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Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast. Considered the unofficial capital of North Queensland, Townsville is a major regional administrative centre for state and federal government and for major companies and organisations.  

Popular attractions include "The Strand", a long tropical beach and garden strip; Riverway, a riverfront parkland attraction located on the banks of Ross River; Reef HQ, a large tropical aquarium holding many of the Great Barrier Reef's native flora and fauna; the Museum of Tropical Queensland, built around a display of relics from the sunken British warship HMS Pandora; The Townsville Sports Reserve; and Magnetic Island, a large neighbouring island, the vast majority of which is national park.

Townsville City Council encompasses the former Thuringowa council and covers an area of 3,736 square kms.  It is located 1337km from the state capital, Brisbane.    The area has a university, technical colleges and large regional hospital.  In addition, there is an important army and air force bases in the city.  The current population (2016) is 192,038. The percentage of the population that identifies as Indigenous population is higher than in southern parts of the state.    

As the Thuringowa City Council was developing its corporate plan in 2004, it identified the place of lifelong learning in the development of an inclusive and strong community. It was considered that learning would foster active citizens; develop new skills for employment, business and recreation and encourage the uptake of opportunities stemming from the emerging knowledge economy.  

At that time significant social and economic disadvantage existed in the community partly due to low education attainment and low level literacy.  Changes in family and personal circumstances and the impact of work on families were placing a strain upon the community.  The area was experiencing an increase in the number of young people at risk of disengaging from formal learning systems.  The challenge was to provide educational and learning opportunities in a way that ensured every young person in the community reached their potential.  A learning audit identified the need to enhance the level of access to, and awareness of career guidance services for all ages.  This was identified as a priority across all ages particularly in regard to the impact of the regional skills shortage at the time.  Further the provision of literacy and personal development opportunities were regarded as essential for encouraging community connections and responsible citizens. 

The establishment of the Learning Communities Leadership Group, a committee of council, to link across sectoral and community levels in Townsville was considered a priority in the audit.  The group has continued to advocate within their networks for the development of a learning community since their inception and they provide high level advice to council on strategies which foster inclusion and equitable access to lifelong learning.  However unlike some other Australian cities, Townsville has not established a Learning Network.  

Similar to many learning communities the library is a key player in delivering learning in the community and has responsibility for the development of Townsville City Council’s Lifelong Learning Strategic Action Plan. Since 2008 council has delivered two plans.  Following the completion of each strategic plan, council and the leadership group have evaluated initiatives and progress towards building a learning city. However no longitudinal evaluation of community impact has been undertaken.   

Some of the achievements include the delivery of annual learning festivals that encourage residents to try something new or develop a 

• new skill and annual learning forums that provide professional 
• development opportunities for members of local community  organisations.   

One of the first initiatives when the learning community was formed was to appoint an Indigenous Library Resource Officer who has responsibility for delivery of culturally appropriate programs and developing a special collection.  This was considered a very positive and practical way to demonstrate commitment to overcoming disadvantage in the community through lifelong learning. The development of a strong partnership with the local multicultural support group has delivered English literacy programs for youth and adults, and programs that raise awareness of our changing community.  These are achieving great outcomes.  Other initiatives have focused on building literacy and improving digital skills both within the library and as outreach.  A small level of support has come from sponsorship but, for the most part, the initiatives delivered are funded by council with some occasional funding through minor and major government grants.  

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