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2016/2017 Annual Report

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RICHMOND-UPPER CLARENCE REGIONAL LIBRARY

REGIONAL LIBRARY MANAGER’S ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2016/2017

I am pleased to present the Annual Report of the Richmond-Upper Clarence Regional Library, providing a summary of activities for the period 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017

Regional Administration and Physical Activities In 2016/2017 the Library provided a quality service which was crucial in the Local Government Areas of high social need. The Library provided a highly valued public space of learning, meeting and engagement. The Library continued to play an essential role in developing an educated community by providing access to materials in many formats to meet the needs of individuals and groups for education, information and personal development through learning, including recreation and leisure. The Regional Library had 127,730 patrons and visitors walk through the doors to use the facilities. This comprised of: Casino – 66,705 Kyogle – 35,636 Evans Head – 19,565 Mobile Library – 5,064 Coraki – 760

By 30 June 2017, the Regional Library had 16,513 members with 1,161 new members joining during the year. The Library has over 52% of the population being members of the Library which is higher than the state average and includes 1,214 non-residents as members. The total weekly opening time of all the libraries was 139.5 hours.

The Library made a concerted effort to engage the community by offering a wide variety of programs and events and received very positive feedback on the efforts with demand for more. The Regional Library ran 795 programs during the year, an increase of 51% on the previous year and an increase of 110% over 2 years. The Library has received some very positive feedback on the programs with the most pleasing factor being social inclusion. The Libraries were continually used as a meeting hub because they provide free public space in comfortable, friendly and safe surroundings. They were also used throughout the year for exams and tutoring and as a meeting place. The Libraries were often the first point of call for families who moved to the area and the free Wi-Fi and internet service was also used heavily by visitors passing through the area. The Library continues to experience high demand for access to the computers by the public. Internet usage for the year was 17,509 users which is a 25% increase on the previous year. eResources and online databases were available to patrons via the Library website 24/7. The eService comprising of eBooks, eAudio books and eMagazines had 1,372 loans during the year. Beamafilms viewings amounted to 1,172 during the year. Britannica Online and the State Library Online databases was another method of providing the community with a valuable resource which is available from the comfort of their own home. TheComputerSchool which is an Interactive Online Computer and Technology Training Centre was used 2,603 times. The Library also signed up with Good Reading (an online magazine for book lovers). During 2016/2017 the Library signed up to be a eSmart Library, to connect with local communities to manage and promote smart, safe and responsible use of technology. At the October 2016, Ordinary Richmond Valley Council Meeting the Richmond-Upper Clarence Regional Library Strategic Plan 2016-2020 was adopted.

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A major project that was undertaken was the RFID implementation. A massive job was the RFID tagging of over 50,000 items. Linda Clark, Sue Bland and Gary Ellem were the Project Management team and the tagging process commenced on 25 October 2016 and was completed by mid-February 2017. All staff were involved in the tagging process as well as some enthusiastic volunteers. Further training took place on 14 to 18 March 2017 when the circulation assistants were installed at all branches, self-serve kiosks and security gates at Casino, Kyogle and Evans Head and automated return chute at Casino. RFID was officially launched in conjunction with the Casino Library redesign on 17 May 2017.

In October 2016, three 2016/2017 Public Library Infrastructure Grant applications were submitted on behalf of Richmond Valley Council and Kyogle Council’s. In March 2017, the Regional Library was informed of the success of the $113,243 “Project Connect: expand internet access through purchase and installation of laptop/tablet dispensers at Casino, Evans Head and Kyogle Libraries”.

Branches The Casino Library had a busy year with a number of promotions that engaged the community and promoted both Library and community services. The feedback was very positive with requests for more programs. The Casino Library has 8,675 registered members with 571 new members joining during the year. A large number of the indigenous population used the Library every day, in particular the public internet and Wi-Fi service. Staff at the Casino Library (headquarters of the Regional Library) were responsible for the purchasing and processing of new items for the region as well as serving the customers of the Casino Library. Library Assistants all had core duties they were responsible for as well as a number of rostered duties. For six weeks in September/October 2016 the Casino Library was the Casino Visitor Information Centre while the Visitor Information Centre was seeking new staff and undergoing some renovations. Staff answered numerous requests on a daily basis from visitors. Casino Visitor Information Centre Volunteer, Carol Tomek was of invaluable assistance during this period

March 2017 was a busy month with the implementation of the Casino Library Redesign. On 1 to 4 March 2017, Quantum Libraries transformed the Casino Library into a modern Library with state of the art shelving and modern comfortable furniture. The official opening was conducted on 17 April 2017 by the Member for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, Acting Executive Director Public Libraries and Engagement Division, State Library of NSW, Cameron Morley and the Mayor of Richmond Valley Council, Robert Mustow.

