Diamond Valley Library is managed by Yarra Plenty Regional Library and is one of two libraries in the Shire of Nillumbik. It is located beside the Shire of Nillumbik Civic Centre, Civic Drive, Greensborough.
The original Greensborough Library was first opened in December 1973 by Member for Greensborough R.M. “Monty” Vale M.P.
It was the third library as part of the Heidelberg Regional Library and located in the lower ground floor of the Civic Centre. With a space of 45 square metres, the library opened with 1100 books. The first librarian was Mrs Wendy Smith who managed a staff of four.
By 1979 it was the busiest branch of Heidelberg Library Service with about 60 new members joining per week and was especially popular for its children’s programs and by students for its reference collection.
A foreign language collection included books available in Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
On May 5, 1984, the new Diamond Valley library building was officially opened by the Shire President Cr. Phil Holmes. Located next door to the Civic Centre it was built at a cost of $430,534 with the initial size at 780 square metres. The architects were Lines, MacFarlane and Marshall. The branch librarian was Ms Joy Healey. A key feature of the building was the abundance of natural light.
The library was extensively upgraded by the Sainsbury Reed Group (Architects) and completed in May 1993 and officially opened on 21st July 1993. It was described at the time as “one of the best public structures of its type in metropolitan Melbourne”. The abundance of natural light was improved upon with the addition of large glassed areas to the north and south which at the time made the most of the “superlative views” but also added to the internal ambiance of the building.
The original building was extensively modified with 350 squares of additional space including a dedicated children’s area, multi- purpose room, staff work area, new entry canopy and external activity area. In addition to these new features, refurbishment included repainting and re-carpeting throughout, purchase of new chairs and additional shelving, new comprehensive, colour co-ordinated signage system and the installation of a new large circulation desk including a Raeco alarm collection security system.
The Diamond Valley Toy Library operates out of the community room.
In December 2014 a community garden was unveiled which included a no-dig garden in order to promote sustainable living. It has a garden maker space A local food swap event takes place twice a month. The library is a member of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation which aims to help children form positive food habits for life, by embedding gardening in food education. The library has increased its programming around healthy eating, sustainability and gardening skills. In December 2019 Nillumbik Shire Council received $500,000 for the redevelopment of Diamond Valley Library under the Living Libraries Infrastructure Program. Nillumbik Shire Council to contribute $270,000 and Yarra Plenty Regional Library $80,000. Planned improvements include an extended children’s area, introducing flexible co-working spaces, adding a tech area for young people, building a community meeting room with kitchen facilities, refurbishing the quiet study area and improving accessibility.
See Also: Diamond Valley Library Album
Photo: Diamond Valley Library. Yarra Plenty Regional Library. Unknown date
Updated 27 August 2020
