In honour of the 25th anniversary of the NSW Writers’ Centre, we built and donated street library #25, nicknamed Garry Junior. Here’s an update from the street library’s new community.

Our beautiful street library has been open for business for about a month now and is much loved by the neighbourhood. My curiosity was piqued when I spotted a street library in another part of Sydney, which brought back memories of hours spent in local libraries as a child. I followed up with a bit on online research to find streetlibrary.org.au. After sowing the idea with a few neighbours, one pointed out that the NSW Writers’ Centre was looking for a home in Western Sydney for Garry Junior. I applied and was selected as a foster parent for Garry Junior, who was eagerly welcomed with brushes, paints, and colourful design plans by about a dozen of our neighbourhood children.

Other contributions have followed, from the site selection to Latin mottos, book donations and spreading the word to neighbours. We soon found that we had too many books to fit in our renamed ‘Ula Athenaeum’, so plans were devised to expand it. The roof has been raised using all re-purposed materials and we now have a three-storey library for all to visit, use and peruse.

Our heartfelt thanks to the NSW Writers’ Centre for Garry Junior and their book contributions, which have enabled our vision. Our street library is a wonderful feature on Ula Crescent and has been receiving loads of praise from the neighbourhood. I have even spotted a few visitors snapping photos that I hope they will distribute to spread the word about the wonder of reading.
– Kieran of Ula Crescent, Baulkham Hills

All grown up: Garry Junior, now the Ula Athenaeum, and also known as street library #25