Official opening of the Casino Library redesign and RFID Implementation

Disposal of the old shelving was always going to be a big job and the following organisations received shelving and furniture:

• Casino Library workroom and garage,

• Coraki Library,

• Evans Head Library,

• Kyogle Library,

• Richmond Valley Council Casino Waste Office,

• Nimbin Neighbourhood and Information Centre,

• Vanuatu Disaster program,

• Leeville Public School,

• Casino High School,

• Casino Environment Centre, and

• Nymboida Rural Fire Service. Casino Library hosted monthly meetings of the Book Readers Club, Writers Group, and Adult-colouring-in. Casino Library also hosted a well-attended Wetlands presentation on 7 April 2017. The Casino CWA also held their Tuesday fortnightly get-togethers at the Casino Library. The Book Readers Club supervised by Helen Sjostedt and then Taryn Kelly went from strength to strength with the group enjoying two social outings as well during the year. Monthly Lego Club and the Family Lego days at the Casino Library, organised by Linda Clark,

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were very successful and popular. There were three author visits during the year at the Casino and Kyogle Libraries. The Richmond River Express Examiner Editor, Susannah Freymark spoke at the Casino Library on 12 July 2016, Kim Hodges spoke at the Kyogle Library on 16 August 2016 and Ray Cross spoke at the Casino Library on 26 May 2017. During Seniors Week, the Kyogle Library hosted a Welcome to Seniors Week while Casino Library had Chair yoga for seniors. Kyogle Library also conducted a number of programs for its 3,958 members (including 289 new members). Kyogle Library was also the venue for a number of meetings for community groups throughout the year. The feedback from the patrons at Kyogle Library was again very positive. The Kyogle Library hosted regular adult colouring-in, Literacy Club, Book Discussion Group, and the Mahjong Club. Kyogle Library also hosted some events in partnership with Kyogle Council. These included Share the Dignity handover in July 2016, Kyogle Indigenous Women’s Health Day in September 2016, Kyogle Riches in Community in October 2016 and It’s In The Bag in November 2016. Lego Club organised by Corinne Hughes was also successful at the Kyogle Library and Corinne liaised with Kyogle Council for some successful Youth Week programs. The Kyogle Library staff were involved in weeding of stock in preparation for RFID. The self-serve kiosks installed in March 2017 received the greatest use at the Kyogle Library. Public Internet and Wi-Fi were also popular services. The Evans Head Library had 163 new members for a total of 2,300 registered members. The Library also ran a couple of successful programs involving Adult Craft Sessions, Lego Clubs and School Holiday Activities. Customers continued to make great use of the free internet while Wi-Fi also proved to be a very popular service, especially with visitors. The Mobile Library has 1,260 members with 117 new customers enjoying the unique service. It has been designed to provide high quality, equitable Library services to rural and remote patrons. The Mobile Library operates on a fortnightly schedule with the schedule being reviewed and updated every quarter.

In July 2016, Whiporie was added to the schedule and in November 2016 the mobile Library commenced servicing the Rainbow Station Early Education Centre in Casino. Customers of the Mobile Library service included community patrons, single teacher school and central schools.

Mobile Library at Rainbow Station

The Mobile Library created a good deal of interest when it participated in the Casino Truck show in August 2016 and a couple of outstanding mechanical problems that were part of the construction of the Mobile Library were resolved during the year

Mobile Library at the 2016 Truck Show

Coraki Library has 320 members including 21 new customers. Internet usage at Coraki increased slightly during the year and Aaron Wilkes made a

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concerted effort keep the collection up-to-date and relevant to the customers.

