Parra News September 28 2021

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Tuesday, September 28, 2021
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Issue 45
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Parra Matters
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Index
Troy Dodds
@troydodds
Lockdown, you will be missed
Yes, my tongue is firmly in my cheek
with that headline, but I have to admit,
there’s parts of this strange lockdown period
that I’ll miss once things start to open
up again.
When me and my sisters were kids,
mum used to pack us in the car and take
us to Parramatta Library. It was a frequent
weekend or school holiday treat.
We’d park in Horwood Place and be there
for hours until closing time.
I remember pulling out the old manual
catalogues, five times as long as my
arm. Deciphering the yellowed typeset
punch cards. Ransacking the aisles
on every subject – science, geography,
chess, cricket, murder mysteries – then
hiding away with my newfound treasures.
Families were allowed to borrow a nearunlimited
number of books. The librarian
would take a good 20 minutes to stamp
ours. We’d almost need a trailer to tow
the lot home.
The incredible things our parents do
for us. Somewhere during those years,
my love of the written word was formed.
Decades later, the pace of the world has
accelerated. Screens and mobile devices
have taken over our lives. Yet libraries
have found ways to digitise collections,
reskill staff and keep their mission relevant.
Books have been supplemented by audio
e-books, movies and video games.
Our local library is a place to do cheap
photocopying, use the WiFi, prepare job
Alan Mascarenhas
@alanmasc
News...............................................1-12
Life & Style .............................13-14
Entertainment.....................15-21
My favourite restaurant doing takeaway;
the empty roads and trains; no guilt
around long days of Netflix on the weekends
and the benefits that come with
working from home.
applications and work together or alone.
It’s there for everyone, providing access
to resources, services and knowledge in
an egalitarian way. The best libraries are
almost like town squares.
We’ve missed our libraries here in Parramatta
during the pandemic. Deemed
non-essential services, libraries across
the city are still closed. Hopefully this
won’t be for long. Public health orders
have now been relaxed to allow ‘click and
collect’. This has already started in the Inner
West where people can reserve titles
online, then pick them up upon receiving
an email or SMS.
A plan to keep improving and refurbishing
our libraries is also urgently needed.
Suburban branches such as Carlingford
and Dundas still occupy the same footprint
they have for decades, even as the
population massively expands. Newington’s
library is so small that social distancing
is impossible. Other locations
like Toongabbie or Winston Hills with its
aging population could be prime locations
for new facilities.
The library of the future will need to
provide a more flexible mix of physical
spaces for people to dock in, conduct
classes and hold meetings. We should
aim to offer “makerspaces” where people
Business Directory........22-23
Sport .................................................24
We all want our freedoms again, but are
you like me?
Will there be bits and pieces of this
strange old time you’ll miss once things
are back to normal?
Our libraries need new chapter
can access everything from 3D-printers
to audio and video editing tools; arts and
crafts. Why not peaceful gardens and allweather
courtyards where everyone can
sit outside with their laptops?
Modern digital resources such as e-
readers, smart boards, tablets and audio
podcasts, as well as non-English language
collections, are also essential to
serve our diverse population.
All of this requires funding and political
will. However, the plans by the NSW
Government to pool council developer
contributions from across the state into
a central fund will hurt Parramatta. As
Lord Mayor Bob Dwyer observes, our city
is “doing the heavy lifting” in terms of
providing new housing supply. Councils,
which fund our libraries, can’t be expected
to raise rates to make up the shortfall.
We need a stronger deal because we are
bearing the brunt of new developments
and population growth.
There’s no reason City of Parramatta
shouldn’t have the best libraries in the
southern hemisphere. A well-funded
public library system is fundamental to a
decent, civilised society.
My mum knew it all those years ago; today,
there’s no excuse for all of us not to
make it happen.
For more local news and
sport, head online and go
to www.parranews.com.au
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