Outcome

Following it's meeting on Monday 28 November, Council has endorsed plans to harmonise and increase the span of library opening hours. Council's decision was guided by Library utilisation data and customer feedback on library opening hours collected over a 15-month period from 1 February 2021 to 31 May 2022.

The new hours are as follows:

• Hurstville and Clive James Kogarah libraries will be open on weekdays from 9.00am to 8.00pm and weekends from 10.00am to 5.00pm.
• Penshurst, Oatley and South Hurstville branch libraries will be open on weekdays from 10.00am to 6.00pm. On Saturdays, Penshurst library will be open from 10.00am to 5.00pm, while Oatley and South Hurstville libraries will be open from 10.00am to 1.00pm. On Sundays the branch libraries will be closed.

The hours are in line with community usage and are designed to accommodate morning programmes, after school and after work needs.

The endorsed hours reflect the Libraries 2030 Strategy, which was approved by Council in May 2020. The Strategy established goals to guide the harmonisation of library hours and maximise community use.

Preparation for the staged implementation of the new library hours will begin in the new year.

Background

Georges River Libraries is undertaking a trial extension of our current opening hours at Clive James Kogarah, Hurstville, Oatley, Penshurst and South Hurstville libraries to increase community access and to propose harmonised operating hours. The trial period will continue from Monday 15 November 2021 to Tuesday 31 May 2022.

For more information, please see the FAQ's or email us at library@georgesriver.nsw.gov.au with any questions you may have

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Library opening hours over the trial period will be as follows:

Weekday hours:

• Clive James Kogarah Library 9am to 6pm
• Clive James Kogarah Customer Service Centre 9am to 5pm
• Hurstville Library 9am to 8pm
• Oatley Library 11am to 5pm
• Penshurst Library 10am to 5pm
• South Hurstville Library 11am to 5pm

Saturday hours:

• Clive James Kogarah Library 10am to 4pm
• Hurstville Library 10am to 4 pm
• Oatley Library 10am to 1pm
• Penshurst Library 10am to 1pm
• South Hurstville Library 10am to 1pm

Sunday hours:

• Clive James Kogarah Library 10am to 1pm
• Hurstville Library 10am to 4pm
• Oatley, Penshurst, South Hurstville Libraries closed

We want to hear from you!

The trial is in response to a survey conducted by Council last year through Your Say Georges River. In this survey we asked you to provide the hours you preferred at each of our libraries. We also gathered visitor statistics to ascertain which days and hours were most popular.

Please fill in the survey below to provide your feedback on the trial opening hours.

Hard copies of the survey are available in all our libraries.

Survey open for feedback until 31 May 2022.

Assistance reading and accessing this page

For a free interpreter call us via the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 131 450

If you have a hearing or speech impairment, please contact the National Relay Service:

• Voice Relay number: 1300 555 727
• TTY number: 133 677