Promotions and Extension Services

Programming has become a focal point of the Library service and was increased dramatically during the year. The 795 programs conducted at the Libraries throughout the year was a 51% increase on the previous year of 525 and consisted of the following: Children’s Programs– 525 Tech Savvy for seniors – 58 Adult education/craft and hobby - 209 Author visits – 3

Library staff made a concentrated effort to increase and improve Library programs and engage the community. These programs were promoted through the local media, social media and within the Libraries. The eNewsletter supervised by Library Technician, Taryn Kelly proved to be a very successful and effective means of informing the community of Library events and programs. The Library was also a regular contributor to the Richmond Valley Council staff eNewsletter and the Community Newsletter and featured in stories in the Northern Star and Richmond River Express Examiner. Kyogle Library was also regularly promoted in the Kyogle Council Newsletter. The Manager Regional Library also spoke on 2LM radio on three occasions. The Library Facebook page played an important role in the promotion of the Library as did traditional media. Richmond-Upper Clarence Regional Library along with Sutherland Shire Council Library was successful in being selected to participate in a pilot study undertaken in conjunction with the State Library. It involved the use of Instagram images to create a local history archive of our region over a six-month period. Relevant hashtags such as #richmondvalleymade

were utilised to collect current everyday life in our community that may be of future relevance. Ellen Forsyth, the State Library Consultant managing the Instagram project, was very impressed with Ngarie Macqueen and this Library’s contributions.

Instagram Photo The year saw the continuation of the “Our Digital Perspective” digital photo competition created and supervised by Ngarie Macqueen. Each month had a theme with the photos put on the Library Facebook page and the photo with the most likes was that month’s winner. The annual winner announced in April 2017 was Hannah Scott and her entry “Country Chick”.

Annual winner of the Our Digital Perspective photo competition

Displays continued to play a large part in promoting the collection and brightening the interior of the Libraries. They were also used to promote local, national and global events, as well as local organisations and community groups. These displays were changed on a regular basis. Adult Colouring-in sessions coordinated by Cheryl Thompson at Kyogle Library and Sue Bland at

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Casino Library proved to be very popular creating great opportunities for community engagement and interaction.

Adult Colouring-in at the Casino Library

The Justice of the Peace (JP) service was a well-used resource at the Casino, Kyogle and Evans Head Library. The staff JP’s consisting of Sue-Ellen Little, Roxine Gittoes, Corinne Hughes, Linda Clark and Sue Bland between them provided 345 JP services during the year.

The Biggest Morning Tea, coordinated by Sylvia Cooling, raised $589 for the Cancer Council with the popular “bake-off”, craft and Library staff having mufti days. A Library creative event program instigated by Sylvia Cooling was the “Create, Make, Share” craft sessions. These proved very popular at the Casino, Kyogle and Evans Head Libraries with requests for more.

Create, Make, Share at Casino Library

Tech Savvy for Senior’s Program continued to be successful and well attended. The training conducted at Casino under the supervision of Library Assistant, Helen Sjostedt in the first half of the year saw 105 people attend 27 sessions. In February 2017, Zac Armistead created more structured sessions with 69 people attending 13 sessions. Taryn Kelly and Ngarie Macqueen also assisted in the running of some of these programs. In March 2017 Zac also introduced Tech Savvy at the Evans Head Library with 37 people attending 7 sessions. 14 people also attended Tech Savvy Sessions on the Mobile Library at Bonalbo and Old Bonalbo in July and August 2016.

Tech Savvy at Casino Library

The Richmond-Upper Clarence Regional Library was the winner of the 2016 LIAC Centre of Excellence Award. This is the fourth time the Library has won the prestigious award, winning previously in 2006, 2007 and 2010. Gary Ellem and Helen Sjostedt attended NSW Parliament House on 13 October 2016 to receive the prestigious award for the initiative to promote the Find Legal Answers service to a large audience during Beef Week.

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Centre of Excellence Award

Weeded Library stock and donations were included in a book sale as well as given to the Salvation Army and the Good Will Army who sent books to Vanuatu which suffered from recent major flooding. Some of this stock also went to the pop-up Library that was set-up for travellers at the Casino Railway Station. Kyogle Library introduced a pop-up Library at the Kyogle Swimming Pool and then the Visitor Information Centre. Evans Head Library also set-up a pop-up Library for the many visitors that Evans Head attracts.

