A total of $191,520 will be used to install technology that will enable after-hours access to the Tamworth City Library and the new Kootingal Library. There will be a booking system for those wishing to visit outside of usual hours, making the library facilities accessible between 7am and 10pm, seven days a week.

Tamworth Regional Council Manager Learning Communities, Kay Delahunt said the upgrades would be beneficial for community members who wouldn’t normally be able to access the library due to work and time constraints.

"These libraries are well patronised and serve a diverse population, from shift workers and HSC and tertiary students to families and FIFO health workers. By enabling access outside of the usual staffed hours, we hope to meet the growing needs of the community while also adapting to the changing learning landscape" she said.

Part of the funding will cover the new swipe access doors, environmental control improvements, and enhance safety measures with additional CCTV and duress alarms. Kootingal will be the first to provide longer access hours when it opens later this year.

A futher $199,716 in funding has been received for the Central Northern Regional Library's Regional Digitisation Van project, which is planned to be available to the community mid next year.

The public-focused mobile van and two static memory stations will be used to uncover and preserve historical material from across the region. This will give residents in the region the chance to digitise their personal historical photographs and documents and, if they wish, to donate digital copies to the library's local history records.

Ms Delahunt says the van will be a great way to build the community's sense of belonging and reinforce the library's role in the provision of local studies.

"We wanted to find a way to make preservation fun, accessible and relevant to the public as a means to document and preserve both their personal histories and community local history," she said.