Libraries are becoming 'community living rooms' keeping regional Australians connected

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

From tiny sheds in outback towns to state-of-the-art facilities on the urban fringe, libraries are evolving to become the ultimate third space, offering a "community living room" to people who need it most.
Across the country, there are more than 1,400 public library branches, on top of those run by schools, universities, and private community groups, mobile book vans and a burgeoning network of street libraries.
Offering up all manner of literature, internet access and everything from craft clubs and citizen science corners to "seed libraries" and storytelling dogs — for free — they're an essential public space, perhaps especially in regional and remote Australia.
In the rural locality of Julatten in Far North Queensland, it's the community that owns and runs the library, a single room stacked full of books, board games and local history.
It's been operating this way since around 1952, when its eponymous founder, Edna Head, rustled up enough support to build a dedicated space for readers.
"Julatten is quite an unusual place," explains Lindsay Fisher, the library's vice-president and local historian.
"From one end to the other is over 20km … and basically all of [the properties] are on five-acre blocks, so it's very spread out.
"Back in those days, it was very isolated. And in the early 50s, people didn't go travelling much … so having these books made a big difference, especially for the women."
More than 70 years later, Julatten remains somewhat remote — about half an hour's drive from the nearest supermarket — and the library is at the heart of the community.
"We have a keypad on the door so once you join, you get a number and you can go whenever you want — it's not a matter of when it's open or anything," Ms Fisher says.
The library charges $7 for an annual membership, and receives about $1,500 a year from the Mareeba Shire Council, which they use to update their collection. But for many members, it's about more than just books.
Committee president Bianca Velder, who moved to the area in 2024, sees the library as "a bit of a glue — or glitter, depending on the craft activity of the day".
"Books really do bind, in more ways than one. They open doors, start conversations, and make us feel part of something bigger," she says.
"There's definitely a safe-haven component … if I remember back to my childhood, books were my solace — you know, you travel through books and it's a really safe place to be."
This idea of the library as a place of safety and community is a common thread in research around the value of public libraries across rural Australia.
In towns with little more than a pub and a post office on the main street, libraries are often "the mainstay", according to Griffith University researcher Amber Marshall.
Dr Marshall, whose work focuses on digital inclusion and rural development, recently co-authored a report on a survey of more than 100 Australian librarians in outer regional and remote communities.
It found rural libraries are "especially valued by their communities", and seen as "a key facilitator of social inclusion and interaction".
"The role of the library can be quite dramatically different depending on where you go and what the characteristics of the community are," Dr Marshall says.
"I guess the smaller the community, the fewer places there are for people to meet. In the more extreme cases, it really is only the pub … there are sporting facilities as well, but that's not for everyone either.
At the Shellharbour City Libraries on the NSW south coast, engaging the young and old is a key focus for children's and youth librarian Kellie John.
She says with the cost of child care and daily living expenses rising, parents are increasingly looking to free services in the library — bookings for toddler story time are through the roof.
"We're booking study rooms out for prams to have space in the library to fit everyone in," Ms John says.
It's not just Shellharbour — the most recent statistical report from the Australian Library and Information Association shows that borrowing and visitor figures have risen across the board since the lifting of COVID restrictions.
One of the regular sessions Ms John helps run is called Be Connected, an intergenerational program that pairs up older people with young readers, loosely based around the TV show Old People's Home For 4 Year Olds.
The idea is to ease loneliness among older folks and develop social skills in toddlers and younger children.
Ms John, who has a background in social work, was drawn to libraries for their unique position to engage with people who may not have their own support networks.
"We might be the only person someone talks to all day," she says.
"We're here to meet the community need … We provide that third space, that technology, the access to information, social connection.
"Libraries, especially in the past few years, have moved into becoming [what we call] community living rooms. We want to especially target the demographics that need that assistance.
"When someone comes in, on the off chance that we can't help them with whatever they need, we're connecting them with the people that can."
