FROM THE NEWSPAPERS - 1953 - THE YALLOURN PUBLIC LIBRARY

THE YALLOURN PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Free Library Movement of Victoria was formed in 1937 and within a short space of time, the community of Yallourn had not only fully embraced the idea of ‘free loans’ (except on fictional titles) but had become the pace-setter in public library borrowings throughout the State.
The following article was published in ‘The Argus’ on the 2nd July 1953 and reported on the quantity of books being borrowed at the Yallourn Public Library in that period. The high number of loans, based on per-head of population, probably set some sort of record for library borrowings in Victoria. The headline for the article was ‘Library Gets Its Man.’

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July 2nd 1953 ‘THE ARGUS’ Page 23

LIBRARY GETS ITS MAN
As surely as the North West Mounted gets its man, so does the public library at Yallourn get its reader.
It works on a simple but very effective plan to encourage the reading of more informative books as against pure entertainment - it charges only for fiction, and makes no charge for lending non-fiction works or the classics.
The children's section is entirely free.
Probably no rural community in Victoria has a higher book reading tally a head of population than Yallourn, and the library is a fine, modern institution.
On the roll of the library, which, under the direction of Miss C. R. Shepley, operates the most modern practices, are 4000 senior borrowers, and 2300 juniors.
It claims the record for Victoria in its borrowings, assessed on a total population basis. In May alone, the children's section issued on loan more than 2500 books.
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FOOTNOTES...
1. The Yallourn Public Library opened in October 1946. The building, which was situated in the Town Square, had acted as a Casualty Clearing Centre in earlier times. In the mid-1950’s, when the new library had been constructed (next to the National Bank), the area became the site of Kernot Hall.

2. It is known that in 1949….
“More than £38,000 will be distributed by the Free Library Service Board during the next few weeks to approved free libraries throughout Victoria. This compares with £16,000 distributed last year….” NLA website.

3. Of the £38,000 the Yallourn Library received £1,101; whereas other country libraries such as Warragul (£175), Bendigo (£669), Kerang ( £845), Euroa (£530), Horsham ( £325), Mildura (£460),Mirboo North (£90) and the Geelong City Library ( £700) received considerably less in grants.

4. Prior to computerization, details of library book loans involved a card-file system and stamping the return dates on an insert slip at the back of the library book. The cataloguing of books in those early days was based on a card and drawer-file system.

5. It is known that in earlier times, books were available at the RSL clubrooms and later at the R.D. Dixon Library (See ‘Morwell Advertiser’ 26th October 1939).

6. The new Yallourn library was opened in November 1956.

7. Miss C. Shepley, mentioned in the news report above, later married David Mattingley. Christobel Mattingley is one of Australia’s foremost writers of children’s stories. Some of her well-known titles for young readers include: ‘Picnic Dog’, ‘Emu Kite’, ‘Windmill at Magpie Creek’, ‘Tiger’s Milk’, ‘The Jetty’ and ‘The Battle of the Galah Trees.’

8. Senior librarians at Yallourn included Mr Bruce Ponting, Miss Maycock, Miss M. Dyson and Miss Johns.

9. Sonja Ostlund (Bates), Fae Lawson (Horman), Anne Ritchie, Marjory Robson, Valerie Barr( Flanagan), Flora Love, Bev Johnstone, Janice Evans, Margaret Broekstra, Carol Stitson and Lois Gust (see photograph below) were members of the library staff at the Yallourn during that era.

10. According to Prue McGoldrick’s research, prominent members of the Yallourn Library Committee included: K. Lawton, T. Martin, G. Elliott. W. Johnston. V. McGoldrick, E. Callaway, Adams and A. McArthur.

11. In 1954, the ‘Morwell Advertiser’ (25th November) published the Annual Report of the Mirboo-Morwell-Yallourn Regional Library Committee. The statistics from the Yallourn Library are interesting to consider. Total loans from the Yallourn Library that year topped 100,000 books. The figures also included loans of books to local schools.

LIBRARY
Mirboo North - Adult Fiction 9218; Adult Non Fiction 1003; Total 10,221
Morwell - Adult Fiction 26,219; Adult Non Fiction 3,366; Children Fiction 14,721; Children Non Fiction 2,504; Total 46,810
Boolarra - Adult Fiction 1,394; Adult Non Fiction 120; Children Fiction 908; Children Non Fiction 196; Total 2,618
Yallourn - Adult Fiction 62,332; Adult Non Fiction 14,463; Children Fiction 24,046; Children Non Fiction 3,641; Total 104,482

12.As recorded on this website ….
“A new library was opened on 16 November 1956 ….on the site between the National Bank and the picture theatre, previously occupied by temporary shops and a bus shelter.” Virtual Yallourn 2013.

13.The Yallourn loans may have been boosted by the workers of the West and Eastern camps who availed themselves of the library services at Yallourn.

14.The library was also the centre of numerous community activities in the town during the late 1950’s and 1960’s. Organizations such as the Council of Adult Education, Film Society and the Yallourn Art Group held meetings in the community meeting room at the library. The Yallourn Library also served as the headquarters for the SECV Library Service.

15.The Yallourn Library was a very special place in the town and, in an era before television and reliable radio reception, books added much to the lives of workers and their families; and as Andrew Carnegie once said…
“A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people. It is a never failing spring in the desert.”

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THANK YOU
Sincere thanks to Lois Gust (mentioned above) for her kind assistance and for providing a photograph for this article.
The main sources used in this research were various metropolitan and local newspapers, images from the Museum Victoria collection, articles from this website and Prue McGoldrick’s ‘Yallourn Was.’
Research, writing and the presentation of photographs for this story were completed by Julie George and Roger Spaull for the Virtual Yallourn website in August 2015.
The news report has been faithfully reproduced from the original copy and the only changes have been to font style, font size and spacing of paragraphs to enhance the story for the Virtual Yallourn website.
THE END