Did you know that Dickson Library was the first ever public library that I worked in as a volunteer, oh way back in the early 1990’s. So LONG ago!

Date of Visit: Saturday 21 January 2023. This visit coincided with our trip to see the Lunar New Year celebration in Canberra at the Dickson shops. Luckily, they closed at 4pm so I had time to look around before watching the festival.

Features: Dickson Library is part of the ACT public libraries network and is situated in one of the northern suburbs of Canberra – Dickson. I love the way this library connects with the community it serves. For example, promoting a free laundry service (3rd party) next to the library every Monday.

Although the building is dated, it’s quite a spacious library with well-stocked library items/products. It especially has a big range of DVDs – my kind of library! I like the way the magazines are displayed – face front for easy browsing and research has shown that front-facing displayed items are borrowed more often. I noticed that there are only about 4 PCs available for use; two of which have wide-length monitors. The kids’ section is spacious with little tables and chairs provided. There are 3 self-check-out kiosks and at the time of the visit, the library had a Lunar New Year display.

Overall Impression: I like this library’s location – easy access and incorporated within the Dickson shops and amenities. It provides public toilets, which I have been told are much cleaner than the other public toilets within the vicinity. It hasn’t changed much since I have done my volunteer work there. So I guess it could do with a bit of an uplift (interior and exterior wise).