Libraries you can be proud of

Coast residents have yet another reason to be proud of their public libraries after they were recently recognised with a national award.

The ALIA Excellence Award (administered by the Australian Libraries and Information Association) recognises the achievements of Sunshine Coast Libraries in delivering a single library card system and the implementation of a unified, regional approach for members across the Coast.

The award, presented at the annual ALIA Trivia Night, is well deserved recognition for the efforts of all library staff over the past 12 months in delivering better customer service to the community.

Ross Duncan, Manager of the Learning Communities Branch, acknowledged the role staff played in ensuring the transition to a region-wide library service ran smoothly.

“The fantastic efforts of our library staff enabled the seamless introduction of the new regional system, and members can access materials from any library across the Coast or have materials dropped off at their nearest library for collection,” Mr Duncan said.

“With more than 550 000 library items the choice is huge and we are constantly purchasing new materials to improve and expand the collection for residents and visitors.

“We have also implemented many other activities and programs that will enable us to continue to deliver high-quality services to the community,” he said.

Recent library improvements include:

• free wireless access at Noosa and Maroochydore Libraries with Caloundra, Kawana and Coolum soon to follow
• Red Hot Reads where you can borrow the latest bestsellers as soon as they are released and without a reservation, for $4 for ten days
• increased use of email and voice mail to deliver messages to members
• Get Connected sessions to learn about the internet and new technologies
• libraries news and images available in the popular online sites, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr
• continued construction of the Cooroy Library.

The Sunshine Coast Regional Council runs nine public libraries and three mobile services:

Beerwah Library—Peachester Road, Beerwah

Caloundra Library—Omrah Avenue, Caloundra

Coolum Library—Park Street, Coolum Beach

Kawana Library—Nanyima Street, Kawana

Kenilworth Library—Elizabeth Street, Kenilworth

Maleny Library—Coral Street, Maleny

Maroochydore Library—44 Sixth Avenue, Cotton Tree

Nambour Library—Cnr Bury and Currie Streets, Nambour

Noosa Library—Wallace Drive, Noosaville.

Libraries website is www.library.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au and information about the ALIA Excellence Award is available at www.alia.org.au/awards/national.excellence