Gunnedah Library state winners

Gunnedah residents already knew there was something special about their library. That belief is now a fact, as it has received two state awards within a month.

Librarian Christiane (Chris) Birkett was at the State Library of New South Wales with 70 other librarians when she was named the winner of the 2024 NSW Library & Information Excellence Award.

She was among five other finalists for the award on Friday and her first emotion when realising they had called her name was “amazement”.

“I was delighted, of course,” she said.

She made an acknowledgement speech, thanking the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) for the award.

She is a self proclaimed ‘ideas person’, but to her that is the easy part. It is the team that carries through the vision and makes it possible.

“The award was for basically everyone in the team as well as for me,” she said.

Chris has been at the library for 11 years and is two short years away from being a member of ALIA for 50 years.

Christiane Birkett.

“I really love my job, I am one of those lucky people who love what they are doing,” she said.

Her favourite part is “connecting people with books”, especially when they enthusiastically return their thoughts to her.

Gunnedah Shire Council’s Susan Frater nominated her for the award.

Chris started her career at the Hornsby library, then went up to far north Queensland, working in four local government areas, one of which included her assistance in setting up the Yarrabah Aboriginal community’s library.

Afterward, she and her husband travelled to Europe for an 18-month holiday but ended up staying for 20 years. She worked for the Central University of Budapest for seven years as a senior cataloger.

They came back to Australia in 2009 and Chris worked for the NSW Police College in Goulburn. From there it was the Queensland Police Library, then the Southbank Institute of Technology in Brisbane

“I wanted to get back to public library work so, when I saw the position vacant for Gunnedah, [I applied] and I was so delighted that I got it,” Chris said.

When asked what makes Gunnedah’s library different, she stated the size and “intimate” setting is the standout.

“We have tried our best to make it not intimidating,” she said. “It is also visually interesting, which adds an extra dimension. We are all very friendly and we have lots of programs.”

They now have about 14 program activities a week, which has been a big increase since she first started.

During Chris’ time at the library, she started notable programs such as the 1000 Books Before School. A library member had asked if
something could be done to encourage more book exposure to young children – suggesting 1000 before school.

A thousand books was not a calculated number, but Chris and the staff took it on board and now libraries around Australia have implemented the practice.

Brain Training is another which was originally started by Jenni Carlin and herself in 2015 but has now spread to other libraries, nursing homes and retirement villages.

Another program is the Seniors Engagement Talks (SETs). It is so of note that last month the Gunnedah Shire Library was awarded the Innovations in Outreach Services Award from the NSW Public Libraries Association Switch Conference.

The talks bring experts to the library to discuss topics with seniors.

Jean Clark is a participant of SETs, who has been attending for about 18 months, when it first started.

“I think it is a wonderful idea and especially because you can go to the library for it,” she said.

“We have had very interesting speakers thanks to Chris and the staff [gathering] them up.”

She said some of the more memorable talks have been when Tammey McAllan discussed fire safety and when Lisa Hagley equipped the seniors with information about summer health.

Jean mentioned the quiet surrounds of the library is ideal as many seniors have trouble hearing or own hearing aids.

“It is one way they can get their information in a calm and caring environment,” Chris said.