Funding boost for libraries across Queensland

Queensland public libraries and Indigenous Knowledge Centres will share in more than $890,000 for literacy programs including story trails, translating nursery rhymes into traditional languages, and pop-up libraries, thanks to investment from the Palaszczuk Government.

Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch said funding had been allocated to 28 councils across the state under the latest round of Public Library Grants to fund early literary programs such as First 5 Forever, and other public library programs that help educate Queensland communities.

“Libraries are vital community hubs that provide spaces and programs for learning, literacy and storytelling, and this funding will go a long way in providing learning and engagement opportunities for Queenslanders,” Minister Enoch said.

“These grants support councils to achieve local outcomes, reach communities and highlight the important role of public libraries play in our communities.

“The State Library of Queensland’s First 5 Forever program is an important early literacy program that helps set strong foundation literary skills for children aged five and under.”

Minister Enoch said this latest round of grants included two competitive rounds, the First 5 Forever Project Grants, which is part of the Palaszczuk Government’s annual $5 million program to specifically deliver this children’s program, and Strategic Priorities Grants, which supports councils carry out activities in their local libraries.

“These grants allow councils to apply for funding for specific programs that suit the needs of their communities,” Minister Enoch said.

The Palaszczuk Government, through the State Library of Queensland, provides annual support of about $30 million to more than 320 public libraries and Indigenous Knowledge Centres throughout Queensland.

State Librarian and Chief Executive Officer Vicki McDonald said the State Library was proud to work in partnership with more than 320 public libraries and Indigenous Knowledge Centres to advance digital inclusion and literacy.

“We were impressed by the number and quality of applications we received from councils across the state who want to improve literacy and engagement in their communities,” Ms McDonald said.

“It’s wonderful to see some councils using the funding to recognise the United Nation’s 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages, an initiative that we are also celebrating at State Library through exhibitions and programming.”

Contact your local public library or Indigenous Knowledge Centre to find out more about their programs.

A full list of grant recipients is below.

