Boronggook Library nears completion

THE new $9.15 million Boronggook Drysdale Library is being touted as the town’s next major gathering place and is weeks away from its April completion date.

Getting a sneak peak of the new facility on Wednesday last week (March 1) City of Greater Geelong Mayor Trent Sullivan, Bellarine Ward Councillor Jim Mason, Bellarine Alison Marchant MP and Vanessa Schernickau, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Geelong Regional Library Corporation were thrilled to see the outstanding new elements of the build.

While featuring a traditional Wadawurrung name that translates to the name of the area, the library shines with a new innovative circular design, a green rooftop and consists of communal multipurpose spaces, quiet study rooms, an adult changing facility and 4,300 plants and native species that will provide habitat for birds, bees and butterflies.

Cr Sullivan said he hoped the new library would be community gathering area for many years to come.

“We are pleased to see the new Drysdale Library nearing completion,” he said.

“Without a doubt, this space will provide a focal point for Drysdale and surrounding communities by bringing people together.”

Cr Mason said he admired the unique building design and its sustainable features including that of the circular design and terraced amphitheatre.

“From our visit we got to see and learn about the library’s innovative features, the green rooftop, brickwork façade and different internal aspects of the library,” Cr Mason said.

“It’s a really unique building and I hope it inspires the design of other new buildings in the region.”

Geelong Regional Library Corporation CEO Vanessa Schernickau hoped that the facility would play a critical role in supporting the mental and social wellbeing of the community.

“The new Boronggook Drysdale Library will be an incredible asset to the local community – from the dedicated children’s space to the thousands of new collection items to the rooftop garden,” she said.

“While our libraries will always provide spaces for people to read and connect to free Wi-Fi, libraries are no longer just about borrowing books.

“New libraries such as Boronggook have been designed with new ways of working in mind –there are light filled spaces to work and collaborate and affordable meeting rooms available to hire.

“We can’t wait to open the doors and welcome people into the incredible new Boronggook Drysdale Library.”