Thousands of people flooded the new Rockdale Library over the weekend to have a first peek inside.
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The library opened to the public for the first time on Saturday morning after the old temporary library was demolished.
Award winning authors Lisa Shanahan and Stephen Michael King were fan favourites during their talks as was actor and voice artist Stig Wemyss who finished off the day with a performance.
Visitors had the chance to try out the latest technology during a series of workshops by Rockdale tech company lookup.com.
There were also community language tours, surprise book character visits and board games.
Rockdale Council's Coordinator of Library and Community Information Paula Pfoeffer said the library had completely transformed.
‘’It’s completely different. It really is a state of the art library,’’she said.
‘’We’ve tried to create spaces for everyone. It’s not just collections of books anymore.’’
She said the most common reaction to the new library was amazement.
‘’Everytime you walk into the library you’re excited,’’ she said.
‘’Your jaw just drops.
‘’Everyone was used to the old library so the first time you walk in it’s so open and airy.
‘’People were impressed.’’
She said her favourite spot was the children’s library.
‘’It was amazing because you could see them picking up the books and going into the little nooks,’’she said.
‘’They were using it as we imagined.’’
She said the library was unique not only to St George but to Sydney.
‘’We want to redefine what a library is. The library is about exploring and discovery.
‘’I think we’ve done that.’’
New technology has replaced the old computers with users now able to search the collection, download an eBook, and renew and reserve items online.
The self-borrow kiosks are also available at the Arncliffe, Bexley North and Sans Souci Libraries.
There is also an interactive space for children and a local history space.
Mayor Bill Saravinovski officially declared the library open.
‘’We are incredibly proud of this building and the service we can now offer to our community,’’ he said.
‘’I think you’ll agree that our new library is the stand-out building in the Rockdale area.’’
It was a sentiment echoed by former Rockdale Councillor and member of the library committee Anne Field.
‘’A library is so much more than books, and this library will show admirably its multi-dimensional features to the community,’’ she said.
‘’The new Rockdale council library had done council proud.’’
What do you think of the new Rockdale Library?
