Published on Monday, 4 November 2024 at 2:00:00 PM
The Esperance Public Library is a welcoming and inclusive space for everyone to work, study, read, and relax. We value freedom of information and are dedicated to promoting reading, information, and digital literacy. We respect diversity, individuality, and equality, connecting people to ideas, knowledge, learning, and community. Plus, we take pride in preserving and sharing our rich cultural heritage.
Meet Our Team and Volunteers
Our dedicated team of 8 staff members and 4 casuals, along with our amazing volunteers, make everything possible. The Esperance Library Friends (ELFs) run the bookshop, which funds gifts for schools, library items, programs, and provide free books for caravan parks and other places around our Shire. Our volunteers, youth and adult, have clocked an impressive 2,600 hours over the past year!
What We Offer
- Printing & copying
- PC access
- Civic Centre tickets
- Free WiFi
- A place to charge your phone or even go to the toilet
- Tech Help & Education
- Justice of the Peace service
- Volunteer Tax Help
- Storytime & Rhymetime
- Better Beginnings / Early Literacy Bags in partnership with the State Library of WA
- Home Library service
- Family history research assistance
Our collection is reflective of our community and responsive to community need, featuring books, magazines, newspapers, jigsaw puzzles, audiobooks and their digital equivalents. This vast array of eBooks and audiobooks are available via our e-library. We also have a local history collection.
Library Highlights (2023/24)
- 60,341 Physical Loans
- 3,124 Active Members
- 4,342 Reference Enquiries
- 38 Partnerships
- 172 Program sessions with 4,136 Participants
- 5,187 Technical Enquiries
Tech Help and Tech Education is a huge service. Almost all government and public services are now online. It is unavoidable. Some of the help our staff have given customers include assisting people with navigating systems including online forms, medical appointments, ATO, MyGov, visas, passports, shopping, booking online, connecting with family, the list goes on.
Engaging with Our Community
We support you through all stages of life, from early years to seniors. Our programs include:
- Early Years/New Parents: Rhymes and stories in multiple languages, Better Beginnings bags which connect families with books encouraging them to read, talk, sing write and play with their child everyday
- School Age Kids: A safe space for reading, science and library programming, community involvement.
- Seniors: Tech Education and digital divide assistance, Home Library Delivery service.
Exciting Developments
Our Family History nights have become so popular that we’ve moved to a bigger facility at the Civic Centre. For those without internet or digital literacy, we have screened Historical Homesteads documentaries at the library, featuring Q&A sessions with local historian Karli Florrison.
In the past year, we’ve introduced new mobile shelving, mobile magazine racks, and improved our collection display. Our local history collection is now prominently featured on the library floor, thanks to our diligent Library Technician.
We’ve also transitioned to the Spydus library management system, enhancing your experience with easy access to our catalogue, where you can see our books in stock, make reservations on items and manage your loans all via the Spydus app or our website. This is part of a partnership with 34 other regional libraries, allowing you to borrow items from any participating library.
We’re excited to unveil our new logo. Featuring the Esperance coastline and Mandooboornup landscape, this was created in collaboration with the Library and Media Team.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us. The help and support from all areas of the Shire and our community are greatly appreciated. This is just the beginning of exciting things to come, and we look forward to serving you for many more years.
Warm regards,
The Esperance Public Library Team
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