Wagga Wagga City Library's role as a cultural, information and learning hub for the whole community has been in the spotlight this week as part of Library & Information Week 2024, from 29 July to 4 August.
Celebrated across the nation, Library & Information Week give libraries and information services the chance to showcase their resources and services to their communities.
Library Services Manager Christine Bolton encourages residents to explore and appreciate the full range of services and programs available at the library.
"We like to think of the Wagga Wagga City Library as having three main access points: our main Library located in the Civic Centre, our Agile Library service, and our digital front door which includes our e-library services and databases," Ms. Bolton explained.
"We've had more than 40,000 unique visitors to our eLibrary in the past 12 months and access is free with your library membership.
"Our Agile Library service currently reaches 21 locations, bringing library services and programs directly to various suburban neighbourhoods and rural villages within the Wagga Wagga Local Government Area.
"I think at the heart of our contemporary library service is a commitment to access and equity, which includes providing services and programs free of charge."
As well as offering its regular range of programs and services, Wagga Wagga City Library marked Library & Information Week with several special activities, including visiting several pre-schools and hosting a pop-up information stall at a local shopping centre.
Outreach Services Team Leader Wendy Harper said the visit to the Wagga Wagga Marketplace on Wednesday and Thursday was a new way to engage a broader audience.
"We had two library officers on hand at our pop-up information site to answer any questions people had about our library service and to talk about the library, what we do and all that we have to offer," Ms Harper said.
"The team had a fantastic time, encouraging people to join up to the free membership, then teaching them how to access digital data and encouraging them to come to our programs and visit our services when they're near them in their neighbourhoods.
"While the library is still the place where you can drop in and choose some books to take home and read, it is so much more than just books, from the Language Café and Storytime to our Learn English and Play program and author talks; and most of them are available to everyone and free to attend."
You can find out what our library services mean to community members by visiting waggalibrary.com.au/visit/library-connections-exhibition
