Libraries date back thousands of years. And while, in an increasingly digital age, it'd be easy to assume that physical libraries have lost some of their importance.
But Elysa Dennis, manager of Yellamundie Library and museum services for Liverpool Council in Sydney, said it couldn't be further from the truth; they're "bigger and more popular than ever".
Named after the local Dharug word for storyteller, the Yellamundie Library is a multi-storey circular building with workstations, a children's section, a public gallery and more than 2km of books — among other items on its shelves.
It opened in 2023 and this year was one of four libraries shortlisted in a competition by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.
Others in the category included the 75,000-square metre Beijing Library, which went on to win the honour.
Yellamundie is a little more modest in scale — but nevertheless serves a vital role in the community.
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The enduring importance of public libraries in the digital age
SBS News
26/10/202409:41
Dennis said libraries go beyond just being a source of knowledge — at their core, they're about people.
"If you're here at 3 o'clock, you will not find a spare seat," she told SBS News.
"The kids are everywhere, which is absolutely the way we want it. And they have a really strong sense of ownership with this building.
"A lot of the feedback we get, particularly from the kids, is, 'We can't believe we got something like this in Liverpool'. They are so proud."
Credit: Brett Boardman / Liverpool city council / FJC Studio
'Education, connection and heart for a community'
Anastasia, who was at the library with her 18-month-old daughter, said libraries still hold significance in the age of the internet.
"I've just seen that through my daughter with me reading to her and her reading books," she said.
"She's developed language and she prefers it to looking at cartoons on TV."
Anastasia said she inherited an understanding of the value of libraries from her mother.
"My mum brought me to the library, and now I'm bringing my daughter to the same library."
"The existence of the library is still much more important than we think," a man who recently migrated from Saudi Arabia said while visiting Yellamundie.
He said he visits libraries with his partner and young child because some experiences cannot be replicated online.
"Most of the people, I think they prefer to touch the books," he said.
"It's much more motivating."
Dennis argues that libraries are the "most democratic space" a council can build for its community.
"Everybody is welcome in a library. You don't need a particular reason to be coming to the library. There's something to do or to see or to have or to connect or to learn in a library for just about every member of the community," she said.
She said Yellamundie does "exactly what a library is supposed to do".
"It's supposed to lift people up, and it's supposed to give people opportunities. It's supposed to allow them spaces to connect, to form new friendships, and to aspire. It's all about education, connection and heart for a community."
The 2023 Australian public libraries statistical report showed there were just over 55 million physical visits to Australian libraries between 2021 and 2022. Credit: Brett Boardman / Liverpool city council / FJC Studio
At their most basic level, libraries are about transmitting and communicating knowledge. Some libraries have adapted the way they share that knowledge.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, more people than ever before accessed digital library content.
The Australian public libraries statistical report, released in 2023, showed there were just over 55 million physical visits to Australian libraries between 2021 and 2022.
The number of library website visits reached just over 50.3 million, according to the same report.
The report said the physical visit numbers reported were down due to the pandemic.
Trish Hepworth, acting CEO of the Australian Library and Information Association, said physical visitation levels have returned to what they were pre-pandemic, with digital offerings continuing to grow.
She said more people turned to eBooks and audiobooks during the pandemic when they couldn't get to a library.
"We are still seeing a higher level of use of digital content, but we are also seeing people coming back to that physical space," she said.
Hepworth said the issue of limited resources is a challenge for particularly public libraries.
"How do you manage to continue to provide both that fantastic physical space that's obviously so valued and also that continued growth in digital and eContent?"
Trish Hepworth, acting CEO of the Australian Library and Information Association, says library visitation levels have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
'The physical book is still king'
Dennis said while digital loans are booming at Yellamundie, when it comes to one of life's essentials, teaching children to read, old methods are still the way to go.
"The physical book is still king for us. We are at about a hundred thousand for digital loans. And that number is increasing. It's doubling. It's a different user experience," she said.
"The convenience of digital is fabulous, but there are some things that digital doesn't do as well as physical, particularly when you're talking about teaching children to read. The physicality of turning a page, it helps cement that learning and that literacy process. So, particularly in the children's space, the picture book is always going to have a spot."
And in an era when loneliness is affecting more and more people, having somewhere to go that's free can be an important circuit breaker, Dennis said.
"Sometimes it's just having a connection with someone.
"For someone who's living on their own, that might be the most important interaction they have on that day. It might be a conversation they have with someone else that they're sharing a newspaper.
"We have a group of elderly gentlemen who come in and read their home language newspapers every morning. And that's their morning routine. They come in, and they read the newspapers on their own, and then they have a chat about it, and then they go off to their own homes. Where else do you do that?"
