Lalor Library's 45th Birthday!

Lalor Library can be found in the heart of Lalor’s May Road shopping centre and has been a long-time well-loved part of the local diverse and multicultural community.

The library was a first for the Shire of Whittlesea and they immediately joined the Heidelberg Regional Library Service network (later YPRL). “Library stock” included volumes in Greek and Italian, story-telling cassettes and board games for children.

A temporary building first occupied its current site, originally farmland held by the Mann family. It opened its doors 45 years ago on 11 November 1976 just in time for the upcoming summer holidays.

A permanent building finally opened in 1985. Pet shows were a popular annual holiday activity in the early years. In 1991 Prime Minister Bob Hawke drew crowds of visitors. Numerous extensions and renovations have taken place over the years including in 2003 and then in 2006. A community art mural was created for an inside wall as part of this refurbishment featuring 21 butterflies, each unique, emerging from the pages of a book all made from mosaic tiles by NEAMI artists.

Further renovations took place in 2013 when the heating and cooling system was replaced with a climate control system and improvements were made to the public foyer, seating, signage and library toilets.

The library has a popular toy and learning library and recently work began to improve the rear garden providing a space for relaxation and indigenous and vegetable plots which will supplement local food relief programs.

Staff speak a variety of languages and collection items are currently available in Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Polish, Punjabi, Serbian, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Lalor Library continues to be a safe welcoming space for the local ageing community combined with its growing families and looks forward to expanding its offering and strengthening partnerships.

We congratulate our staff, past and present and the community on 45 years of service.