Transformation of Coffs Harbour catches eye of the Australian Financial Review

Libraries around Australia could take a leaf out of this one’s book after it was short-listed for a prestigious accolade.

Children and teens are making the most of the innovative equipment, including sound editing software, available to them in the teen corner at Yarrila Place.

Modernising the local library to attract and retain new users has put the City of Coffs Harbour Library on the map.

And now – it has made the Australian Financial Review’s shortlist for BOSS Most Innovative Companies, for businesses that are challenging the status quo.

There’s been more to the facility than books for decades but the latest iteration at Yarrila Place has taken the city’s library to the next level.

Did you know you can borrow lego sets, stem sets, cake tins and even musical instruments from the City of Coffs Harbour library at Yarrila Place?

There’s also a teen corner with sound editing software and gaming stations which has been in high demand since the library’s opening day.

Official opening of Yarrila Place, Coffs Harbour on September 16, 2023. Picture: Chris Knight

City of Coffs Harbour General Manager Natalia Cowley told the Coffs Coast Advocate there has been a revolution of thought to modernise the library and attract a younger crew.

“It’s facilities that most, that many cosmopolitan cities don’t have,” Ms Cowley said.

“We now have 55 per cent of our community as members of the library, where the highest benchmark that has been reached previously in cosmopolitan cities, is 60 per cent,” she said.

“We’ve really stepped away and transformed industry standards around what can be possible in a space like this.”

The short-listing comes as the NSW Minister for the Arts the Hon John Grahams that books in community languages are experiencing a surge in demand across the state.

“NSW is one of the most diverse places in the world, with over 280 languages spoken at home,” he said.

Ms Cowley told the Coffs Coast Advocate the city library is proud to also offer a wide range of books in community languages from Indigenous and Aboriginal languages to others such as Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi to name a few.

“Since we run the Australian citizenship program, we get a good sense of the cultures that we are accepting as citizens.

“And so as a result, we have got Filipino books and information, we’ve got Arabic, we’ve got Chinese, we’ve got a whole bunch of that cultural educational space, that can be can be accessed by our more multicultural society,” Ms Cowley said.