By JO HARRISON
IN A show of solidarity Armidale Dumaresq councillors who were opposed to supporting the development of a new $10 million Armidale War Memorial Library have bowed to public pressure and voted unanimously on Monday to move forward with a development application.
The initial development application will be reviewed by an independent consultant before being presented to the Joint Regional Planning Panel for a final assessment.
At Monday’s council meeting Councillors Margaret O’Connor and Chris Halligan supported the project, however wanted it noted that they had some concerns over the cost of the proposed development.
Cr O’Connor pointed out that she had concerns over the estimated $500,000 to $750,000 cost of floor space allocated for use by the Armidale Sub Branch of the RSL and that no audit of library services had been undertaken to guage whether the new development would meet the community’s needs for the new library’s lifetime.
If approved by the Joint Regional Planning Panel, the development has five years to secure funds for the project which all councillors agreed would be a significant challenge.
“It will be born significantly by fund-raising and we will be seeking support from State and Federal Governments and benefactors who would like to make a donation,” Armidale Dumaresq Mayor Jim Maher said.
“This is a crucially important facility for our community and is the only War Memorial library in existence in Australia still providing a service – it would be terrific to be able to commemorate the Anzac spirit.”
News of the decision by councillors was met with relief from library staff who work in a cramped and outdated facility.
“There is still a long way to go for council but it means we can start moving forward,” Armidale Library manager Ian Greenhalgh said.
“Council’s financial position means that we have to be alert to any grant applications that we might be able to submit.
“We also have to work through a number of issues to satisfy the State Government before we can go ahead and that it has the support of the community before the Minister would support any rate rise that may flow through.”
The library has entered the virtual world in a big way with free internet, wireless internet within the library and providing access to virtual collections for library members online.
“You can not only listen to books, but read e-books (by the middle of July) and read current issues of over 100 magazines and download streamed independent movies from the library website,” Mr Greenhalgh said.
He said libraries were fundamentally important to regional communities as well as an important social hub for many community groups.
“This is not just important to access our collections but access to a space that is a quiet, relaxed and out of the way. It is an indoor public space which in a climate like Armidale is a valuable commodity,” he said.
