how we go. Mmm, not the only people doing this.

CATHERINE GARRETT: A second and third time around and this potential Civic Library user is feeling frustrated.

MARIAN HALLIGAN: That's Commonwealth cars there. Follow this car - that's not very useful, is it?

VANESSA LITTLE: I can understand anyone's disappointment with the closure of the library, but what we're finding is that people are finding their niche and their preferred site. And that in fact more people from that Griffith catchment are members of the library now proportionally than they were before the closure of Griffith.

MARIAN HALLIGAN: I could go around to the other car park, I suppose.

CATHERINE GARRETT: But even the quick trip to the adjoining car park proves tough, with a blocked laneway.

MARIAN HALLIGAN: Oh, and here's a truck. How long is that going stay there? (sighs)

CATHERINE GARRETT: At car park number two, there's little joy.

MARIAN HALLIGAN: You go in. Come on! Go in quick!

CATHERINE GARRETT: But finally, a spot.

MARIAN HALLIGAN: I'm feeling relieved that I got one. I nearly had to fight somebody for one over there and I thought I better behave well. And then a kind person came out of here. So that's not so bad.

CATHERINE GARRETT: So this experience this morning, has it made you want to rush back to Civic Library tomorrow?

MARIAN HALLIGAN: No, no, I probably won't come in here for, well, goodness knows when.

CATHERINE GARRETT: What's your feeling about the Goyder Street Library in Narrabundah?

VANESSA LITTLE: Look, it's terrific isn't it, that the community has got together and working together on an issue that they think is important. Of course as a librarian and somebody who trained for four years to be a librarian and who employs people who trained for four years to be librarians, I would be hoping that the people who are using the Goyder Street facility are also using our public libraries because when you come into the public libraries you're provided with a collection that's been professionally put together that ensure balance and age appropriate material.

JULIE MCCARRON-BENSON: There's a stack of volunteers that turn up here week after week after week in the heat and in the cold, whether there's customers, whether there's no customers and get the books on the shelf. And that's where this library rests, on the workers and the volunteers that come in here.

LIBRARIAN 3 (reading from book): At last he had a good idea, he would build her a flying machine.
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