Casey Cardinia Libraries (CCL) will be extending opening hours on a trial basis from Saturday 1 September.
The trial will see all branches – including Emerald – open at 9am every weekday and remain open until 9pm on Thursdays.
The extended hours will allow the community to access their local library at different times of the day and provide a more consistent service across the whole region.
“Casey Cardinia Libraries welcome more than one million visitors every year and with this, things can get a little hectic at times,” CEO Chris Buckingham said.
“By opening for longer we will make it easier for the whole community to access our services.
“The community have repeatedly told us through surveys and anecdotal feedback that they would like us to be open for longer.
“We believe the extra library time will enable parents to visit straight after morning school drop off, give local students another place to study and provide local businesses and job seekers better access to our resources.”
CCL will provide additional free activities and programming on Thursday evenings to encourage people to use their local library outside normal hours.
The trial will run for six months, until the end of February next year, before a comprehensive review of community uptake.
CCL also has branches at Cranbourne, Doveton, Endeavour Hills, Hampton Park, Narre Warren and Pakenham.
A weekly mobile library service also visits sites throughout Cardinia Shire. Library membership is free and open to everyone.
