springfield central library Archives

Springfield Central Library To Introduce the nextLEVEL Festival

Big plans are underway for the newly-opened Springfield Central Library. Following its opening last month, the newest and the first public library in the region will deliver a more enriching learning experience for the community. One of their initiatives is the nextLEVEL festival, which will open on the weekend of 6-7 October and will last throughout early 2019.

The event is a micro festival of gaming and game development, organised through the State Library of Queensland’s Public Library Strategic Priorities Grant program.

With $24,355 in funding, the Ipswich City Council will be able to deliver an innovative and fresh opportunity to the community that will let improve their skills whilst they unleash their creativity.

A total grant of $450,000 this financial year is available, which can be tapped by all councils to enable them to deliver strategic initiatives through public libraries and Indigenous Knowledge Centres (IKCs) across the state.

This year, the council received 35 applications. But only a number of councils were chosen such as:

Barcaldine
Brisbane
Burdekin
Cassowary Coast
Charters Towers
Cook
Douglas
Gold Coast
Ipswich
Logan
Maranoa
McKinlay
Palm Island
Rockhampton
Tablelands
Toowoomba
Whitsunday

The projects that these libraries must implement should revolve around the themes in The Next Horizon: Vision 2017 for Public Libraries or programs that support the OPAL Program objectives. They could also be about such diverse fields as micro-festival of gaming, business development and entrepreneurial skills for young adults and STEM events featuring virtual reality.

Springfield Central Library Is Officially Open

In 2017, the Ipswich City Council made a decision to lease a space at the Orion Springfield Central to make way for the region’s first library. Over the years, residents have made use of the mobile library. In August 2018, the hi-tech Springfield Central Library finally opened to the public.

Acting Mayor Wayne Wendt, along with seven of his councilors, officially opened the facility. Well-known personalities also took part in the opening of the library, such as author Matthew Reilly, TV personalities Ben and Holly, and cricket legend Glenn McGrath.

Located on the corner of Main St and Sirius Drive, the two-level library aims to deliver hands-on experience that will aid in delivering information, education, and building digital literacy for the communities in the region. All of these goals are also in conjunction with the Smart City initiative of the council.

The Smart City initiative provides new ways of learning and living to help make the region the most liveable and prosperous Smart City in the country. One of the projects involved in this initiative this year is the demo launch of the EZ10 Driverless Shuttle.

Today, the library holds over 50,000 books along with state-of-the-art facilities. It includes a main collection area, a marketplace section, children’s space, parents’ room, event spaces, public access computers. public meeting rooms, training room, smart lockers, makerspace and modern library resources.

One of the highlights of the library is the kids’ area. Soundproof chairs, individual pods, seats in window alcoves, and play areas provide full amenities to this all-important area.

“It will provide Ipswich Libraries’ members a new space to enjoy and a destination where they can relax, learn and grow,” Libraries and Tourism Committee Chairperson Cr David Pahlke said.

Springfield Central Library Designs Revealed, Set To Open in July 2018

Now that the fate of a new library at Springfield Central has been sealed, its design has been revealed by the Ipswich City Council and so far, things are looking good.

The new two-level library will be located off of Main Street and will be at approximately 2,000 square meters. A budget of $5 million is set for the library, which would meet the needs of the community.

The conceptual design package showcases state-of-the-art facilities, which includes a customer assistance area, a “market place” style presentation of famous books, maker space, main collection area, public access computers, express computers, a space for kids and parents, event space, meeting rooms, kitchen space, and a computer training room. The second floor will serve as the administration area.

An after-hours returns and book sorting area in the basement carpark will be available as well. Enhancements will also be made to the entry foyer on the ground floor.

The project is targeted to open in July 2018.