The History of library services in the City of Heidelberg and Banyule and how we've grown

This is an edited version of a talk entitled “The Novel idea of a library : the history of library services in the City of Heidelberg and Banyule and how we’ve grown” researched, written and presented by Liz Pidgeon, Local History Librarian, Yarra Plenty Regional Library, presented to the Heidelberg Historical Society 8 April 2008. The talk was edited by John Adams for publication in the Society’s newsletter “Heidelberg Historian” No. 246 June 2008.

1 First Library
2 Earliest collections
3 Heidelberg Library Association
4 Merger
5 Mobile library
6 Ivanhoe Library
7 Heidelberg Regional Library
8 Rosanna Library
9 Yarra Plenty Regional Library
10 New Libraries
11 Service boundaries widen
12 Future
13 Further Reading
14 External Links

[edit] First Library

The first library in Heidelberg was set up in what had been the local courthouse made redundant when the new one (our present Museum) was opened in 1900. The old building in the Heidelberg Park opposite the new courthouse which housed the Shire offices included the room used for a subscription library. A library committee of seven members was duly formed with three from the Council and four from subscribers. The first librarian was Mr E. Andrews who opened the library on 6 January 1900. Subscriptions were 1s6d per quarter, payable in advance. The furniture included shelving from the courthouse, a library table, 20 chairs, a step ladder and two additional forms.

[edit] Earliest collections

The earliest collections were mostly donated from local people or from other libraries, supplemented by books from the Melbourne Public Library on an ongoing exchange basis. The library raised funds with guest speakers or musical evenings, and the Council provided regular grants. The library opened with some 230 volumes and by the end of the first year there were 559 volumes together with periodicals such as the Illustrated London News and volumes of Parliamentary debates. In 1909 the library moved with the Shire Offices to the corner of Studley Road and Barkly Place near the Austin Hospital where it remained until 1967. In 1918 the librarian was a returned soldier, Arthur Meekcoms who suffered with tuberculosis. The next year he was replaced by a Miss Hodgens.

[edit] Heidelberg Library Association

In 1937 a Victorian branch was formed of the Free Library Movement which, inspired the Ivanhoe Reading Circle (established in 1920) to call for a library in Ivanhoe. They were particularly interested in opening a children's library and duly visited the Prahran municipal library to inspect their children's library. The project gained the support of local citizens and the Heidelberg Library Association (or Ivanhoe Citizens Library Committee) was formed with Clarence M.T. (later Judge) Stafford as chairman. A fundraising campaign began and it was decided to establish a children's library in a space under the municipal offices at a cost of £150. It was opened by Sir Frank Tate of the Free Library Movement on 17 September 1938 with some 1200 books all classified by the Dewey system and staffed by volunteers. Larger rooms were opened in 1942 with a reading room and reference area. At the end of the war, the library was serving local students and sending boxes of books to schools.

[edit] Merger

The move for free public library service gathered momentum after the war and in 1948 the Heidelberg Library Association merged with the Heidelberg Public Library Committee which took responsibility for the library at Heidelberg Shire Offices where renovations were completed in 1953. In 1951, the Heidelberg City Council took over the provision of total free library services for the municipality, and the adult section of the service began operation on 19 June 1952, housed in the Lower Town Hall. In 1957 the Central Library was transferred to the City of Heidelberg/Eisteddfod Hall in Ivanhoe Parade where it shared space with the Eisteddfod Society. The building proved to be inadequate and dampness ruined much of the stock. There was a fire in the hall in 1960 and the library stock and services had to be relocated, returning to the Town Hall. Today the Eisteddfod Hall serves the Senior Citizens Club. Statistics for 1953/1954 Members: 6,000 Bookstock: 22,216 Book Issues: 127,211

[edit] Mobile library

The City Council provided one of the first mobile library services in the State when in 1955 a bookmobile service was able to take the library to the far corners of the municipality from Fairfield to Greensborough and Eltham North. Liz said of the service: "It was the first mobile unit built here and was to a large extent experimental. It did not contain any air conditioning. It could hold a capacity of 3000 books, and was in effect another branch of the library-lending as many books as the branches despite its shorter hours of operation". The mobile library service was extended by the 1960s and it regularly visited the local schools and grew in popularity. There were innovations during the 1950s such as Story Hour for children, and in 1962 the new book charging system was introduced using plastic readers cards which punched borrowers details onto book cards.

