Toowoomba City Library: Grand Opening

Post

Subscribe

Sat 27 Feb 2016 - Sat 05 Mar 2016

An enthusiastic crowd of all ages poured through the doors of the Toowoomba City Library for its grand opening day. Toowoomba Region Libraries hosted tours of the new building as well as the normal library services.

Greetings in various languages adorn the entrance to a much more high tech library with a sleek look. Children flocked to 'Hutchies Storetime Tree' built by an Australian film company under the direction of Hutchinson's Builders, which creates an Aussie bush feel.

Hanging curiously from the ceiling in the main room, a hoop pine artwork entitled 'This Noble Tree' was designed by Belings Smith. The inner side of the rings is annotated with extracts of explorer Allan Cunningham's report of 1828. Hoop pine wood was chosen as a symbol of the unique landscape of Toowoomba. The hoop pine was discovered by Allan Cunningham.

The self-serve three-step kiosk checkout knows how many books you are borrowing and what their titles are, preventing long queues.

Friendly staff welcome all questions with warmth and professionalism. The children have another corner to themselves with large colourful table, chairs and floor cushions. Wander the library to find a hearing loop, loads of search monitors, personal computer power points and the Digital Hub which hosts lessons in computers with a large variety of classes coming up including online banking and social media, all for free.

A youth space provides a uni cum retro cafe feel and contains tons of Sci Fi DVDs, contemporary CDs and magazines as well as advertising local clubs such as the Anime Club and First Friday Film Club. Youth are encouraged to 'watch movies, eat and hang out'.

Handouts on the opening day included a colourful notepad, stickers and info flyers. A week of community projects promises togetherness, fun and relaxation, including Outdoor Movie Night, a series of ten minute plays on the Village Green adjacent to the library, a lecture series, poetry reading and family fun day. The renovated Village Green or Civic Square, is stunning with sculptures and a water feature.

For two days, the Community Collaboration Artwork enjoys some green space under cover, where you can paint calico feathers and leave your mark on an Aboriginal artwork. Birthed by artist Kim Walmsley of the Mununjali tribe, the artwork depicts her tribal symbol of the wedgetail eagle. Youth Connect provided coffee and hot food.

The library services have a wealth of historical information from newspapers as far back as 1880, available on microfische. Births, deaths and marriages can be referenced as well as today's news and the latest magazines. A theology library, reference section, geneaology resources and of course loads of books and all you would expect from a library, are available.

For more information on the week's program visit the website .


#family
#free
#libraries
#near_toowoomba
#parks
#february
!date 27/02/2016 -- 05/03/2016
%wntoowoomba