The Hume Global Learning Village in the Broadmeadows district of Melbourne has been an innovative learning community for the past ten years with leadership from Hume City Council assisted by an Advisory Board and Committee.

One of the key areas of innovation has been in promoting the library role in a Global Learning Centre which connects the library role to a range of resources that assist community learning. The success of the initial Global Learning Centre in Broadmeadows led to a second Global Learning Centre being built in the Craigieburn district of Hume with a second library as the centrepiece.

The quality and significance of the work of these libraries was attested this year when the Hume libraries won two prestigious awards. The Craigieburn Library was named the International Public Library of the Year at the World Library and Information Congress in Lyon France, while earlier in the year Hume was voted Australia’s Favourite Library Service by the Australian Library and Information Association following a national poll.

Several photos of the Craigieburn Library are shown below. The library is featured by modern construction and the use of open and flexible spaces. The nomination committee described the Library as “a good example of how to use a library to create a sense of belonging for all demographic groups as both a learning centre and a gathering place in the City of Hume”.

Hume Global Learning Centre & Library, Craigieburn

This describes a key feature of the two Hume Global Learning Centres which combine learning, community, and place making features in an innovative approach to building a sustainable learning community. The Global Learning Centre concept in Hume by combining library and a range of other community learning resources is able to cater flexibly for the learning needs of the full spectrum of demographic groups in the community from the early childhood years to seniors.

Inside the Craigieburn Public Library

While Hume provides a good model for the library role in a sustainable learning community, it is hoped that other examples from libraries and museums around the world will be brought into the Harnessing Cultural Policies Network in the PASCAL Learning Cities 2020 Networks. I welcome enquiries.