Grant recipients – Total: $894,995

• Aurukun Shire Council: $30,000 to work with students and Wik Elders to build a Bio-Cultural Catalogue and digital data base of the Koolkan Wetland area through intergenerational knowledge sharing, traditional storytelling, Wik Artists' expressive works and guided exploration of the Koolkan Wetland area.
• Brisbane City Council: $80,000 in total, including $30,000 toextend the reach of the council’s author talk program, through live-streaming and uploading to Facebook, and $50,000 as part of First 5 Forever program, to extend community outreach andtarget new audiences, including projects with first-time parents through the hospital and child health network and Indigenous organisations.
• Cairns Regional Council: $30,000 for Cairns Libraries to continue the dynamic program Full STEAM Ahead where Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics come together with a bang!
• Cloncurry Shire Council: $44,245 as part of the First 5 Forever program to engage the First Nations community and Local Elders who will be asked to provide cultural advice and present storytime sessions at the library. Library staff will benefit from cultural awareness training, participate in yarning circles and build inclusive relationships.
• Cook Shire Council: $12,960 for Council to work with First Nations artists and translate four popular nursery rhymes into local Aboriginal Guugu Yimithirr and Kuku Yalanji languages to be used in First 5 Forever Rhyme Time sessions at Cook Shire Libraries shared with the neighbouring Indigenous Knowledge Centres at Wujal Wujal and Hope Vale, and other community groups.
• Fraser Coast Regional Council: $16,373 to provide greater access for the community and install of hearing loops in the community Creative Spaces at the Hervey Bay and Maryborough libraries and a portable hearing augmentation system at the Tiaro Library for use in the Tiaro Community Centre space.
• Gladstone Regional Council: $9,000 for ‘STE(a)M Ahead and Who Arted,’ two after-school programs for students aged between 8 to 16 years. Students will learn digital literacy through activities that explore curiosity through scientific methods.
• Hinchinbrook Shire Council: $16, 309 to deliver First 5 Forever resources that capture unique stories from the three local language groups and extend the First 5 Forever programming to include monthly Indigenous focused and culturally appropriate early learning opportunities.
• Hope Vale Aboriginal Shire Council: $30,000 to improve and redevelop the entrance and foyer to the Hope Vale Indigenous Knowledge Centre and provide a welcoming feature for all visitors that would include historical and cultural displays.
• Livingstone Shire Council: $43,493 for a First 5 Forever van to provide a way to connect rural communities to programming and resources they may not have access to due to distance, social isolation or lack of transport.
• Lockyer Valley Regional Council: $30,000 for the Lockyer Valley Story Trail that will offer a unique experience for children and adults. The Story Trail will be placed on walking tracks at popular parks in the Lockyer Valley and tell a unique local story, share First 5 Forever messages in a fun and interactive way, and connect children and adults to their surroundings.
• Logan City Council: $78,315 in total, including $30,000 to make Logan Libraries more accessible for all by building on the success of the Logan Libraries’ accessibility and sensory spaces, and $48,315 for Logan’s Little Learning STARS as part of the First 5 Forever program, where expectant mothers, new parents and families with babies up to 18 months of age will be supported by increasing the opportunities for them to spend time playing and learning together.
• Longreach Regional Council: $14,000 to purchase and introduce an exciting and unusual new medium to the Longreach Library - an interactive floor with visual effects that turns the observer into a participant by touch or play.
• Mackay Regional Council: $29,935 for the Mackay Pop Up Library to promote library services and reach out to community residents who need them. Popping up in unique and unusual community locations such as; emergency evacuation centres, local markets, shopping centres, parks and community events.
• Mareeba Shire Council: $10, 092 to run the First 5 Forever - SPLASH AND SING at the Dimbulah Community Centre, a weekly pool-based rhyme time session that will include stories, rhymes and active movement songs for children aged from 6 months to 5 years.
• Moreton Bay Regional Council: $64,239 in total, including $29,100 to engage the First Nations peoples in Moreton Bay and the local communities to share the First Nations languages and reactivate the Welcoming Places in Moreton Bay Region Libraries, and $35,139 for the Festival of Play and Pop-Up Play Space, a First 5 Forever initiative that aims to extend children’s early literacy and language development through play.
• Noosa Shire Council: $7,000 to introduce pre-schoolers, toddlers and families to the language of the Gubbi Gubbi peoples through storytelling, song, and printed resources in recognition of the 2019 Year of Indigenous Languages.
• Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council: $10,000 for First 5 to You! A project that will increase the community’s participation in First 5 Forever programming whilst promoting the Indigenous Knowledge Centres at local events, markets and activities.
• Rockhampton Regional Council: $80,000 in total, including $30,000 for the Inaugural CQ Readers’ & Writer’s Festival that combines literary themes focusing on the rich diversity of subversive writing, using the springboard of Roald Dahl Day on Friday 13 September 2019, and $50,000 under the First 5 Forever program to support new parents and carers entering the First 5 Forever outreach space or libraries.
• Scenic Rim Regional Council: $49,500 for the First 5 Forever Travelling Van that will be able to connect with rural communities in their home spaces to provide support, share new ideas and hold innovative programs.
• Southern Downs Regional Council: $18,000 for the Southern Downs Libraries to partner with the custodians of significant local history collections - such as historical societies and museums - to digitise their records and catalogue them.
• Sunshine Coast Regional Council: $15,000 to provide the region with a podcasting studio or booth that includes recording equipment, editing software and effective sound minimisation treatment, and support this with a series of development sessions provided to customers by external specialists and library staff.
• Townsville City Council:  $79,928 in total, including $30,000 for the Townsville CityLibraries’ Entrepreneur-in-Residence project that will increase awareness of the value of entrepreneurship to the local economy and increase in the awareness of the library as a local resource, and $49,928 to extend the First 5 Forever strategies and key messages to deliver an introduction for families to explore STEAM through development of Sensory STEAM kits and take home activities. 
• Weipa Town Authority: $4,350 for the convertible PlaySpace that will allow staff to modify the library on a regular basis to keep the community interested and engaged in First 5 Forever programming.
• Western Downs Regional Council: $29,757 for the Western Downs Makerspace & Pop-up Tech Lab and to reinvigorate, reinvent and extend the existing creative spaces in the Dalby branch with a collection of new technology and programs.
• Whitsunday Regional Council: $23,500 under the First 5 Forever Program to create targeted resource kits for all four library branches within the Whitsunday Library Service that will encourage exploration of nutrition, physical activity and co-operative play.
• Woorabinda Aboriginal Shire Council: $20,000 for the Woorabinda Indigenous Knowledge Centre (IKC) will establish a "MakerSpace" to encourage our young people to develop an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics through interactive learning. Elders, community members and technical experts will work with IKC Staff to develop programs that incorporate a Cultural lens for technical learning.
• Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council: $15,000 for the Digital Campfire. A First 5 Forever initiative to recreate the traditional camp fire setting within the library and demonstrate how technology can promote knowledge sharing and cultural awareness. The participants, including dads, can learn about culture and share stories with their children. There will be a focus on language skills to nurture the local Yalingi language.
  

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