Children’s Services During the year 7,761 children/youth participated in 525 scheduled events across the region. This was a 61% increase on children’s youth participation and 54% increase on programs on the previous year. Over the last 2 years’ attendance has increased by a staggering 275% and programs by 147%. This is a great reflection on the Libraries aim to increase programming and encouraging children/youth to use the Library and increase literacy levels. The Casino Library hosted 410 programs/events, an increase of 115 programs (39%) on the previous year. There were 5,858 attendees, an increase of 1,464 participants (33%) on the previous year. This included regular Bookworms Programs, After School Activities, visits from local Schools, Community Group visits, Lego Clubs, Minecraft and the Baby Bounce Program. The Library continued to support visits by Casino Primary School Support Unit for Years One and Two, weekly visits from Kookaburra Day Care Centre and visits from Casino High School Special Education Unit. Weekly reading sessions also continued with the Richmond Employment Access and Learning Service supporting school leavers with intellectual disabilities.

Casino Library Lego Club

Visits to Baptist Community Preschool continued to provide four story time sessions per week supporting their nominated area of learning. Stratheden Primary School, Bentley Preschool Playgroup, Jumbunna Community Preschool and Jumbunna Mobile Playgroup welcomed the Library into their programming with weekly and fortnightly outreach visits. The Kyogle Library hosted 102 programs during the year with 1,481 attendees. This is a 155% increase in programs and 241% increase on attendees on the previous year. Programs included Lego Club, School Holiday Activities, Preschool visits, Day-care Storytime, Pizza and Pages for youth and the Parents ‘n’ Kids group. Evans Head also hosted Lego Club, school holiday activities and a Mad Hatters Storytime. Lego Club also commenced at Coraki Library. International Games Day was celebrated in November 2016. Monthly visits to the Bentley Preschool to present story times continued as well as monthly visits from the Mobile Library. The quality of children’s/youth services continues to be maintained at an exceptionally high standard. Attendance records and the number of established programs have increased significantly. The high standard of children’s service was highlighted by organisations approaching the Library to learn more about these programs.

Information Services During the year, the Regional Library staff successfully supplied 22,324 information requests, at an average of 429 requests per week. The ability to provide relevant, timely resources is increasingly supported by the ability to access materials via the Internet.

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Free public Internet access continues to be a major draw card for all Libraries with 17,509 bookings made to use the Internet at the four libraries that provide the service. The Wi-Fi service was also an extremely popular service with 20,767 Wi-Fi connections. This service was particularly well-used during School holidays. On average, staff provided I.T. assistance 12 times each day at the Casino, Kyogle and Evans Head Libraries.

The Document Delivery Service (Inter-Library Loans) under the management of Sue Bland was a well-used service with 473 requests being satisfied with an 82% success rate. This included bulk loans requested from the State Library of NSW. The 18% unsuccessful included very hard to locate books and customers deciding not to pay the additional costs for the requests from the National, Academic or Specialist Libraries. 252 items were loaned to other Libraries from this Library service which was a 7% increase on the previous year. The home Library service and deliveries to the Aged Care Facilities continued to function smoothly thanks to the wonderful efforts of the volunteers at the Casino, Kyogle and Evans Head Libraries. Other volunteer duties included book shelving, preparing books for sale, disc cleaning, covering new books and RFID tagging.

Technical Service Maintenance

A Libero (Library Management System) upgrade to version 6.3.2 was undertaken in August 2016. Library Assistant, Zac Armistead commenced working at the Library in December 2016 and very quickly began to have Libero working to a higher capacity and was able to streamline a number of workflows and procedures. The emailing and SMS of reserves commenced in the last quarter of 2016/2017 and in late June 2017 the emailing and SMS of overdue notices was implemented. Kyogle Library continued to experience regular I.T. issues with network problems and slow Internet and Wi-Fi speed. All Libraries logged regular support calls with public access printing being the major issue. Richmond Valley Council was able to install a new I.T. cabinet in the Kyogle Library workroom as well as installing new PC’s and a new printer. The public Internet was a popular facility with the public continuing to place high demands on staff seeking technical advice in the use of Internet facilities. The internet and Wi-Fi services were very popular amongst the indigenous community. These services were also heavily used by a large number of children during school hours. More members of the public are using the Internet to do their on-line banking, tax returns, undertaking the RMS driving test, setting up and processing business documentation including applying for ABNs and submitting Business Activity Statements (BAS), as well as setting up email addresses for correspondence. A number of patrons also used YouTube, Wikis, Facebook, and other social media as well as accessing newspapers on-line. A number of people used the internet to play games while on-line dating websites were also popular. Scanning of documents to customers email addresses was one the biggest and demanding services provided by Library staff throughout the year. The Regional Library had a successful year purchasing new Library items, which were of high quality. While a large number of items were purchased from visiting book suppliers more on-line purchasing was conducted throughout the year and a large number of suggestions for purchase from patrons were satisfied. The Standing Order for the more popular authors also continued to be a successful purchasing tool with

