Berri is a small town along the north bank of the Murray River in South Australia. It’s a lovely place where I suppose Adelaiders go for their holidays as the town is only 238kms from the city. We rode our bikes everywhere.

Dates of visit: Monday 25 October 3-5pm; Tuesday 26 October 10-12.30pm (due to Tax Return activities)

Features: A member of the South Australia public library network and is a joint-use library catering to the public and to the Berri High School community. So at the time of the visit, there were school groups using the space.

The library offers contemporary library services for the public as well as students, hence the many tables and chairs at the back of the library – for use during library time for students. There are also study areas along the side wall for members of the public to use. There is a quiet area/history room available but both times during the visit, no one was using it.

There is a children’s area but not sure if it’s widely used. There was a family using it though on the first day of our visit in the afternoon, however. There were only 3 public PCs available for use at the time of the visit due to social distancing rules. One PC had to be fired up because it hasn’t been turned on and updated for months! I guess they didn’t expect us.

There were 3 staff roaming on Monday afternoon and 2 on Tuesday morning. Books and DVDs were available for sale (I bought the Hobbit!) but when I paid for it at the desk, they had to write me a receipt as they didn’t seem to have a till (!!). Oh and this is the library where I borrowed the book Dune.

Overall Impression: This is a nice library although I found the space a bit tight and ‘messy’. There were plenty of signs everywhere but perhaps too many that they have lost their purpose. And because it’s a shared library, just be aware that there might be noise from students. Apart from that, the library offers a good service. Worth a visit if you’re in the vicinity and wanting to pick a book or two while you’re on holidays.