This week Mernda Library, the newest library in the City of Whittlesea, celebrates its first birthday.
Mernda Library, along with the Kirrip and Galada library hubs, were established to service rapidly growing communities in the City of Whittlesea – some of the fastest growing residential areas in Victoria.
In its first year, Mernda Library has welcomed nearly 60,000 visitors, lent 75,000 items, hosted storytimes sessions every week, and provided free Wi-Fi and computer access to thousands of people.
Mernda Library is part of the Yarra Plenty Regional Library network, which has libraries spread across Melbourne’s northeastern suburbs. Jane Cowell, Yarra Plenty Regional Library CEO, said she was delighted to see how well Mernda Library has been received by the community.
“Libraries are a vital community resource. They bring people together for social connection, provide opportunities to learn and grow, are a safe haven to explore ideas or to simply spend quiet contemplative time. We know that if you build libraries where people live and work, they will use them. That is what we’ve seen in Mernda. Having a free public library in the local shopping centre makes it easy for everyone in the area to visit and make the library part of their daily lives. It’s a real success story”.
About Mernda Library
Mernda Library is open Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and 8.30pm on Thursdays. The library is free to join and use. In addition to a huge general collection, the library offers special collections in Punjabi and Hindi, free business-grade broadband Wi-Fi, computers, printers and scanners, a wide variety of activities for people at every stage of life, from toddlers to retirees, and even free team and coffee.