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a 30% discount on titles. Taryn Kelly made the suggestion for purchase process more efficient with the introduction of an online form. The Library collection continued to evolve with 5,355 titles added and a staggering 17,795 items discarded. This huge number of discards was undertaken in preparation for RFID and the Casino Library refurbishment. Due to time and space, fewer donations were added to the collection during the year. A large number of books were donated to the Salvation Army and to the pop-up libraries in Casino, Kyogle and Evans Head. 9,986 reserves were satisfied from within the Regional collection. 281 reserves were not satisfied and 556 reserves were cancelled. Bulk loans of audio books from the State Library were arranged for patrons by Sue Bland while bulk loans to a number of schools within the region were organized each school term by Helen Sjostedt and then Zac Armistead. The Regional Library continued its involvement in the Annual Bentley Art Prize contributing $350 for an acquisition prize. These paintings are displayed in the Libraries within the region. The Regional Library also continued membership with Public Libraries NSW and Public Libraries Australia. The rotation of stock between the Regional Library’s service points continued with regular exchanges taking place. There were also two large stock rotations conducted between Casino and Evans Head. Ngarie Macqueen supervised the large rotations of stock between the branches.

Staffing The Library staff was comprised of eight full-time staff; four permanent part-time staff; three Library/Customer Service Officers; three Casual Library Assistants and one casual backup Mobile Library Driver. The staff consisted of:

Gary Ellem Manager Regional Library

Sylvia Cooling Deputy Regional Library Manager (Part time)

Corinne Hughes Kyogle Branch Librarian

Taryn Kelly Library Technician

Sue Bland Library Assistant (Casino)

Linda Clark Library Assistant (Casino)

Ngarie Macqueen Library Assistant (Casino)

Zac Armistead Library Assistant (Casino)

Helen Sjostedt Library Assistant (Casino) – resigned in October 2016

Bill Meuffels Mobile Library Operator

Cheryl Thompson Library Assistant – Part time (Kyogle)

Roxine Gittoes Library assistant/Customer Service – Part time (Evans Head)

Michelle Popp Library assistant/Customer Service – Part time (Evans Head)

Sue-Ellen Little Richmond Valley Council Customer Service

Mary Roach Library Assistant – Part time (Casino)

Aaron Wilkes Library Assistant – Part-Time (Coraki)

Nancy Van Iersel Casual Library Assistant

Steve Locke Casual Library Assistant/Mobile Library Operator

Jan Menzies Casual Library Assistant- resigned in June 2017

Jess Bevan Casual Library Assistant - temporary

During the year when the Mobile Library Operator Bill Meuffels was on leave, the Mobile Library was operated by Richmond Valley Council staff member Colin Richardson and casual mobile Library driver Steve Locke. A few staff also worked at other Libraries during the year due to staff shortages and assisted with stock rotations and exchanges. Aaron Wilkes worked at the Casino, Evans Head and Kyogle Libraries as well as his normal hours at Coraki Library. The Casino, Kyogle and Evans Head Libraries are indebted to the fantastic work of the Library volunteers. These people volunteer to deliver Library service to house bound customers, aged home facilities while others arrive at the Library each week and shelve returned items. Other Volunteers assisted with preparing books for book sales. The Volunteers were thanked with a Christmas Party which was a small way of acknowledging their wonderful assistance.

