Consulting for the future

With the development of the city centre, the Mt Barker Council has a once in a lifetime opportunity to develop a central hub for the town that includes key services like council offices and the library.

Because this is a rare opportunity, the council needs to get it right.

Options that the council is considering for the future of the library include relocation to the city centre, so it is reasonable that the council engages consultants to help inform what could be a major move.

However local resident Nathan Rogers raises a good point that, if the council is invested in the future of the library, now is a good time to find out exactly what the community wants.

Library services can take lots of different forms and include lots of different services – from mobile library vans to bustling one-stop-shop community hubs.

They also vary greatly in size and capacity depending on the needs of the local community.

So it is prudent for the council to do broader consultation that takes into account residents’ visions and needs.

It is important that the council brings the community along with it as it plans for the future of the library, especially given it is a service used by all ages and demographics – from the elderly to young families, to students to children.

Ideally the future model of the library would take the form that the majority of residents want to see, and not just what might be determined to be the most cost-effective or straight-forward solution.

The council has committed to undertaking consultation through its engagement with consultants AEC, but it is unclear how thorough that consultation will be.

Mr Rogers argues that consultation should involve a comprehensive library needs analysis, similar to the one the Victor Harbor Council recently carried out.

And now does seem to be an ideal time to carry out that kind of broad, all-encompassing survey of residents about the future of the region’s library services, before any plans are locked in stone.

While the council appears to have made up their minds about the approach to inform the future library model, it is not too late to take a broader approach and may well save time and money in the future.