Awards and Grants

Awards and Grants

The former Thuringowa Library Service was successful in winning a variety of awards and grants.

These successes are dedicated to our community who we serve and help each day, and who continually inspire us to strive for greater levels of service and innovation.

2007

Q150 Community Funding Program

Granted by the Office of the Premier (Qld)
This award from the will allow the Library to host the Sir Robert Philp Lecture Series to celebrate Queensland's 150th birthday. The Library will facilitate a series of lectures on north Queensland's history and its place in Queensland's history. A number of prominent Australian historians and academics have expressed an interest in presenting a lecture in this series. The inaugural lecture will be held in June 2008 with the final lecture in June 2009.

2006

National Trust of Queensland Heritage Award - Bendigo Bank

Gold Award for excellence in Heritage Conservation Works or Action for Eureka Unearthing the Story project.

2005

Spirit of Thuringowa Award

October - Awarded by the former Thuringowa City Council to Friends of Thuringowa City Libraries
Celebrating their 10th Anniversary in 2005, the Friends of the Thuringowa Library have worked tirelessly to promote our local library and gallery. As a result of their fundraising activities, the Friends have provided a range of equipment and furniture for the library and provide hands-on support to library activities including programs for children.

Queensland Public Library of the Year

April - Awarded by the Queensland Public Libraries Association
This award is given to the public library that most demonstrates outstanding community service. The award focuses on three key factors: service to the community, creativity and innovation in developing specific community programmes or a dramatic increase in library usage and leadership in creating programmes that can be emulated by other libraries.

Library Strategic Development Grant - Developing a learning community: the public library as a catalyst and key player.

April - Awarded by the State Library of Queensland.
This grant enabled the former Thuringowa Library Services to conduct an audit of learning providers, opportunities and resources in the former Thuringowa region, and to hold a workshop with key Australian experts and stakeholders, to develop a strategic plan for building the former Thuringowa region into a Learning Community.

Queensland Stories Grant - Eureka: unearthing the story

March - Awarded by the State Library of Queensland
The project enabled students from local high schools to undertake archaeological fieldwork at the site of the Eureka Hotel at Thornton's Gap on Hervey Range. Archaeology students from James Cook University mentored high school students and the whole project was supervised by qualified archaeologist from JCU and high school teaching staff.

Thuringowa Library Heritage Services coordinated the project, by providing primary historical source material via this website, research and learning support to students in the library and by administering the grant.

Listen Here! - Indigenous Library Pilot project

Funding awarded by the State Library of Queensland
The funding covers the appointment of a project officer for six months to build an Indigenous library collection and develop and promote programs to the Indigenous community.

2004

National Awards for Local Government - Commendation Award

September - Awarded by the Commonwealth Department of Transport and Regional Services.
digital.literacy@thuringowa.library is a three-part project that aims to improve the information-seeking skills of the former Thuringowa residents. The first part that has been developed is a weekly newspaper column, titled Searchlight, in the Townsville Bulletin that provides easy-to-use hints and tips on effective Internet searching. The second part of the project is the development of info.instruction, an online information literacy tutorial, aimed at secondary school aged students to adults. The third part of this project is the implementation of LearningFast proprietary software.

High Commendation Award for Excellence in Heritage Conservation works or action

Awarded by National Trust Queensland
This award was presented for a CD-ROM, Old Roads, New Roads, which was developed through a RADF grant by library staff in partnership with primary school children, their parents and their teachers and the regional Education Advisor, Curriculum, Education Queensland. It is an interactive multimedia CD-ROM using historical images and contemporary images taken by the children from the same perspective. The school children prepared historical notes relating to each image. The CD-ROM was distributed to all schools in the former Thuringowa region. It is available for viewing in the Library, and it is available for purchase for $10 (incl. GST).

2003

Innovation Grant - Info.instruction

Awarded by the State Library of Queensland
This grant funded a project for the development of info.instruction, an online information literacy tutorial, aimed at secondary school aged students to adults. A report of the project is available here (851KB).

Silver Award for Excellence in Heritage Conservation works or action

Awarded by National Trust Queensland
Awarded for our publication of Paluma: the first eighty years 1870s-1950s by Linda Venn. This book may be borrowed from the library, or purchased from the library for $11 (incl. GST).

2002

Shortlist for Ebenezer Ward award

May
A national biennial award that acknowledges the valuable place in the wider historical scene, of shorter books for community history, often published on a meagre budget by individuals or community organisations.

Awarded for our publication of A short history of Thuringowa by Peter Bell. This book may be borrowed from the Library, or purchased from the library for $6.60 (incl. GST).

1999

Innovation Grant - Seniors on the Web

Awarded by the State Library of Queensland
The grant enabled the development and delivery of a senior's information technology training and development program. A report of the project is available here (1,238KB).

1998

Innovation Grant - North Queensland Regional Historical Photographs on CD Rom

Awarded by the State Library of Queensland
This grant was awarded to a regional group of public libraries which included Bowen Shire Library, Burdekin Shire Library, Charters Towers City Library, Hinchinbrook Shire Library, Townsville City Library and the former Thuringowa City Library. Over 3000 historical images were scanned, indexed and published on CD Rom. A report of the project is available here (1,040KB).

1989

Very Highly Commended award

Awarded by the Queensland Library Promotion Council
the former Thuringowa Library was known then as Kirwan Library.

1987

Promotion of the Year award

Awarded by the Queensland Library Promotion Council
the former Thuringowa Library was known then as Kirwan Library.

For more information, please contact CityLibraries.

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