Ermington Library, which is located on the corner of River Road and Lister Avenue next to the Ermington Police Station, opened on the Saturday 19 October 1963 at 3pm. The Parramatta City councillors had originally resolved on the motion that the library would open on the Saturday 12 October, and that public services would commence from Monday 14 October, but this opening was delayed as the Parramatta City Band was unavailable that day.
By the early 1960s many residents believed that they should not have to travel into Parramatta to borrow books from a library, and began lobbying Parramatta Council. There were reports in the local newspapers of hundreds of books lying idle in packing cases in the store rooms of the Parramatta City Library and this infuriated readers. By March 1961 the newspaper rumours included the proposal that council was considering establishing a library and community centre in Ermington. Within a few months this plan had been ratified by council in principle, but was clearly dependent on the sale of the Parramatta School of Arts. As this stage the estimated cost for the construction of the new Ermington Library was £7,000.
With the eventual sale of the Parramatta School of Arts raising £75,000, the proceeds from this sale were quickly diverted towards the construction of the new Ermington Library and the construction of a new central library. In July 1962 the floor plans were submitted to council and by February 1963 the plans and specifications were ready and the tenders advertised. The tender of Rowell and Muston Pty. Ltd. in the sum of £9,369 was accepted by April and the colour scheme for the library was accepted by July. By September the opening times at the new branch were decided upon, and the library was now ready for its opening in October. The plans for the creation of a parking area adjacent to the new library began the following month.
With the opening of the Ermington Community Hall next to the library on the Saturday 5 March 1966, the library’s place in the Ermington community was reinforced. The introduction of air-conditioning in the library in 1970 also assisted in making it a leisure and recreation centre for residents.
Source: Vertical File Collection
In 1990 a new extension was added to Ermington Library and in 1999 the library was refurbished as part of Parramatta Council’s $200,000 library refurbishment program. The improvements aimed to include more space for outreach activities, such as story time and school holiday activities, space for technology including CD-ROMS, word processing and eventually internet access. More efficient lighting, automatic doors, public toilets, ergonomic furniture and improved access for elderly and disabled patrons were also new additions. There was also the construction of a wall of glass bricks to allow natural light to filter into the building. The project cost Parramatta City Council more than $280,000. The Parramatta Lord Mayor Paul Garrard officially reopened the library on the 22 May 1999 with the Ermington Police and the Rydalmere Fire Brigade amongst the guests. Bagpipes played by Scottish piper Ted Armitage, and the Rydalmere Public School students dancing and reciting poems were also part of the celebrations. The reopening was also met with the news that an after-hours returns chute would be installed shortly.
Patrons visiting Ermington Library over the following years would have seen many advances. 1991-1992 saw the computerisation of the Parramatta Library service from a manual system to an integrated library management system with 300,000 items being transferred onto computer and a database of registered borrowers being created. New collections were added and grew quickly such as the video collection, the CD-Rom collection which covered a range of subject areas from legal to biographical topics and multicultural resources. In December 1993 it was announced that access to the internet would be made available at all the Parramatta libraries including Ermington Library. A family at Ermington would now be able to access information online from their local library.
Ermington Library has participated in many engaging initiatives to improve literacy in the local community. This has included a Homework Support Program to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged youth for primary and high school students attending local schools or living in the area. Ermington Library has also painted itself red as part of Parramatta City Council and Families NSW initiative to promote the importance of reading to children from birth as well as to encourage parents to read to their children daily. The library’s reading mascot Redsee the Readasaurus joins in the singing and dancing to entertain the children. The library has also hosted a mobile petting zoo with native animals including an echidna, lizard, cockatoo and possum under the supervision from Taronga Park educators to create an interactive and educational experience for the children.
Ermington Library has also organised Smart phone, Tablet and Laptop training for its patrons. Recently, to celebrate Australian Library and Information Week, the library held a Family Trivia Night where the staff put together a quiz of all things about Aussies to have a fun night.
Ermington Library’s Opening Hours are:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 8pm
Saturday 9:30am - 12pm
Closed on Sundays and public holidays
Neera Sahni, Research Services Leader, City of Parramatta, 2021
References:
City of Parramatta Council. (1862-2019). Minute Books, Parramatta Municipal Council. PRS21.
Library Delays Anger Residents. (1961, March 22). The Cumberland Argus, p. 12. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131329517
Main Hall For Centre Is First. (1961, October 11). The Cumberland Argus, p. 21. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131331263
Parramatta City Council – Library branches. (VF 828-832). Heritage Centre Research Library Vertical File Collection.
Ermington. (VF 251). Heritage Centre Research Library Vertical File Collection.
Library opening. (1999, June 2). The Parramatta Sun, p. 10.
Improvements a hit. (1999, June 2). The Parramatta Advertiser, p. 21.
Homework support. (2005, August 17). The Parramatta Advertiser, p. 4.
Petting zoo goes mobile. (2011, December 14). Northern District Times, p. 44.
City of Parramatta. (2021). Family Trivia Night at Ermington Library. Retrieved from https://www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/events/family-trivia-night-at-ermington-library