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Learn more about the new Ballarat Library facility and services. 

View or download the Redeveloped Ballarat Library factsheet  or visit the Central Library Redevelopment page to learn more about this project.
 

Ballarat Library

• Address: 178 Doveton St Nth, Ballarat Central 3350
• Phone: (03) 5338 6850

Sebastopol Library

• Address: 181 Albert St, Sebastopol 3356
• Phone: (03) 5335 7985

Wendouree Library

• Address: Stockland Wendouree Shopping Centre 3355
• Phone: (03) 5339 3505

As an Early Childhood Teacher and Educational Leader, she says the relationships she builds with her students are the highlights of her role.

“No matter how hard the day is, there's always a moment where one of those little people puts a smile on your face with something quirky or lovely they’ve said,” she says.

“There’s always something rewarding, something you can pull from the day that has made it worth it.”

Having worked in various roles in the sector for a decade, Jasmine recalls several times when a former student, or the parent of a former student, has recognised her and told her of the impact she made in their life, or the life of their child.

“It’s so fulfilling to know you have been remembered for a such a long time by someone whose life you were only a small part of,” she says.

“It is such a beautiful, rewarding career.”

It’s a career that City of Ballarat Executive Manager Family, Youth and Children's Services Sharelle Knight would like more people to consider.

Announced in 2022, the State Government’s Best Start, Best Life reforms guarantee children in the coming years can access 30 hours of four-year-old kindergarten and 15 hours of three- year old kindergarten. The State Government also guaranteed that kinder would be free for three and four-year-olds in participating services across the state.

While this is great news for Ballarat families, it is a significant change requiring the City of Ballarat to expand its early years education workforce and make plans to ensure there is adequate infrastructure to deliver the reforms.

“It has essentially meant, in really simple terms, that we are down by a third on kindergarten provision, meaning our workforce is not large enough to deliver on these reforms,” Sharelle says.

With funded kindergarten at four locations, the City of Ballarat is a relatively small provider of kindergarten services in the region. However, the City of Ballarat also plays a role in terms of infrastructure planning by providing facilities to other kindergarten operators to lease.

In collaboration with other municipalities in the region, Sharelle says the City of Ballarat is working on a workforce strategy, which will explore how to attract, train and retain early years educators and teachers.

“Essentially, we’re looking at how we can make sure that, over the long term, we can build our own workforce and keep the workforce here in the Central Highlands region” she says.

“We are a growing municipality and we're really wanting to support the health, development and educational needs of our youngest residents here in Ballarat.

“We want people to consider kindergarten education as a viable career option here in Ballarat.”

It’s a career option that Jasmine recommends people consider.

“There’s a lot of stigma around kindergarten teaching being just play, but it’s so much more than that — kindergarten teaching is about getting to know the children and families, and working as a team to develop the skills and knowledge necessary for each individual child for school and life beyond school.

“To know that you played a part in their education, when parents come up and say ‘He really enjoyed that science experiment and cannot stop talking about volcanoes’, is important.” 

Visit the Victorian Government website to learn about the Best Start, Best Life reforms.

How have you been feeling lately? Have you been getting frustrated more easily, or snapping at friends and loved ones? Maybe you’ve been exercising every day to release built up tension, or you’ve been flicking through Netflix for the past three days and have only just come up for air.

Have you been working your way through project after project to find a sense of fulfilment - and to stop yourself from having the time to think about what’s troubling you? Or maybe you’ve been watching social media for constant updates and planning for each contingency?  

Stress and anxiety are affecting many of us, including our friends, family and colleagues. We’ve all put coping mechanisms in place to keep us going each day.

One you might not have considered yet, but we’d recommend, is taking some time each day to pick up a book. Whether it’s in the morning when you’re feeling fresh, or during the day if you’ve hit a rough patch, or at night to help you relax before bed – pick up a book.  

What does the research say?  

• Reading can “affect personal and social development, happiness, behaviour, relationships, education, employment, financial well-being, health and community and cultural participation” (Evans, 2017, page 1).  

• Reading for pleasure is important. It can make you feel good, give you opportunities to learn new things, give insight into other cultures and people’s lives, reduce your stress levels and provide you with an escape from real life (Evans, 2017) 
• The University of Sussex has also found that it can reduce stress because when you’re concentrating on what’s happening in your book, you’re distracted from reality, which then eases the tensions in your muscles and heart (Evans, 2017).  
• Cognitive neuropsychologist Dr David Lewis, has found that reading can reduce your stress levels by 68%, compared with listening to music (61%), a cup of tea or coffee (54%) and a walk (42%) (Evans, 2017).  

Raid your bookshelf for gems from your past. Now is a good time to revisit them. Alternatively, you could try these options to grab some new books to read. 

• Shop locally. Collins Booksellers offers a Click and Collect service or delivery 

• Sign up to the Ballarat Libraries to access eBooks, eAudiobooks and magazines from your smartphone, tablet or computer 
• Download books out of copyright for free from Project Gutenberg 
• Create an account for Amazon Kindle to purchase eBooks and eAudiobooks to read on your device. They even have some free ones. 

Need some recommendations? 

• Join the Melbourne Library Service’s What are you reading? Facebook group 

• Visit the Readings website for reviews 
• Find new releases and the bestsellers list at Collins Booksellers 

We’ll keep adding more content to this page so check in for more suggestions and reading opportunities.  

Source: Evans, N. (2017). Reading is good for you: A literature review, Australian publishers Association, https://www.publishers.asn.au/news/reading-is-good-for-you