We hope our library users will be delighted and surprised by the new Ballarat Library space when it's completed. We will have more programs on offer and more space available for library users. The Ballarat Library of the future will be a place to explore and discover, to work quietly in or join in with a program or activity. Good coffee will be available and many more comfortable chairs and tables with powerpoints for people wanting to settle in for the day.
We have a very diverse range of library users already and believe that this will continue as the library is seen as a welcoming and safe space by many communities across Ballarat. We try to offer a unique range of services that reach out widely into the community.
Current visitor numbers average around 700-900 per day. This figure dropped dramatically when the GovHub building works started, as the works had a direct impact on parking. Prior to GovHub, we had about 1200-1400 people through the front doors of the Ballarat Library on a daily basis. We conservatively estimate that this will rise by 20 per cent as is the trend of new and upgraded library buildings in Victoria.
Our City of Ballarat Libraries already have an important role in our community as safe, welcoming inclusive spaces that allow people to either participate and connect or simply use for relaxation and recharging. If members of the community have not used the library before, we hope that the new space will become one that will be enticing enough to visit and then return to again and again.
We recently installed shelving on castors to ensure that the shelving can be moved if we have larger functions such as author talks or events, including our much-loved Harry Potter book night.