The library also works with other community services to run Life Skills sessions, teaching foster kids and at-risk youth how to cook, how to access mental health support and other resources in the area.
And of course, there's Ollie, the six-year-old therapy dog who dutifully reports for story time sessions and library events along with her handler, Judy Sandilands-Cincotta.
As the community's needs have changed, so too has the role of a librarian. It's a trend that Dr Marshall says is demonstrated across the country.
"There's this kind of real onus on libraries to, in a sense, be all things to all people. If you're in a very small town where there's been a withdrawal of services, there's really nowhere else to go," she says.
In some cases, it's seen libraries employing dedicated specialists like social workers on a full-time basis.
For the most part, it means librarians are constantly upskilling to meet those needs. Digital literacy is a prime example — the 2024 survey noted IT support was the most common service on offer at libraries across the board.
In remote areas, where people often travel hundreds of kilometres to visit the library, outreach services are crucial.
"Any time there's new technology that comes out, new phones or new software, whatever, we really are that first port of call for our communities," says Jacinta Ward, a library services coordinator in south-west Queensland.
Ms Ward helps manage nine branches across the Western Downs Regional Council — an area almost the size of Switzerland. Digital inclusion is a big focus.
"[In some communities], if people don't have access to internet at the library, then they don't get access to it at all. That's it, that's their only connection to the internet," Ms Ward says.
The libraries also play a key role in preserving and celebrating local history through the Picture Western Downs collection. The growing archive is maintained by library staff, with help from community members who are encouraged to fill in the gaps about "mystery images".
Engaging with the community is key, whether it's through the weekly crochet club or the annual Words Out West festival, Ms Ward's pride and joy.
Each year, the festival invites authors and readers to come together for a week of writers' workshops and bookish events, hosted in the Western Downs.
"We've got Schooners and Stories, which we call our Trojan Horse to get the big burly men that typically wouldn't go to a writers' festival," she says.
But the highlight, Ms Ward says, are the school days in Dalby and Chinchilla, which this year brought more than 2,500 students together to learn about storytelling.
"We have buses from these teeny tiny schools that just put their five students on the bus … those kids would never be able to access anything like that out here if it wasn't for Words Out West," she says.
This kind of value is tricky to measure, according to Dr Marshall.
"One of the challenges in collecting information about the role of libraries and their importance is that it's often measured in terms of bums on seats — a number of people interacted with," she says.
"But that doesn't really capture the transformative impact that libraries can have for individuals. So even if a librarian has to travel a couple of hundred kilometres to an outreach area, and there are only five people there, that can be so important to the lives of those five people.
"It really makes it difficult for decision making … around resourcing. Because if you're just looking at the numbers, you're not really seeing the impact, especially in relation to urban libraries."
The ALIA statistical report shows that despite an increase in usage, per-capita funding for public library services has actually decreased when adjusted for inflation.
"That public libraries have still managed to expand physical and digital collections, program offerings, wi-fi access, local history collections, bookable meeting rooms… despite [funding] decreases shows the innovation of public libraries," it states.
"However with increasing usage and community reliance on public library services, further real decreases in funding may result in decreased services for the community."
A 2024 paper commissioned by non-profit group Friends of Libraries Australia also found rural and remote communities were particularly disadvantaged by funding models based around spending per capita.
Ms Ward says distance does present a challenge when planning workshops and events with authors and other keynote speakers or presenters.
"There's definitely a cost. You're not only paying for travel time and fuel, you've [also] got accommodation costs on top because they're staying in the region for so long. It certainly adds up," she says.
"[But] we've got a very talented pool of staff who always step up to the plate … And I think that's what I love about libraries. We just make it work."
It's an attitude shared by the volunteers in Julatten, too.
Ms Velder has big dreams to turn the library into an adaptive learning hub that provides internet connectivity, digital services and perhaps even co-working space — they just need a few more members.
"A lot of people think that libraries are a thing of the past … I don't necessarily believe that that's true. There's nothing like holding a book in your hand and sitting down with a cup of tea and a biscuit," she says.