Thanks to everyone who provided feedback on the future Molonglo Valley Library.

The What We Heard Report summarises feedback received during the first stage of community engagement.

Feedback received during the first stage of consultation will inform the concept designs and functional design brief for the future library and community hub.

The community will have an opportunity to provide feedback on three concept designs for the future Molonglo Valley Library in the middle of this year. We look forward to sharing draft concept designs with you soon.

During the first stage of community engagement, the ACT Government sought ideas and feedback from the Canberra community to support the vision of the future library and community hub for the Molonglo Valley.

Located in the heart of the future group centre, the new library and community hub will be an important community resource for Canberra’s fastest-growing and culturally diverse new urban district. The facility and its collections will also play an integral role in sharing stories and building knowledge of our local Indigenous history and culture.

We invited you to share your thoughts on what types of spaces the future library and community hub should include, how they can be accessible to the community, and what the buildings should look like. Your input will inform the building design and future planning for the project.

You had your say by:

• completing the survey
• posting your ideas, photos and videos on our vision board
• attending one of the ‘pop-ups’ at local shops or libraries
• checking out the display at your local library branch and sharing your ideas on the interactive board
• emailing communityengagement@act.gov.au.

Young Canberrans also showed us what their library of the future would look like via the kids’ corner.

Consultation closed Monday 6 May 2024.

The new library and community hub will be located in the heart of the future Molonglo Valley Group Centre. It will be an important resource for not only Molonglo Valley residents but the wider Canberra community. The library and community hub will offer access to library collections, areas for community use and a space for community services to meet the needs of a population of up to around 70,000 by 2050.

The way we think about public libraries is changing and the new library will be future-focused. Libraries have always been important centres for providing communities with access to knowledge and information. In the 21st century, online literacy and new technologies are creating opportunities for libraries to leverage digital learning to foster creativity and curiosity. At the same time, the need for libraries to act as a community hub and a place to nurture social connections has become even more important.

Our future libraries will be places where people of all social and cultural backgrounds, ages, gender identities and abilities feel welcome and safe.

This project will build on feedback received during the Imagining Libraries 2030 consultation which identified accessibility, collaboration, lifelong learning and integrated services and experiences as key priorities.

Your input will help us develop a functional design brief that articulates the community’s vision for the new buildings. It will also guide the future detailed design of the Molonglo Valley library and community hub.

The design brief will include:

• desired architectural, public realm and landscape character, and aspirations for cultural connections
• guidance on site context and precinct connections
• operational principles for access and wayfinding; safety and security considerations; sustainability and technology
• functional area descriptions and spatial requirements
• best practice case studies.

Following your initial feedback, we’ll prepare three concept designs for the community to provide feedback on. Together with the design brief, the final concept design will inform future design and construction.

Your input will help us prepare a functional design brief for the new library and community hub buildings and public realm. The brief will be used to develop concept designs for the new library which you’ll also have an opportunity to provide feedback on later this year.