INSIDE: KOORINGAL ROAD UPGRADE, AIRPORT TAXIWAY PROJECT + MORE
THIS IS A PAID ADVERTISING FEATURE BY WAGGA WAGGA CITY COUNCIL
Council News CITY OF WAGGA WAGGA
Issue No: 346
Weekly information from us to you
FIRST PRINTED SATURDAY 22 MAY 2021
WELCOME: Wagga Wagga City Library team members above the new mural that has been installed to celebrate the library’s 75th anniversary. Pictured are (from left) Library Programs Officer Peter Casey, Programs Officer - Programs & Promotions Wendy Harper, Manager Library Services Claire Campbell, Team Leader Information, Literacy & Learning Michael Scutti and Program Officer - Programs & Promotions Jeannie Hazell.
Everybody’s place: library celebrates 75 years The Wagga Wagga City Library is turning 75 next week, with an invitation to the community to drop in and enjoy morning tea and view a recently installed mural reflecting the library’s role as a community hub, where everyone is welcome. The five-panelled mural that has been installed was created originally as part of the 2019 No Borders In Our Sky project which was a creative collaboration between Wagga based artist photography James Farley, Heaps Decent and the Multicultural Council of Wagga Wagga. The mural
features images our Future Leaders including Ja Ing Sumlang, Nadereh Khedr, Maqboola Ibrahim, Wes Boney and Madison Fisher. Accompanying the mural is the word ‘welcome’ appearing in 31 of the 107 languages and dialects spoken in the Wagga Wagga community. Manager Library Services Claire Campbell said the mural’s multilingual message of welcome was important. “This is everybody’s library,” Ms Campbell said. “It’s a simple and inclusive message, to see words in your own language means a lot to our community. “We just love having so many people use the library, it makes it a very vibrant space.” The third place Ms Campbell said that although much had changed in the last 75 years, the library’s
essence remained the same. “The library is everyone’s place, and it’s open 7 days a week,” Ms Campbell said. “Many of us have a home and then either work or school – the library is another place, often referred to as ‘the third place’ in the community, where everyone should feel that they belong. “Libraries are not only about books, they are about people connecting with each other at a live performance, attending a program or an event like the annual science festival. “You often see patrons side-by-side at the computers helping each other out, or reading the newspaper and chatting about the news. “It’s a supportive, inclusive space where those incidental conversations happen, which can lead to outcomes you may not have expected for example some parents
Wagga Wagga City Council’s Community@Work Fund
Need funding to make your community project work?
Council is seeking funding applications for community projects that aim to make Wagga Wagga a thriving, innovative, inclusive and connected city. Application period: 27 April – 15 June 2021 Apply now: wagga.nsw.gov.au/grants
who come to Storytime have secured work after sitting beside another parent and chatting about their respective careers.” The changing face of our city reflected In serving the thriving multicultural community of Wagga Wagga, the Wagga Wagga City Library has become one of the first places new residents visit. Over the years, as the library service saw the cultural diversity of our community develop, it took steps to welcome and accommodate new residents by providing services that met their needs. “We’d get books from the State Library of NSW so people could read in their own language,” Ms Campbell said. “This grew into the large community language collection we now have. Continued inside