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Staff Training/Meetings Staff attended a number of training courses and meetings throughout the year. Richmond Valley Councillors, General Manager and Executive Managers included a site visit to the Casino Library on 4 April 2017 as part of the Councillor Information Session. This was to inspect the Casino Library fitout and be given a demonstration of RFID. On 5 June 2017, the Library received an Assessment and compliance visit by Philippa Scarf, A/Manager, Public Library Services, Public Libraries and Engagement Division State Library of NSW. Philippa was given a tour of the Regional Library and was able to see all Libraries. Regular fortnightly staff meetings were held at the Casino Library where Library policies, procedures and promotions were discussed. The Kyogle Branch Librarian was a regular participant at these meetings. The majority of staff attended the Richmond Valley Council all-staff gatherings and the Community Strategic Plan discussions. Helen Sjostedt gave a LIAC demonstration at the September 2016 all staff gathering. Staff also attended a Performance and Recognition Management System (PARMS) meeting in November 2016. The majority of staff attended the Richmond Valley Council Christmas party in Evans Head. The staff at Casino, Kyogle and Evans Head Libraries also undertook ‘Find Legal Answers Awareness’ training in May and June 2017 as part of LIAC training. Staff also underwent RFID training in October 2016 and March 2017 while some staff also had eBook training in June 2017. The Casino Library hosted 12 visitors from Richmond Tweed Regional Library in April 2017 who came to inspect the new fitout and have a demonstration of RFID. Gary Ellem attended the Public Libraries NSW Conference (Switch) at Ulladulla in November 2016 and a North-East Zone Library Managers Meeting in Coffs Harbour in August 2016 and Armidale in March 2017. Gary Ellem had meetings with three RFID suppliers in July 2016 who gave presentations for the RFID project. He also had meetings along

with other staff with Quantum Libraries and RAECO who tendered for the Casino Library internal fitout project. Gary and Sylvia also had meetings with Colin Carey, Richmond Valley Council Coordinator Purchasing and Stores to discuss and select the successful tender. Gary Ellem also attended regular Manager Meetings at Richmond Valley Council as well as numerous other meetings with other council staff. Gary attended a Richmond Valley Council Digital Strategy workshop in August 2016 as well as a Corporate and Community meeting at Windara in September 2016 and a Managers Meeting to discuss CSP and budgets at Windara in March 2017. Gary also participated in an Online Copyright seminar on 17 January 2017 as well as RFID Management Console training on 9 May 2017. Gary Ellem and Corinne Hughes had two meetings with Manfred Boldy, Kyogle Council Director of Planning and Environmental Services in August 2016 and February 2017 to discuss Kyogle Library matters. Gary Ellem, Vaughan Macdonald, Richmond Valley Council General Manager, Graham Kennett, Kyogle General Manager, and Simon Adcock, Richmond Valley Council Chief Operating Officer, met in June 2017 to discuss the Regional Library Agreement and a possible Kyogle Library Grant Application. Gary Ellem and Sylvia Cooling attended Frontline Leadership Workshops with Andrew Murray in February and March 2017. Sylvia Cooling gave a presentation to 100 people at a Probus meeting at the Casino RSM on 22 May 2017. The Casino Vision Impaired Group held a meeting at the Casino Library on the 1 May 2017 with Gary Ellem and Taryn Kelly addressing the meeting. At both these meetings staff provided an outline on all the Library services available. Sylvia Cooling gave two Literacy Presentations at Jumbunna in August 2016 and an Adult Learners presentation in September 2016. There was no attendance at the LIAC Forum at the State Library in February while Corinne Hughes and Taryn Kelly each attended a day at Grafton at Children’s Librarians meeting. Taryn Kelly was a guest speaker at a Homeless Seminar at the State Library of NSW on 27 April 2017. Taryn spoke on the Library’s “share the dignity” project.

