Quiet in the library please

Dear Echo News,

The Boya Library is spoiled by being run with too little understanding of how libraries need to be enjoyed – and perhaps most importantly – used by all.

Too many using this place seem to have trouble keeping quiet, so there’s constant, loud talking, kids noisily running and even babies crying.

Last time I was there a little boy was allowed to run around talking at full volume, despite his dad being with him, and a whole bunch of middle-aged people wearing high-vis clothing who seemed to be using the open cubicles for their work meeting, also at full volume, while a staff member was electronically scanning the shelves, constantly bumping her probe against the shelves, books and other objects, making a disturbing racket.

The women in the next cubicle to me thought it okay to carry on a conversation about some project or other – all at full volume – so the noise levels were similar to being at a café.

Needless to say, it was near impossible to get any work done or to concentrate for even a few minutes. My 90 minutes experience there was one of constant and annoyingly unnecessary disturbance.

The point of libraries is to provide a place of quiet enjoyment, with access to books and journals, undisturbed by the noise of others.

They are more like community centres now where noise is of no concern.

We have cafes, community centres and playgrounds already, but libraries are all too rare. And surely community should also be about awareness of others and paying at least some attention to custom, not to mention some respect for the needs of others?

Surely, it’s possible for everyone to speak in a hushed tone, to walk quietly and to not need to have their conversations heard from 20m away in a library.

Call me old fashioned – but that’s always been how libraries were run and they were better for it.

P Carman

Hovea

Voting for the water park

Dear Echo News,

All council elections are being held on October 21, and it is vital that you choose the right candidates for the City of Kalamunda if you want to save the Kalamunda Water Park from eventual demolition.

Ask your candidate what their views and intentions are concerning the upgrade and retention of the existing pool complex on the escarpment.

They need to be prepared to work towards ensuring that the city is encouraged to source outside funding for this crucial project.

While the City of Kalamunda is spending $1 million upgrading the old site, unfortunately this does not guarantee they are intending to retain the pool in the long run.

The proposed complex in High Wycombe  will not be completed for at least six to eight years, by which time the slides will probably require further maintenance.

That could be used as a reason to demolish both the slides and the pool.

The City of Kalamunda needs to be convinced by their councillors representing the residents that the current pool can be successfully refurbished with heated water and hot showers and retained permanently.

This upgrade should be considered an urgent priority and budgeted for in the next financial year. The current situation is that the pool will remain as it is at present – very cold and underutilised because of the lack of warm water – until the new complex is operational.

This wait and see approach was adopted at a crucial council meeting; however, the completion date is moving further into the future and the pool is suffering from demolition by neglect.

A considerable amount of ratepayers’ money has already been spent on consultants who provided excellent and acceptable plans for a pool complex to replace the existing water park.

The cost quoted at the time was $10m.

The city hierarchy and some councillors would have you believe that the hills residents are an older demographic and therefore there will be a diminished future population that could not support a repurposed heated pool.

Like those residents – the pool is deemed an asset which has reached its use by date and has depreciated, therefore must be demolished.    

There are 12 schools across the escarpment full of children – they are the future supporters of the pool, and we must fight to retain it for their use and enjoyment.

The city also deems that the cost of maintaining two pools is unsustainable.

Rates may have to increase to cover the costs.

The dreaded rate increase could actually equate to a cup of coffee a day.

Or the bus fare down the hill to the High Wycombe aquatic facility from the eastern suburbs on the escarpment.   

Don’t waste your vote – consider your children’s future and don’t let the city destroy one of the major attractions that they themselves advertise as a centerpiece of life in the hills.

The current administration staff will move on leaving the actual residents without a much-loved (albeit outdated) facility.

A Williams

Kalamunda