Funding boost to Blue Mountains Libraries
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Blue Mountains Libraries will benefit from a boost in funding, thanks to a State Government pledge to public libraries across the state.
A record $36.5 million in funding has been allocated to NSW public libraries in 2019/20. Funding to Blue Mountains Libraries in 2019/20 is $250,399, which is up from $193,016 in 2018/19.
Blue Mountains Mayor, Cr Mark Greenhill, welcomed the funding announcement which followed the Renew Our Libraries campaign conducted in the lead up to the recent State election.
“Blue Mountains City Council pledged its support to the NSW Public Libraries Association and Local Government NSW campaign to double the State Government funding, index the contribution and enshrine that funding in law.
“The increase in funding will help the Blue Mountains Libraries to better meet the growing demands of our readers and communities.
“The increase to local funding will also ensure the book and online collections are further enhanced at our libraries.”
Ward 2 Councillor Romola Hollywood, who is Vice President of the NSW Public Libraries Association which led the Renew Our Libraries campaign together with Local Government NSW, also welcomed the boost in funding.
“We are pleased that the Government has amended the Library Regulation to lock in per capita increases, giving certainty for councils about per capita funding in future years.
“This funding will allow the libraries to continue to be a focal point for local people to meet, learn, study and create.”
52% of Blue Mountains residents are library users. This is above the state average of 41%. Our libraries had more than 450,400 visitors in 2018/19. There were over 540,000 total loans for the year and over 23,500 hours spent on library computers. Blue Mountains Library has almost 116,000 physical items in its collection and almost 7,000 items in its eCollection. Our library staff answered more than 38,000 information requests in 2018/19. Blue Mountains Library also ran 663 programs in the past year, attended by more than 21,200 people. Visits to the library website was also up by 13% in 2018/19. Go to the websitePic: Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill, Councillor Romola Hollywood and Deputy Mayor, Cr Chris Van der Kley, at Springwood Library.