Cultural facilities to re-open their doors across Lake Mac City
- May 29, 2020
- 4 min read
Lake Mac Libraries branches, the Museum of Art and Culture, and the Visitor Information Centre will re-open from Monday 1 June, following an easing of restrictions from the NSW Government.
Lake Macquarie Mayor Cr Kay Fraser said she is pleased to see facilities re-open to the community across the City.“I am excited that our facilities will open their doors from next Monday but I would like to remind users of these facilities to continue to practice social distancing, safe hygiene and to follow the latest advice from the NSW Government,” Cr Fraser said.
“While we were closed, we took advantage of the situation to complete a major refurbishment at Morisset Library to provide an improved experience for users of this facility. I look forward to seeing how the community responds to the upgrade.”
The refresh involved installation of new shelving, signage and furniture, while the interior was freshly painted to complete the transformation.
A change in layout has also created more space within the venue and provides a modern ‘look and feel’ to enhance the user experience.
Lake Macquarie City Council’s Manager Arts Culture and Tourism Jacqui Hemsley said significant changes have been made to the operations of these facilities to ensure the safety of the community.
“Council is following the latest advice from NSW Health and will be implementing a range of strict protocols to ensure the safety of everyone in the community,” Ms Hemsley said.
“This includes limiting the number of people inside facilities, implementing social distancing measures across all venues and ensuring appropriate sanitation procedures are followed.”
All venues will feature new signage to highlight social distancing, hand sanitizer will be readily available and facilities will be regularly cleaned.
“I’d strongly encourage our community to continue to interact with us digitally where possible. Our new Lake Mac Libraries app is now available to download with users able to track loans, access e-books and search the entire 600,000-plus catalogue to view and reserve items at any branch,” Ms Hemsley said.
“We will also have new, easy-to-use self-checkouts available at Belmont, Charlestown, Cardiff, Speers Point, Swansea and Toronto Libraries.
“We are offering a special exclusive desk service for vulnerable people in our community. If you identify as a vulnerable member you can call ahead of your visit so we can make sure staff are available to assist you or we can reserve you a book so you can nip in and collect, like a click and collect service.
“We also encourage those who may feel anxious about visiting our libraries to go to one of our larger branches with additional space – like Swansea, Toronto and Charlestown.”
For more information about changes to Council services and facilities, visit lakemac.com.au/COVID-19/Changes-to-services-and-facilities.
Changes to services
Lake Mac Libraries
For opening hours of your local branch, check the website
Wide range of new items is available across all library branches including fiction and non-fiction titles, DVDs and the latest magazines.
Computers and free Wi-Fi will be available at all Lake Mac Libraries branches with appropriate sanitation and social distancing measures in place. There will be a 15-minute time limit for computer use.
A number of branches have been re-configured to make browsing easier for borrowers.
Customers must be a Lake Mac Libraries member to enter the facility. If they aren’t a member they will be required to sign up to become one when entering the facility to assist with contact tracing. Customers will be encouraged to limit their visits to under 20 minutes
Museum of Art and Culture (MAC) – Booragu
lMAC will be open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-4.30pm
The hugely popular First Class 19 and Guan Wei exhibitions have both been extended and will be available for public viewing.
The Sculpture Cafe will re-open, Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-2pm with takeaway food and coffee available, plus daily specials.
Submissions for Reconnected: A Recovery Story are now open. The exhibition provides local artists the opportunity to have their work featured and celebrates creativity and emerging from isolation.
The second round of Creative Grants is now available for local creatives – with up to $2500 in funding available.
The #MACTriangle Challenge has been launched on MAC’s social channels. The promotion encourages the community to create artwork of any kind but it must include a triangle in some way. A range of MAC programs, activities and resources are available online.
MAC’s Cultural Collection is gradually being digitalised on E-Hive, kids art activities are available on the MAC website and there are artist interviews to view on the MAC YouTube channel.
Visitor Information Centre – Swansea
The Visitor Information Centre at Swansea has been relocated upstairs and is now co-located with the Swansea Library.
All the existing resources and assistance is still available; however, there is now more space for recharging devices, reading brochures and accessing SEEN@Swansea Gallery, library services, free Wi-Fi and amenities.
This change will provide the community and visitors with a consolidated service and will also allow the library to operate on Sundays.
