2021-12-07 Services & Organisation Committee Meeting Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                  7 DECEMBER 2021



6.    REPORTS FOR NOTING BY THE COMMITTEE


8     NOOSA LIBRARY SERVICE – ANNUAL REPORT TO 30 JUNE 2021

Author            Acting Libraries and Galleries Manager, Tracey King
                  Community Services Department

Index             ECM/Subject/Libraries/Library Management

Attachments       1.    Noosa Library Service 2020-2021 Annual Report


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The attached annual report provides an update and review of the activities of the Noosa Library
Service, for the 12 months to 30 June 2021.
Noosa Library Service commenced in 1973 and includes Noosaville and Cooroy library branches, a
Mobile Library and an expansive e-library. As one of Council’s most visible, highly utilised and valued
services to the community, our library service offers a broad range of facilities, collections, services
and activities that support educational, recreational and creative endeavours across the region.
While the lending and reading of books are a core element of Noosa’s public library service, the
service and program delivery extends well beyond this. Key themes of service delivery include
reading, learning, literacy, heritage, community services, technology and being a community hub.
Noosa Library Service is a highly successful library service which is well-supported by its clients and
admired by its peers. This is evidenced through performance measures such as membership, loans
and the number of people visiting the library, as well as comments from users.
Libraries provide a bridge between the community and Council, offering a more friendly face of
government and acting as a public statement of Council’s commitment to the community. Our library
service plays a vital role in the social and economic structure of the communities it serves.
Public libraries across the globe have been responding to and initiating change as their communities’
experience demographic shifts, establish different ways of living and engage with new technologies.
They are evolving to maintain relevance and deliver services that are driven by customer and
community needs and expectations, in a constantly changing environment.
Noosa Library Service has been on a path of continuous improvement to find efficiencies, improve
productivity and maximise resources to meet the evolving and ever-changing needs and
expectations of our community.
The Noosa Library Service Annual Report provided at Attachment 1 provides an overview of the
current performance of the Library Service, the challenges, and opportunities it faces, highlights
recent achievements and provides an update on 21/22 projects. It aims to provide Council with a
deeper understanding of the Library Service, its scope of services and level of impact.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Acting Libraries and Galleries Manager to the Services &
Organisation Committee Meeting dated 07 December 2021 providing an update on the activities of
the Noosa Library Service.

REPORT
The purpose of this report is to present the Noosa Library Service Annual Report 2020 – 2021 which
provides an update and review of the activities of the Noosa Library Service, for the 12 months to 30
June 2021.

                                                                                        Page 23 of 54