Parkes Library Expansion and Country University Centre

⁠⁠⁠Parkes Shire Council has secured funding to reinvent Parkes Library with an innovative and modern expansion project to deliver new dynamic art and cultural spaces including a gallery and an intergenerational maker space.

This award-winning library service is the Shire's main cultural space and the community's desire and need for cultural and learning opportunities and experiences has outgrown the 17 year old building.

The new architecturally designed indoor and outdoor space will provide area for gallery, maker space, meeting rooms, space for children's programs, quiet study, places to connect with technology and 'green areas': truly a space for everyone.

This project is a result of years of community consultation to develop a facility that will continue to meet the needs of the Shire and region, providing access to art and cultural experiences now currently unavailable.

Parkes Shire Council has been successful in obtaining funding via the Regional Cultural Fund along with other funding sources to deliver the Parkes Library Expansion.

The current Parkes Library building was officially opened July 2000. This building was purpose built and has served the community well but is showing signs of deterioration and is becoming severely restricted in the services and access it can offer to its growing population and their changing needs.

Regular requests for meeting rooms from community groups and individuals cannot be met and have to be denied due to space restrictions. Many of the programs for children are tight on space, for example, Story time sessions are severely restricted resulting in the area being cramped and uncomfortable.

Opportunities to host travelling and local exhibitions are limited due to lack of space or conflicting uses for facilities. A further consequence is the inability to add new programs and activities.

Investment in arts and cultural facilities in regional NSW drive dynamic and renewed town centres, with facilities and programs that attract local residents and visitors and give regional artists more opportunities. Local cultural centres are often based around libraries like the one in Parkes Shire and become a focus for creative industries and lead outreach and collaborations across the region. This project will help to achieve this key community function.

The Parkes Library expansion will allow Parkes Shire Library to offer not only its current award-winning programs but an even greater range of programs, events and workshops, including:
* annual literacy celebration Curiosity + Wonder
* children's early literacy and STEM programs
* disability group program (partnership with Currajong Disability Services)
* beginner computer classes
* school holiday programs for visiting groups including PCYC and Victoria Street Children's Centre
* Writers Group and Book Club
* maker workshops
* increased regular art exhibitions and greater access to them.