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Taryn Kelly attended a OneClick Digital Webinar and Zino Webinar in September 2016 and an online Maker Talk by Port Macquarie Library in October 2016, Marc Edit training webinar and a RISG webinar in February 2017. Taryn also participated in an RA Online Seminar in February 2017 and a RA online meeting in June 2017 Bill Meuffels attended the Mobile Library Conference at Ballarat in August 2016. The Mobile Library was also an attraction at the Richmond Valley Council Careers Afternoon in August 2016 with Bill Meuffels, Ngarie Macqueen and Gary Ellem. In October 2016 Gary Ellem, Sylvia Cooling, Taryn Kelly and Linda Clark had training in eSmart Library, while Gary, Sylvia, Taryn and Ngarie Macqueen were given a demonstration of the SOLUS Library app in May 2017. Gary, Taryn, Linda, Corinne Hughes and Sue Bland had eBook training in June 2017. Unfortunately, due to staff absences and workloads the staff training that was regular event the previous year didn’t occur as often, however, staff did have training in eResources, LIAC and Libero procedures. Roxine Gittoes and Michelle Popp attended regular training in Council procedures to assist them in their Council role while Sue-Ellen Little received regular on-the-job training in Library duties. Gary, Linda, Ngarie, Roxine, Sue-Ellen, Aaron Wilkes, and Helen Sjostedt attended Emergency Warden training in January 2017 while Sylvia Cooling attended a CPR refresher course at Richmond Valley Council in May 2017. Corinne Hughes represented the Regional Library on the Richmond Valley Council WH&S Committee and regularly attended these meetings. Throughout the year, Corinne also met and liaised frequently with a number of Kyogle community groups. The Manager Regional Library regularly offered and sought advice/suggestions to other Libraries in NSW, sharing Library procedures, policies or grants as well as answering regular surveys.

The Manager Regional Library was also in frequent contact with Library Managers in the North-East Zone as well as Consultants from the State Library of NSW. In October 2016, he submitted the 2015/16 NSW Public Libraries Statistical Return and in November 2016, both Richmond Valley Council and Kyogle Council submitted their 2016/2017 Public Library Funding Strategy. This year this included $5,611 for each Council for Collaborative Incentive for Rural and Regional Councils. Library staff were also in regular contact with the various suppliers with whom the Library was associated. During the year, a number of work experience students worked at the Casino, Kyogle and Evans Head Libraries.

Conclusion Richmond-Upper Clarence Regional Library had a successful year with a number of successful events in addition to the public programs, services and facilities provided by the Library. The Library was able to engage the community, expand its outreach program and resolve social exclusion. I would like to sincerely thank the relevant Council staff for their continued support and assistance throughout the year. Special mention must be made of the Richmond Valley Council I.T. team, Electricians and Neil Schneider who all did a fantastic job when the RFID was installed and with the Casino Library redesign. The Richmond-Upper Clarence Regional Library takes pride in unique and personal service provided to customers of all ages. This was accomplished through the efforts of a committed and enthusiastic staff that excel in customer service. Through their efforts and commitment, a welcoming, contemporary and adaptable community based Library service was provided. I congratulate them all on their wonderful achievements throughout the year. Gary Ellem Manager Regional Library

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Create make share at Kyogle Library

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TABLE 1 BOOKSTOCK STATISTICS

BOOKSTOCK AT 30/6/2017

ADDED 1/7/2016 – 30/6/2017

DISCARDED 1/7/2016-30/6/2017

EXPENDITURE 1/7/2016 – 30/6/2017

Picture Books

Easy Junior Fiction

Junior Fiction

Teen Fiction

Compact Disc

Junior Audio Books

Junior Tape and Text

Junior CD And Text

Junior Non-Fiction

Junior Software

Junior Video

Junior DVD

Junior Music

Teen Magazine*

Teen Audio

Adult Fiction

Large Print

Adult Non Fiction

Reference

Periodicals *

Video Cassettes

DVD

Audio Books

Software

E-books

4,999

2,181

2,488

1,867

872

79

9

46

2,500

0

0

601

18

61

37

14,969

2,971

10,367

429

1,474

0

2,160

1,032

12

757

502

287

280

243

83

13

0

0

151

0

0

136

0

28

0

1,481

111

792

22

560

0

371

142

0

153

944

678

741

554

179

3

6

5

1,239

46

3

92

4

24

1

5,802

640

5,648

128

787

4

171

47

49

0

$6,261

$2,594

$3,110

$3,195

$1,364

$103

$0

$0

$2,298

$0

$0

$2,563

$0

$0

$0

$25,869

$3,725

$16,124

$369

$0

$0

$7,474

$4,049

$0

$2,980

TOTALS 49,929 5,355 17,795 $82,078

*Not included in Book Vote 44% of the collection is less than 5 years old and approximately 100% is less than 10 years old.

