Our Board

Highton Library

Branch Librarian: Yvonne Hodgson

The year was challenging yet satisfying. Early July saw the introduction of our new opening hours which were well received.

Click & Collect was a great way to connect with our patrons during lockdown. We always got a wave, and many positive messages of thanks were left.

Getting book bundles together was rewarding as we were providing our customers with books by authors they may not have read before. It was wonderful to be able to continue our great service to the community, in a time when they needed it most.

Lara Library

Library Coordinator: Katrina Costa

Lara’s programs over the last year have been diverse and well received by our communities: from Free Hearing Checks by Hearing Australia to ‘Learn to Use’ sessions to Chair Yoga for Wellbeing, facilitated by local yoga teacher, Claire Huntley.

We receive lovely feedback about how the team is knowledgeable, patient and helpful: one member made time to say “I would like to thank Amelia for her time. She was very helpful with her computer knowledge and was also quite patient”.

Our Children and Youth Services Librarian regularly visits local kindergartens and primary schools to provide Story Time sessions, the return of Baby Time and various children and youth sessions was much anticipated and sessions were well attended.

Leopold Library

Library Coordinator:

Hannah Cruise (June 2020 – March 2021), Vicky Dunmore (May 2021 – current)

The team at Leopold Library has been busy maintaining and building vital social connections and providing a welcoming space – physical and virtual – for the community during the pandemic.

Highlights from the year have included: Friday Flicks with a regular cohort of followers who love a classic film; School Holiday programs; seeing smiling faces back at our regular children’s sessions; hosting actor Samuel Johnson to celebrate his new book Dear Mum; and a quirky teapot display, presented in collaboration with the Leopold Community and Learning Centre’s ‘Biggest Morning Tea’ event.

Newcomb Library

Library Coordinator: Kim Edgar

The Newcomb team continued to provide the best possible service to the community within unavoidable constraints. Community uptake of the Click & Deliver service kept the team busy until we were able to welcome our community back into the library.

A successful Feed Geelong grant application through Give Where You Live supported the ‘Eat, Cram, Exam’ initiative, delivering fresh fruit and vegetables and stationery packs to secondary school students via Newcomb and Corio Libraries, to support their studies.

Programs were adapted to run online: chess tournaments, a Bellarine Historical Society session on Caroline Newcomb and more. A highlight was entertaining 488 lower primary students from local schools for National Simultaneous Storytime.