New Library and Cultural Centre for Parkes

Image: The new Parkes Library and Cultural Centre – Image: Parkes Shire Council

Residents of NSW’s Central West celebrated the opening of a new learning and cultural facility last month at the Parkes Library. The expansion was made possible with funding from Create Infrastructure’s Regional Cultural Fund.

The new indoor and outdoor facility offers the Parkes Shire community an innovative and dynamic art, cultural and education space, with a brand-new intergenerational Makerspace Studio that will provide a wide range of creative learning opportunities, experiences and events.

Image: Some of the library’s new facilities – Image: Parkes Shire Council

Other features include new lounge areas, meeting and quiet study spaces, a dedicated room for local studies with access to ancestry.com and expanded indoor and outdoor spaces for children’s and early learning programs.

The Parkes Library and Cultural Centre embraces the idea of Lifelong Learning as its primary objective, allowing the local community and visitors to the region to enjoy greater access to educational, cultural and social opportunities.

The new facilities provide opportunities from birth through to tertiary studies to support those who are wanting to further their education, as well as encouraging the more mature members of the community to share their knowledge and skills and learn new ones.

The Parkes Library and Cultural Centre will also be home to a new Country Universities Centre which will provide the regional community with opportunities for higher education study without having to relocate to the city.

Image: Top: The new Parkes Library and Cultural Centre – Image: Parkes Shire Council. Middle: Some of the library’s new facilities – Image: Parkes Shire Council.

Published: 17 December 2020