{"id":8053,"date":"2020-09-06T15:54:33","date_gmt":"2020-09-06T15:54:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=8053"},"modified":"2020-09-06T15:54:33","modified_gmt":"2020-09-06T15:54:33","slug":"nsws-most-digitally-advanced-library-opens-in-newcastle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2020\/09\/06\/nsws-most-digitally-advanced-library-opens-in-newcastle\/","title":{"rendered":"NSW's most digitally advanced library opens in Newcastle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The most digitally advanced library\u00a0in NSW\u00a0is set to open Monday on the ground floor of the\u00a0City of Newcastle\u2019s\u00a0new Customer Service Centre\u00a0in Newcastle West.
\nThe Digital Library\u00a0offers visitors a range of\u00a0state-of-the-art\u00a0digital\u00a0technologies including a podcasting studio, a\u00a04.5m\u00a0x\u00a01.6m\u00a0interactive digital wall that tells the story of local suburbs, as well as videos promoting the city, Google Earth, various live streams and a host of other learning materials.
\nThe Digital Library also includes an industrial 3D printer, a programable robot, and\u00a0only the second\u00a0digital multimedia \u2018Magic Box\u2019\u00a0anywhere in the world,\u00a0which provides a\u00a0hands-free\u00a0way of reading the more than\u00a0400,000 items in the City\u2019s Heritage Collections, including about 1,500 rare books.
\n\"Digital-Library-web-2.jpg\"Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes with Pepper the programmable robot.<\/sup><\/strong>
\nThe Digital\u00a0Library\u00a0also breaks new ground in\u00a0terms\u00a0of the collection on offer.\u00a0Rather\u00a0than offer up a single copy of every book as done in a traditional library,\u00a0the Digital Library stocks\u00a0up to\u00a010\u00a0copies of the latest and most popular books, CDs and DVDs. Older books can be ordered and delivered to the Digital\u00a0Library for pick-up.
\nThe process of borrowing and returning an item is also fully automated, allowing library staff to dedicate time to enabling digital learning\u00a0rather than being behind a desk.
\nLarge touch screens offer\u00a0up digitised copies of\u00a0more than 6,000\u00a0newspapers\u00a0and\u00a0magazines from\u00a0123 countries\u00a0around the world.
\nTablets and personal computers are available free of charge, as well as free\u00a0Wi-Fi\u00a0and online games inspired by literary classics. The entire\u00a0Newcastle Libraries\u2019\u00a0collection is also available for download to your personal device, enabling people to read books from their phones or tablets rather than the traditional\u00a0approach of\u00a0borrowing\u00a0a physical book\u00a0to carry home.
\nThe Library has been designed\u00a0so that the space can be\u00a0quickly\u00a0converted to\u00a0a\u00a0Council Chamber\u00a0for the twice monthly evening meeting\u00a0of Councillors.
\nThe ground floor of the Council Administration Centre also features a new Customer Service Centre for residents who need to meet with staff for matters such as development applications.\u00a0Return visitors will immediately notice the\u00a0introduction\u00a0of a concierge service,\u00a0inspired by Service NSW\u2019s popular one stop shops throughout the state.
\nThe total cost of the Digital Library is $2.8\u00a0million and was approved by Council\u00a0in 2019.
\nLord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the considered, flexible layout of\u00a0the CAC\u2019s ground floor\u00a0made it a\u00a0brilliant space in which to learn and master new digital\u00a0technologies\u00a0that are now available free to everyone young and old alike.
\n\u201cI\u2019m very pleased to be able to invite the\u00a0community into this\u00a0digital\u00a0space, which completes our transition from the Roundhouse,\u00a0the old Council administration building\u00a0which was sold in 2018 and is now just months from becoming the city\u2019s first five-star hotel,\u201d the Lord Mayor said.
\n\u201cWhether you need to\u00a0enquire about a DA,\u00a0speak with a member of the Customer Service team or\u00a0access the\u00a0hundreds of\u00a0thousands of\u00a0items\u00a0in the City\u2019s e-Library catalogue,\u00a0the City Administration Centre\u00a0offers a seamless experience for you to get the most out of your visit.\u201d
\n\"Digital-Library-web-1-1.jpg\"(L-R): Manager Libraries and Learning Suzie Gately, Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes and Manager Customer Experience Deborah Moldrich inside the new Digital Library and Customer Service Centre.<\/sup><\/strong>
\nManager Customer Experience,\u00a0Deborah\u00a0Moldrich,\u00a0said the Customer\u00a0Experience\u00a0team was\u00a0looking forward\u00a0to sharing\u00a0the new space with the public.
\n\u201cWe are the first point of contact for the community\u00a0and we think they\u2019ll love the new, modern\u00a0digital\u00a0amenities\u00a0just as much as we do,\u201d Ms Moldrich said.
\nManager Libraries and Learning, Suzie Gately,\u00a0said the Digital Library space was an innovative exchange for City and Library services.
\n\u201cThe Digital Library forms part of Council\u2019s unanimously supported 2019-2029 Library Strategy to create contemporary and connected library facilities\u00a0to\u00a0support lifelong learning, and that\u2019s precisely what we\u2019ve delivered here at\u00a012 Stewart Avenue<\/u>.
\n\u201cWe are extremely proud to be able to promote our city as having the most digital advanced library in NSW for learning, whether it be for children or adults. Technologies such as the free podcasting studio are about ensuring our community have the digital skills required\u00a0to\u00a0secure jobs\u00a0over the coming years,\u201d Ms Gately said.
\nDue to COVID-19, customers are encouraged to continue to use phone and digital channels to access support from the Customer Service team\u00a0and\u00a0make cashless payments\u00a0where possible.
\nFunding of $2,128,835 towards the cost of the project was provided\u00a0via the 2015 sale of the former Newcastle School of Arts that was dedicated to\u00a0be\u00a0used for a new library.
\nUntimed parking exists within 250 metres of the Digital\u00a0Library\u00a0along Parry, Dennison, Station and Warrah Streets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The most digitally advanced library\u00a0in NSW\u00a0is set to open Monday on the ground floor of the\u00a0City of Newcastle\u2019s\u00a0new Customer Service Centre\u00a0in Newcastle West. The Digital Library\u00a0offers visitors a range of\u00a0state-of-the-art\u00a0digital\u00a0technologies including a podcasting studio, a\u00a04.5m\u00a0x\u00a01.6m\u00a0interactive digital wall that tells the story of local suburbs, as well as videos promoting the city, Google Earth, various live … Continue reading “NSW's most digitally advanced library opens in Newcastle”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8053\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}