New Kelmscott library officially opened

A ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday marked the official opening of the new Kelmscott Library.

Though open to the public since January 4, the official opening signalled the end of a 12-year journey to give the library a permanent home.

The $900,000 purpose-designed facility’s location at Stargate Shopping Centre was in keeping with the City’s Library Strategic and Development Plan to co-locate its libraries with other facilities and services, and by preference in, or immediately adjacent to, shopping centres.

City of Armadale Mayor Henry Zelones OAM JP said the success of the six-year-old Armadale Library reinforced the merit of this decision.

“We are rightfully proud to be providing this great new facility to the Kelmscott community,” he said.

“It is a community that happens to be quite a dedicated crowd of library-goers – during December when the library closed for relocation, there was a 56 per cent increase in loans from the City’s other two libraries.

“This is an exciting state-of-the-art facility with all the aspects expected of a modern-day library, yet at its heart lays the core of what a traditional library should be – a trusted space, open to all, where people come to explore and share the joys of reading, information, knowledge and culture.”

The library stocks about 20,000 items in an area that was designed to promote exploration and discovery.