MidCoast Council made the difficult decision to close Nabiac Library at its meeting on Monday 30 June.
The Library branch was flagged by the State Library of NSW in 2023 as not meeting public library minimum standards which triggered Council to undertake a review of the facility.
Approximately $100,000 in building works, $96,000 in connectivity upgrades and almost doubling Council's annual investment would need to happen within five years to keep the Library open.
"Library usage figures are extremely low. Only 8% of the Nabiac community are library members," said Paul De Szell, Council's Director of Liveable Communities.
"Over the past five years there has been an average of only 44 individuals who regularly use the Nabiac Library each year."
Council acknowledges the ongoing commitment of the small and passionate team of volunteers who have done a great job in providing the service to their community.
"We cannot justify the large expenditure that would be required to improve the facility and the ongoing investment to meet minimum standards when it has such low usage," said Mr De Szell.
Council has approached local community partners to explore alternative delivery models to maintain a library service at Nabiac. There have been no viable partnership options identified.
With Hallidays Point Library 19km, Forster Library 23km and Taree Library 27km away, there are other options available nearby.
People from Nabiac and surrounds who are unable to visit the library due to age, illness or disability can access the Home Library Service. Call 7955 7001 to find out more or head online at library.midcoast.nsw.gov.au.
