As a "cultural hub", I believe it's very important to attract young children to the library as much as possible. Parents need somewhere they can take their pre-school children during the day that is a central meeting point in the community, especially during inclement weather. There is an overwhelming need for this in Ivanhoe - you just need to see how many children and their parents/carers attend story time. I think the children's library presented in the concept plans looks too small and a bit vanilla. This space should be dynamic, vibrant, loud and engaging - somewhere where kids can get excited about attending that has activities centred around reading and creativity. It would also be a great opportunity to connect the children's library to the cafe so that children could be supervised by their parents/carers while they engage in independent reading and activities. A connected outdoor area with lots of cosy reading nooks for kids would also be a big hit. Also, the theatrette seems to take up a lot of prime ground floor real estate which seems disproportionate to the amount I envisage it will be used. A theatrette is very didactic and seems counter to the objectives of the space - especially considering the town hall is right next door?? Lastly, the toilets probably don't need to be so close to the main entrance.

Its easy to get excited about all the peripheral things or additional functions but lets not forget we need a better library. More space for books, quiet reading spaces, study areas, sufficient meeting rooms. Agree with need for a book lift.

I know it's expensive but a separate book lift within the confines of the library would be appropriate. The proposed lift is a distance from the library, so heavy book trollies will have to be moved through public areas

I am very disappointed at the amount of quiet study space - this looks smaller than the library's current space on level 2- and it is often difficult to get a space there. I had also hoped for more quiet nooks within the main library space itself.