By Victoria Stone-Meadows
THE Casey Cardinia Library Corporation is celebrating their 20th year of operation this year, but the employees have a history with the library that predates its incorporation.
The Casey Cardinia Library Corporation was gazetted on 26 September 1996 and the first day of operation was 1 October that same year.
Many of the staff members have stayed on during the different incarnations of the region’s libraries and they shared some wisdom and stories to celebrate the library’s birthday.
Vasu has been employed by the library in one form or another for 40 years and says she wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.
“I really like my workmates, they have always been companionable to work with, and I like being with books and reading books,” she said.
“You can’t read all of them unfortunately.”
Meredith started working at the library 25 years ago when it was located next to the old shire offices, and says the new building is a vast improvement over how it used to be.
“Our air-con was overhead fans and open windows,” she said.
“Cranbourne was just a county town then, and it was very much a small community library at the centre of the country town.”
The library staff said there was a special way you became a real part of the community when you worked at the library.
“I knew people from back then and still know the same people so had the continuity of the public and be part of their lives which I really enjoy,” she said.
“You get very attached, and it’s a lovely part of our work is that we become an extension of people’s families.”
Members of the community also get attached to the library and find themselves more a part of it as they age Patricia said.
“One of our current staff members used to come into story times at the Cranbourne library,” she said,
“Staff there all knew her and she got to know the staff; she grew up and became a shelver and a junior library officer and is now a home library service officer.”
With the development of new technologies, libraries have needed to adapt and learn to work with these new technologies.
“When we first came to Cranbourne, we didn’t have the internet,” Pam said.
“The first roll out of internet was to senior managers and a select few emails, one foot after another now we can’t operate our daily lives without the internet.”
“Every introduction of technology has been time saving for us,” Patricia said.
“It’s improved the quality of service we can provide. When I started, we were still stamping dates in the front of the books and I would go home covered in ink.”
As technology develops and communities change, the staff at The Casey Cardinia Library Corporation believe that they and the books will be around for a long while yet.
“Personally, I like to read a real book, it gives me more pleasure rather than looking at a small screen, I would be very sad if the print book went away,” Vasu said.
Pam said that libraries would continue to evolve and be part of the community.
“Even the role of the library has changed and evolved into a space where people want to meet,” she said.
“It has become more a space and community environment.”