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TABLE 2 BORROWERS REGISTRATON STATISTICS AT 30 JUNE 2017

Library TOTAL Adult Young Adult

Junior Richmond

Valley Kyogle Lismore Other

Casino * 8,675 7,534 339 802 7,820 344 165 346

Kyogle * 3,956 3,499 112 345 13 3,734 81 128

Evans Head 2,300 2,094 41 165 1,948 3 27 322

Mobile * 1,260 799 71 390 565 576 58 61

Coraki * 320 244 19 57 310 0 2 8

REGIONAL TOTALS

16,511 14,170 582 1,759 10,656 4,657 333 865

* Young Adult borrowers are aged between 14 years and 16 years. 10,258 female, 6,200 male and 53 organisations

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

2014/15 2015/16 2016/17

Casino

Kyogle

Evans Head

Mobile

Coraki

New Membersby Branch

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TABLE 3 CIRCULATION STATISTICS - 1 JULY 2016 TO 30 JUNE 2017

Library Adult Fiction

Large Print

Adult Non Fiction

Periodicals Audio Books

DVD Software Adult Total

Junior Total

Bulk Loans

Grand Total

Casino

Kyogle

Evans Head

Mobile

Coraki

27,942

10,095

10,230

3,245

601

6,082

1,374

974

543

96

12,409

3,786

2,188

1,310

283

3,752

1,379

542

371

46

1,247

1,023

326

208

25

6,569

2,850

1,317

886

197

9

2

0

0

0

58,010

20,509

15,577

6,563

1,248

20,145

8,090

5,032

7,714

622

13,428

1,320

60

9,966

0

91,583

29,919

20,669

24,243

1,870

REGIONAL TOTALS

52,113 9,069 19,976 6,090 2,829 11,819 11 101,907 41,603 24,774 168,284

New Children’s space at the Casino Library

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TABLE 4 BREAKDOWN OF JUNIOR CIRCULATION STATISTICS - 1 JULY 2016 TO 30 JUNE 2017

Library Picture Book

Easy Junior

Junior Fiction

Teen Fiction

Compact Discs

Junior Audio Books

Junior Tape/CD & Text

Junior Music CD

Junior Non Fiction

Junior Software

Junior DVD

Teen Audio

Teen Periodical

Junior Total

Casino 8,408 2,275 2,698 1,610 1,442 136 54 47 1,524 0 1,895 24 32 20,145

Kyogle 2,323 1,180 1,057 826 523 50 43 4 870 4 1,203 7 0 8,090

Evans Head 2,735 555 492 181 400 0 82 0 172 0 411 4 0 5,032

Mobile 2,821 1,065 1,080 315 166 68 35 6 1,086 0 981 0 91 7,714

Coraki 377 81 50 14 1 0 0 0 88 0 10 1 0 622

REGIONAL

TOTALS 16,664 5,156 5,377 2,946 2,532 254 214 57 3,740 4 4,500 36 123 41,603

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TABLE 5 STOCK/SERVICES ACTIVITES

LOCALITY DISTRIBUTION OF STOCK AT 30/6/2017

Casino 23,907

Kyogle 12,314

Evans Head 6,361

Coraki 1,625

Mobile Library 3,598

(i) Stock Movement within Region

Also: Processing 252 Stack 871 Long Overdue 28 In-transit 170

(ii) Inter-Library Loans (Document Delivery)

Specific requests to other Libraries -558 Successful requests -473 Unsuccessful requests -85 Specific requests sent to other libraries -252

(iii) Satisfied reserves – 9,986

Unsatisfied reserves – (including cancelled reserves) -1,482 (iv) Internet services – 17,509

Casino 7,752; Kyogle 3,148; Evans Head 6,380; Mobile Library 143; Coraki 55

(v) Wi-Fi services – 20,767

Casino – 13,185 Kyogle – 5,304 Evans Head – 2,176 Mobile – 102

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Tech Savvy Computer Class at Casino Library

Pop-up Library at Casino Railway Station Pop-up Library at Kyogle Swimming Pool

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Casino Library prior to the refurbishment

Casino Library after the Refurbishment in March 2017

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Casino Library during the refurbishment

Casino Library after the refurbishment