[edit] Ivanhoe Library

The Council moved haltingly to provide a new Central Library building and eventually a site was chosen at Ivanhoe between the Hoyt's Cinema and the Town Hall. Despite opposition from the local Chamber of Commerce on the site and concerns about costs, plans were accepted in 1963 and tenders called, with the foundation stone laid on 7 August 1964 by the then Mayor, Cr W.L. Kelly, and the Town Clerk, Frank Phillips. Leith and Bartlett were the architects and Neilson and Robinson the builders. The new library was opened on 8 October 1965 at a cost of £70,000 by Vernon Wilcox, MLA, Minister for Immigration in the State Parliament. The library, as it is today, had two floors with a mezzanine level, book lifts, compactus storage and a bookmobile loading dock. Statistics for 1963/64 Members: 20,446 Bookstock: 54,440 Book Issues: 355,578

[edit] Heidelberg Regional Library

In 1967 with a trend to regional library services as being more efficient and cost-saving, the Heidelberg Regional Library was established with the City of Heidelberg selling library service to the Diamond Valley and Eltham Shires, with a committee set up with representatives from the three municipalities. Financing the regional system often came under strain.

Under regional librarian, Peter Stansfield, computers were introduced with a catalogue produced in book form rather than on cards with copies widely available. Paperbacks, large print and media other than books were stocked, inter-library loans were set up and, in 1968, a housebound service. The Shire of Whittlesea joined the Heidelberg Regional Library in June 1973 and added a bookmobile and a library at Lalor and a branch library at May Road to the library services.

[edit] Rosanna Library

The first new branch library was in Turnham Avenue, Rosanna, opposite the local rail station, opened in August 1973 at a cost of $140,000, a striking well-designed building with double glazing, effective natural lighting from clerestory windows and car parking beneath the building. The next one was the Greensborough, now the Diamond Valley, branch library, opened on 6 December 1973, initially housed in the lower ground floor of the Diamond Valley Civic Centre in Greensborough and now situated alongside the Nillumbik Shire Offices. A replacement bookmobile began operations in August 1977.

[edit] Yarra Plenty Regional Library

The Heidelberg Regional Library Service was renamed the Yarra Plenty Regional Library Service in 1985 because of a desire by the member councils of the region to adopt a name reflecting the wider area served rather than Heidelberg. Out of this this period that there was reorganization, streamlining of systems and the purchase of an up to date computer system and a CD Rom network. Other new features were an adult literacy collection and VCE collections for senior secondary students, and an on-line public access catalogue.

The Regional Librarian was now designated the Manager, Regional Library Service, or more recently Chief Executive Officer, currently Ms Christine Mackenzie. A new development in the 1980s was a greater use of volunteers in the branch libraries and in the housebound service.

[edit] New Libraries

The library branch at Watsonia near the station and shopping centre, designed by architect Peter Hirst, was opened in November 1988 with a community meeting room, quiet study area and children's courtyard. The library received an upgrade in 2001. A new library branch was opened in Main Street, Thomastown, in 1992. The new Eltham Library was opened in 1994 which includes the Alan Marshall collection, a statue of the author outside by Matcham Skipper and a portrait of him by Alan Martin. Mill Park Library is another new branch on Plenty Road.

[edit] Service boundaries widen

Following the creation of the Banyule City and Nillumbik and Whittlesea shires in 1996 the library service boundaries widened. Modern information technology is now an integral part of the service with the library service having its own website. Computer terminals are a key feature in every branch for internet searching. The technical services of the libraries are now mostly outsourced. There is now a new mobile library and outreach vehicle, linked with the new Outreach department. The local history collections are a feature of the service, and recent ventures include a reminiscences program and the recording of memories on the Wikinorthia website.

[edit] Future

"What of the future? Information technology will have a place, libraries will become community hubs. There has been much discussion in recent years for a new library at Ivanhoe, perhaps one at Heidelberg West. We will continue to meet the needs of an increasing, aging and more multicultural population. We will also continue to meet our library purpose, to inform, educate, inspire and connect. We know one thing for sure: there will always be Plenty of things happening at the Yarra Plenty Regional Library.