The new Rockdale Library will open its doors next week ending a chapter of local history.
The original library started in unusual circumstances; on four wheels as a mobile service.
It began in November 1955 and was paid for through a special library levy on ratepayers of 25 pence in the pound.
The library truck had five scheduled stopping places throughout the municipality and a stock of 9,500 books.
It proved to be a runaway success with more than 2500 borrowers registered in the first five weeks.
The demand was so great that council had to increase the number of stopping places from five to eleven and employ two extra library staff.
Rockdale Council decided to establish permanent branch libraries after the demand for more books.
The first Rockdale branch library was opened in February 1958 with a stock of 8,002 books.
It stood where the current Rockdale Council Administration Centre now sits.
The original building was small and actually made to be removable to another site.
In September 1983 the library building was demolished and the Rockdale Town Hall was refurbished and opened as the new Rockdale Central Library in September 1984.
It remained there until it too was demolished ahead of the opening of the new Rockdale Library on July 30, 2016.
What memories do you have of the old Rockdale Library?
