Northern Beaches Libraries

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Northern Beaches Libraries
Northern Beaches Libraries Logo.png
Location Northern Beaches, Sydney, Australia
Type Public library
EstablishedMay 12, 2016 (2016-05-12) (from council merger)
Branches6
Collection
Items collected334,997 [1]
Access and use
Circulation1,393,472 (2020-2021) [1]
Population served274,041 [1]
Members197,730 [1]
Other information
Employees80 (2020-2021) [1]
Parent organisation Northern Beaches Council

Northern Beaches Libraries is the public library service of the Northern Beaches in Greater Sydney, Australia. [2]

Contents

History

The Northern Beaches Council was made from the merger of the Manly, Pittwater, and Warringah councils of in May 2016, which meant that the council's separate library services were also merged into Northern Beaches Libraries. [3]

In February 2025, Northern Beaches Libraries introduced "light memberships", a limited type of membership that proof-of-address is not needed for. [4]

Branches

Northern Beaches Libraries has six branches - Dee Why, Forrestville, Glen Street, Manly, Mona Vale, and Warringah Mall. [5] The Cubby House Toy Library was opened in 2013 and functions out of the Manly and Mona Vale branches. [6] The local history collections are housed at Dee Why, Manly, and Mona Vale. [7]

Dee Why Library

Dee Why Library is in the Warringah Civic Centre, and was built in 1966. [8] It was the first Northern Beaches library building to be purpose-built as a library. [9] It was designed by Edwards Madigan and won a Sir John Sulman Medal. [9] In 2004 Dee Why Library was considered for demolition to make space for the new Northern Beaches Hospital, but French's Forest was chosen for the location instead. [9] Dee Why Library has a department specifically for Tibetan books [10] and a bi-weekly Tibetan storytime. [11]

Forestville 24/7 library

The Forestville branch library is open 24/7. It was one of the first in Australia [2] following Parkes Shire Council (NSW) in 2016, and South Gippsland Shire Council (Victoria) in 2019 [12] and the first in Sydney. [13] The 24/7 library was pioneered by librarian Allison Hamilton, who was nominated for an ALIA Excellence Award as a result of her success in the project, and the support she gave to other libraries interested in implementing their own 24/7 libraries. [14]

The desire for a 24-hour library first started during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the idea was developed over two years. Forestville Library ran a three-month trial for 24/7 opening times starting on Monday 29 August 2022. During the trial, 21% of visits were outside normal library hours [12] and there was an 11% increase in memberships [2] leading the 24/7 hours becoming permanent.

Outside of staffed hours, member enter the library by scanning their library card and entering their PIN associated with the card. [13] Only library members aged sixteen or older can use the library during these hours. [12]

Manly library

Manly Library was opened in 1901, with a room rented out from the local School of Arts by the Manly Council. [15] It was originally a non-lending library. [16] Mona Vale Library opened on the 3rd of September 1972. [17]

In February 2023, Manly library was the subject of protests and larger counter protests in response to its drag queen storytime. [18] [19] The library received a bomb threat in relation to the event, which was not made public by police until after the event. [20]

In July 2025, Manly Library began a trial (from July to November) funded by the State Library, in which the library would have 24-hour access Sunday-Thursdays. [21] The trial came in response to positive feedback about Forrestville by high school students studying for exams. [22] Library members must complete a safety induction to use the library, and like Forrestville, must be over sixteen years old. [23]

Mona Vale Library

Mona Vale Library was opened in 1972 as a Warringah Shire Library, and was transfered to the Pitwater council in 1992. [8] In 2004, a new Mona Bale library was built, and the old one was turned into council offices. [8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Morrison, Kathy (2022-04-01). "Public Library Statistics 2020–21, Public Library Statistics in New South Wales" (PDF). State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  2. 1 2 3 Smart, Alec (2023-03-16). "Forestville Library 24-hours-a-day trial becomes permanent". Manly Observer. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  3. ↑ "Local Government (Council Amalgamations) Proclamation 2016 [NSW] - Schedule 13 - Provisions for Northern Beaches Council" (PDF). Legislation.nsw.gov.au. Parliament of New South Wales. 2012. p. 25.
  4. ↑ "Libraries expand membership options". Pittwater Life March 2025 Issue. 2025-03-01. p. 36.
  5. ↑ "Library locations and opening hours". Northern Beaches Council. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  6. ↑ Cohen, Dale (2024-09-17). "Toy library gets Council tick". Northern Beaches Advocate. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  7. ↑ "Libraries unite to preserve region's history for future". Manly Daily. 2017-08-22. p. 3.
  8. 1 2 3 Morcombe, John (2022-09-01). "Mona Vale Library: Two homes, three councils and 50 years of service to the community". Manly Daily.
  9. 1 2 3 "Col Madigan's iconic Dee Why Library celebrates 50 years". ArchitectureAU. Archived from the original on 2016-12-02. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  10. ↑ Tsering, Dawa (2023-06-09). "New Section for Tibetan Books Set Up at Residential Library of Dee Why, Australia". Central Tibetan Administration. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  11. ↑ Crawford, Pippa. "Tibetan exiles are on the move again". Prospect Magazine. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  12. 1 2 3 Ward, Mary (2023-03-25). "In this sleepy Sydney suburb, a 24-hour venue is thriving". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  13. 1 2 "Northern Beaches launches Sydney's first 24 hour local library". Manly Observer. 2022-08-31. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  14. ↑ "Announcing the NSW Library & Information Excellence Award 2024 Shortlist". alia.org.au. Archived from the original on 2025-04-07. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  15. ↑ "MANLY FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY". Daily Telegraph. 1901-09-25. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  16. ↑ "MANLY FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY". Evening News. 1903-05-15. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  17. ↑ Cohen, Dale (2022-09-05). "Lifelong love for library". Northern Beaches Advocate. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  18. ↑ "'Love is love': Drag queen storytime at Sydney library goes ahead amid bomb threat, protests". SBS News. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  19. ↑ Rogers, Destiny (2023-02-25). "Liars, haters & fakers: Manly Library Protest". QNews. Retrieved 2025-04-19.
  20. ↑ Observer, Manly (2023-02-25). "Police respond to bomb threat; Rainbow counter protest drowns out drag queen story hour protest at Manly Library". Manly Observer. Retrieved 2025-05-10.
  21. ↑ Thornton, Harriet (2025-07-03). "Manly Library launches 24-hour access trial". Manly Observer. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  22. ↑ Kowal, Emily (2025-08-10). "It's approaching midnight, and this 24-hour venue is full of unsupervised teens". The Sun Herald . p. 6 – via Newsbank.
  23. ↑ O'Rourke, Jim (2025-06-16). "Studious night owls rejoice over Sydney library opening 24/7". Manly Daily– via Newsbank.
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