Refurbished Hervey Bay library building reopening soon

The refurbished Hervey Bay Library building will reopen in early February.

Fraser Coast Regional Councillor David Lewis said a pop-up library had been operating at the Hervey Bay Regional Gallery for the past six months while the library building’s roof and air conditioning system were replaced and other minor maintenance occurred.

“The roof had reached the end of its working life and Council set up the temporary portable library to ensure we could continue to provide services to the community, albeit in a limited capacity, while the roof was replaced,” he said.

“The pop-up library will operate until Saturday 20 January, and there will then be a two-week transition period during which Hervey Bay Library services won’t be available while library staff relocate and set up the refurbished building for its reopening on Monday 5 February.

“The other four library branches at Maryborough, Howard, Burrum Heads and Tiaro will operate as usual during this period.”

Cr Lewis said the Hervey Bay Library was one of the community’s most-loved facilities with up to 1500 people visiting daily during busy periods to borrow books, DVDs and toys, access digital services and attend events.

“Across the Fraser Coast, more than 45,000 people are library members – more than a third of our population,” he said.

“Council acknowledges that the existing Hervey Bay Library on Old Maryborough Road does not have enough space to meet the needs of our growing population, which is why we will be building a new library by mid-2026 under the Hinkler Regional Deal partnership with the Australian Government.

“Work on a new modern library and Council administration building in Main Street gets underway this month.

“We look forward to engaging with the community about the exciting new programs they would like to see as the new library develops in the next couple of years.

“In the meantime, we needed to replace the roof and maintain the current building to keep our staff and citizens safe while we continue to provide services to the community. It’s important that we protect and maintain this valuable asset for future community use.

“We are very grateful to the Queensland Government for providing $1.5 million through the Works for Queensland program to help us with the roof replacement project.