The Portland Library redevelopment has earned the Glenelg Shire Council, Victoria, the ‘Community Assets and Infrastructure Initiative’ ($2 million and under) category of the 2020 LGPro Awards for Excellence.
The award recognises council initiatives that benefit the community and showcase partnerships in developing and managing community assets that are a new, one-off activity of a capital nature.
The Portland Library Redevelopment began two years ago with a $300,000 grant through the Victorian Government’s Living Libraries Infrastructure Fund. Council also committed financial and in-kind support to co-fund the project.
Library and Information Services Manager, Yvette Parker, commended the efforts of staff involved in the project.
“The Portland Library Redevelopment was a significant project for council, the facility was expanded and refurbished to meet growing community needs and reopened to the public in August 2018.
“The revamped facility now offers a more accessible layout with a dedicated children’s library, youth area, research and history room and community meetings rooms.
“We are incredibly proud of the end result. Not only do we have a more contemporary and user friendly design, offering even more opportunities for lifelong learning, we are also welcoming more visitors through the doors than ever before.
“It is fantastic to see this project, including the achievements of all staff and project partners involved, recognised at a state level. We have officially delivered an award winning library facility for the Glenelg Shire community.”
LGPro president and Northern Grampians Shire Council Chief Executive Officer, Liana Thompson, said the 2020 LGPro Awards for Excellence awards typify the wonderful ingenuity, inventiveness and entrepreneurial spirit within the local government sector.
“The truly fantastic thing about the awards is that the people who nominate agree to share their learnings with the sector, enabling others to pick up and implement a project or learning without having to invest the time and brainpower to develop something from scratch.
“It is this ethos of sharing that will help transform our sector and enable even smaller, less resourced councils to develop and flourish.”
