Frankie’s Street Library

Milperra has no public library, nor even a bookshop, seriously limiting the community’s access to quality reading materials. While a couple of small street libraries have recently sprung up in private frontyards, we saw a need and an opportunity to establish a larger unit within a high-foot-traffic, commercial area. We identified an ideal location at Frankie’s, a busy local cafe within Milperra Flowerpower. The owner/manager, Dominic, was supportive; the cafe was already very family friendly, with a wonderful playground and free merry-go-round, and he could see the library enriching the client experience. We launched the library on 14 September, and it has attracted enormous interest, with over 300 “likes” on local social media. The launch was supported by Street Library Australia patron, and Bankstown-born author, Candice Fox, with a gift pack of brand new thrillers from her publisher, Penguin Randomhouse, and the following message: “Sharing a good story right now is as important as ever. It’s fantastic to see such a great way for people to spread their love of reading to others, continue to grow with the opening of another street library”.