Northern Beaches Council is seeking community feedback on its draft five-year Library Strategy now on public exhibition.

The draft Library Strategy Plan 2023 – 2028 sets out Council’s vision for the future of public library services on the Northern Beaches.

It provides a blueprint over the next five years for the development and delivery of community-focused services that meet the diverse needs of the people who live and work on the Northern Beaches.

Mayor Sue Heins encouraged the local community to have their say on the draft Plan.

“The Northern Beaches community highly value their libraries for the services they provide.

“They love the collections, the programs, the spaces, the interactions and the experiences they have when they are at the library.

“Innovation is the key to our libraries’ success.

“We will continue to invest and ensure that the Northern Beaches community has convenient and efficient access to high quality public library services that are valued by our community and peers.

The draft Plan was developed over a two-year period with substantial input from the Northern Beaches community, external stakeholders, and Council staff.

More than 4,000 individual responses were received and reviewed throughout the engagement period.

Northern Beaches Council operates one of the largest public library services in NSW.

The library network has six physical branches across the Northern Beaches – Manly, Warringah Mall (Brookvale), Dee Why, Forestville, Glen Street (Belrose) and Mona Vale.

It also offers outreach services in community locations.

In 2021-22 more than 63,000 members of the community actively used the library service, with more than 474,000 visits, 1.11 million loans of physical and digital collection items and 11,000 attendances to library learning, cultural and social engagement programs.

The draft Library Strategic Plan 2023-2028 and Community Engagement Report is on public exhibition now and feedback must be received by 11 August 2023.