Are you one of the almost 1 million people who visit Wollongong City Libraries each year? Then you might have enjoyed Wriggle and Jiggle storytime for babies, programs to help you trace family ancestors, or even a course on making jams and preserves.
To ensure our libraries continue to offer a range of activities, technologies and great community spaces, Council voted last night to support the second phase of the .
The campaign’s successful first phase saw a funding increase of $60 million over four years from the NSW Government. Wollongong City Council and contributed to the success of this campaign through a range of advocacy activities.
The second phase of the campaign aims to secure sustainable funding for all NSW public libraries into the future.
Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said adequate funding for libraries is essential in an age when technology and social media can see some people excluded from participation in community life.
“Our seven libraries offer a great range of fun activities and they are also places where people can meet with friends, learn or study together,” Cr Bradbery said.
“As well as books, magazines, and DVDs you can also download ebooks, learn a language through Mango or stream a movie through Kanopy.
“This campaign is an opportunity to lock in the historic state funding that public libraries received in 2019 and ensure that we can build on the great programs and services our libraries provide.”
In 2018-2019, the NSW Government provided almost $500,000 in grant funding to Wollongong City Council library services. This funding subsidies the annual library budget of about $11.5 million.
