Social media a power for good to help flood-impacted Lismore Library

Published on 01 April 2022

Mildura Rural City Council Libraries and Mildura-based GTS Freight Management are joining forces to help re-stock the Lismore Library which has been decimated by the New South Wales floods.

And in a heart-warming example of social media being used for a good cause, the Mildura-based initiative was the brainchild of a part-time Darwin resident who lives more than 3,000 kilometres away – Shirli Dovaston.

“I’d already heard from a friend that the Lismore Library had lost all of its books due to the flooding that had hit New South Wales and Queensland, and not long after I noticed someone was selling books on Facebook,” Shirli explained.

“I just thought I’ll buy them and donate them to the Lismore Library, but then thought more about it, and library books are sometimes one of those things that kind of get missed in these situations, and the idea grew from there.

“When there are areas that have been hit hard by events such as major floods, it’s about getting beds for people, fridges and those type of essentials, but books and libraries also serve a vital role.”

Mildura resident Justin Daniel saw one of Shirli’s posts, and after a few online conversations, offered to help through his friendship with Mildura Mayor Liam Wood.

“A friend here in Mildura, Justin Daniel, told me what Shirli was trying to do and asked if there was anything we could do at Council to help out, and I thought it was a great idea,” Cr Wood said. 

“Residents in our area certainly know what it’s like to be hit by natural disasters and flooding after the major storms of the past four or five years, so I thought I’d see what type of support we could provide here in Mildura.”

The result is a call for donations of books from the community, which has attracted the support of one of Mildura’s largest businesses, GTS Freight Management.

Mildura Library will act as the collection point for donated books, while GTS Freight Management has offered to transport the books to Lismore Library for free.

GTS Freight Management Managing Director Damien Matthews said he was proud to be part of the initiative.

“It’s great to see one community reaching out to help another during tough times, and if we can do our part to help in the bigger effort to rebuild the Lismore Library, we’re more than happy to pitch in by transporting any donated books,” Mr Matthews said.

Council library staff have been in contact with their Lismore Library counterparts who indicated the following items would be gratefully accepted:

• adult fiction
• large print books
• junior and young adult books
• children’s story books
• non-fiction books on parenting topics
• junior non-fiction books
• children’s DVDs.

Cr Wood encouraged the community to donate books they no longer needed as part of a push to collect as may books as possible.

Donations will be accepted at the Mildura Library reception desk until Thursday 14 April.

ENDS