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Interim report on service centres and libraries shows usage trends with decision to come from full report

East Gippsland Shire Council released interim data from the 12-month trial on service centres and libraries, outlining usage trends. The data doesn't determine future decisions; a full report follows trial completion.

By news@gippsland - 19th December 2023 - Back to News

East Gippsland Shire Council has released interim data collected during the first nine months of the service centres and library 12-month trial. The trial started on 3 January 2023 and followed the decision by council in November 2022 to make a minor change to opening hours, add a second mobile service and continue to collect data on when and how the community was using each service.

The trial began in Jan 3, 2023, post council's November 2022 decision: adjusted hours, added a mobile service, and continued data collection

Interim service insights

Councillors were last week provided with an interim data report on the activities and services delivered by council's service centres and libraries from January to September 2023. Mayor Cr Tom Crook said this first nine months of data starts to paint a picture of how our services are being used across all locations.

"We acknowledge there had been community interest in the data. By releasing this interim data now for the first nine months of the trial, the community can see the usage trends at each site. We know all sites are used for a range of services and this interim data provides a great insight," Cr Crook said.

Data for evaluation

Cr Crook emphasised the release of this data is not a recommendation or a decision on future use or opening hours. "Throughout the service review and trial we have been clear that a report will be presented to council within four months of the trial ending. The 12-month trial ends in January 2024. Trial hours will remain in place after that date until council formally considers the review of the trial."

"There will be more data to consider when the trial concludes, and the community will be kept informed of dates around when those considerations will be made by council in 2024. We will also continue to gather data ongoing," Cr Crook said. The data is available at Service Centre and Library Data website and has also been provided directly to local library 'Friends' groups.

Pictures from East Gippsland Shire Council Facebook page.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com