MidCoast Council has adopted a community access trial model which will see opening hours extended at Harrington Library.
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In a first for NSW, the library will be staffed 9am to 1pm weekdays while community access hours will extend to 5pm and 8am to 5pm on the weekend.
The community access hours will now keep the library open 58 hours a week as opposed to 37 hours. The 12 month trial is set to start next month.
The library has the lowest level of usage of all fully staffed library service points in the local government area, with discussions about the most effective use of staff hours dating back to the former Greater Taree City Council.
Looking at 2019 data, loans per hour were almost half that of Tea Gardens, Hallidays Point and Wingham libraries.
Taree Library had almost eight times the traffic of Harrington but suffered from limited staff hours. These hours will be returned to Taree staff once the Harrington trial begins.
Feedback from community consultation in 2020 uncovered strong community support for the library service to continue, appreciation that the model addresses the long-standing issue of usage at the library and willingness to support the trial.
A community focus group met in December 2020 to discuss the model, safety mechanisms and conditions of use.
Council staff and community members determined the new hours ahead of approval from council.
Residents will access the library and borrow resources through a monitored system.
Access outside of staff hours will be permitted with a security swipe card, with adults able to take children inside.
The library will have 24 hour security monitoring and residents won't have access on weekdays before staff arrive.
The trial will be funded from within the library budget and will be reviewed and reported back to MidCoast Council.
Should the trial be deemed unsuccessful, it's likely the original hours, 10am to 5pm weekdays and 10am to noon on Saturdays, would return.
The trial was unanimously supported by present councillors at the February 10 MidCoast Council meeting.
At the meeting, Cr Brad Christensen said it was a great initiative and was keen to follow its progress.
