Ararat Rural City Council is delighted to share the achievements of the Ararat Library, after a year of impressive community engagement, lifelong learning and outreach services, that demonstrated the positive impact of the library on residents across the municipality.
During the past financial year, over 23,000 visitors discovered the welcoming atmosphere and diverse resources available at the Ararat Library. More than 41,500 items were loaned to readers of all ages, with Lake Bolac Library impressively contributing almost 9,000 loans to that figure, reflecting the ongoing commitment to keeping library collections fresh, relevant, and accessible.
Council's commitment to connectivity was also evident in Ararat Library's outreach services, with 141 active outreach borrowers - which includes deliveries to housebound residents, local retirement villages and prisoners in correctional facilities.
The Ararat Library also supported literacy and social connection with more than 1,800 participants attending early years programs like Baby Rhyme Time, Pre-School Storytime, and the ever-popular Lego Club.
Council has invested in internal library upgrades in Ararat, growing the collection of local history resources and providing comfortable, modern spaces for community use. In addition, adults made valuable use of the library's free information technology access, which is a key resource for digital literacy, with 40 residents benefiting from one-on-one technology tutorials.
We encourage locals to join and visit the Ararat Library and enjoy the storytimes, physical books, magazines and movies, eBooks, and a whole lot more. We also highly recommend Lake Bolac locals visit the Lake Bolac Library and enjoy the facilities available there too.
Ararat Rural City Council Mayor, Cr Jo Armstrong, praised the Library team's dedication. "Our libraries are important centres for knowledge, creativity, and social connection. These results reflect our commitment to building an informed, connected, and resilient community," she said.
Ararat Rural City Council remains committed to fostering lifelong learning, equitable access to information, and community wellbeing for all residents.
Patrons and residents can find out more about the Ararat and Lake Bolac Libraries on our website.
