Late night Libraries

Libraries may become the next late night haunt following the City of Sydney Council’s Late Night Library program.

The program was designed to diversify and improve Sydney’s night time economy   extending the opening hours of Surry Hills Library on Thursday nights till 10.30pm.

The late night events included spooky story-telling, thought provoking debates, live music and film, and erotic fiction.

Since the program was launched in April, more than 2, 200 people have attended Late Night Library vents compared with 719 people attending other library programs over the same period of time.

The Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said: “Not only do these sessions provide an opportunity to bring some of Sydney’s most inspiring and talented people to the library, it provides some out-o -the-ordinary late night options for Sydneysiders  looking for interesting things to do during the week.”

The Late Night Library program won a NSW Public Library Marketing Award Programs Category) at the Public Library Conference, SWITCH, in November.

Following the success of the program, Customs House Library will launch a similar program, Library Up Late, targeting a slightly older demographic.

Library Up Late will kick off with a Mardi Gras  costume making  event in March next year followed by a schedule including,  Raunchy Romance  story time and a mythical session based famous ghosts of the Rocks.

Sydney of City Library Manager, avid Sharman, said the success of the program at Surry Hills Library is due to its time slot and its existing market.

So many performers would get up and the first thing they would say is that ‘I never thought I’d be performing in a library,” he said.

On a lighter hour, the Council has approved a tender to develop the second floor of Kings Cross Library into a space with a reading lounge, a children’s section and a computer training area.

Ms Moore said the unanimous approval reflected the desires of the community to turn the City’s libraries into a place which encourages social environments.

“Libraries can also be lively places where people get together, encouraging not just solitary reading but social interaction as well,” she said.

The new second floor will include a computer training area for up to 20 people and a meeting room holding 50 people that will be available for lease by community groups.

President of the Potts Point and Kings Cross Conservation Society, Andrew Woodhouse said he  applauds the Council for finally deciding to expand the library seven years after it opened but the development of level  two of the building’s three- level capacity simply isn’t enough.

“Now Council has woken up and finally decided to do something, but only for one floor; the remaining floor still lies vacant,” Mr Woodhouse said he requested a local history lab where audio and visual capabilities allow library-goers to appreciate the histories of the area as a potential development for the third floor.

“It would make a wonderful heritage museum and a general chill out space.”